 What's up everyone, Takedown here. Welcome back to another video. Today I'm going to be sharing with you a few things that may help you improve your videos for your own YouTube channel. Everything on my list is things that I use right now, but back when I started my channel, I was not using all of them. And I just want to mention that whenever you're starting out your YouTube channel, you do not need to use all of these. Eventually you may want to improve your videos and start incorporating some of them, but you do not need them whenever you're starting out your YouTube channel. Let's get right into this. So the first thing on my list, which in my opinion is the most important one, and that is something to be able to record your videos with. Whether that is a phone or a camera, it doesn't matter as long as you find something to be able to record your videos with, that is what matters the most. Whenever I started my channel, I was only using a fourth generation iPod, so the quality of the videos was not the greatest, the audio was not the greatest, but I was using what was available to me to put in the effort for my channel to help grow it and get it started. So in my opinion, my advice would be to just use what is available to you. If you only have a fourth generation iPod, use that, and eventually you can upgrade to something else, whether that being a cell phone or an actual camera, you can always upgrade from there. Just use what is available to you. I started with my fourth generation iPod. Right now I'm using a Samsung A5, which is about two years old, and it was such an improvement that that's what I'm sticking with right now because I have no issues with my phone. In my opinion right now, I don't need to upgrade. The next thing on my list, in my opinion, which is still important, and that is a tripod of some sort. It just basically helps you out with your camera angles of your videos, because in my opinion, the angle that I prefer is to basically, it's like I'm talking straight into the camera face to face. It's at exact eye level with me before whenever I was using, actually whenever I started my channel after I rebranded with my fourth gen iPod, I wasn't using any tripod. I was just setting it on the table, leaning it up against the TV remote, and that was what I was using to set up my iPod for my to be able to record videos on. So I eventually upgraded to the small tripod, which I think I got for $5 at the local store. Honestly, this was an improvement from what I was using, which is just leaning it up against the TV remote, but this still wasn't the greatest. I wasn't satisfied with it. And from this, I eventually upgraded to what I'm currently using, which I can't show you because I have my camera set up on it right now. And that is a tripod. I literally got it out of the yard sale, but it's great quality, and it's exactly the height that I need for my videos, and I can extend it even longer and reach higher if I wanted to, but that is what I'm using now. So whenever I say you need a tripod for your videos, I don't mean you need to go and buy something brand new. I don't mean that you have to go and buy something brand new from the store. If you find something at a yard sale or a flea market or something like that that works for you, by all means go ahead and try that. But in my opinion, I definitely would recommend a tripod because it gives you the right camera angle for your videos, which in my opinion is very important. The next thing that I would recommend, but it's not necessarily needed whenever you're starting out your channel, and that is a micro USB for whatever you're using to record your videos on. So the reason you may need this is to basically extend the storage of your recording device. For me, I have a Samsung A5 and I can record because I have all my music and videos and everything else saved on my phone that for me, it only allows me to record 30 to 40 minutes worth of videos before I have to transfer them off if I need to record more. Whereas by me having the micro USB, which is 128 gigabytes, it allows me to record for a longer period of time multiple videos without me having to transfer them off my phone. It is basically just to extend the storage of your phone. Again, you do not need this whenever you're starting out your channel. I've been doing YouTube for almost three years now and I just got it two months ago. The next thing would be a mic for your audio for different videos. If you're recording your audio separate, you may need a mic. So the mic I use, which is Wicked Audio. I've explained this on my channel before, but I use the Havoc Edition. This used to be around $20 and it includes a lifetime warranty. Right now these are marked down regular price to about $11 for different videos like gameplay, live streams that I do, anything on my PlayStation 4, any voiceover work that I do for different videos that I make that require my voice to be recorded separately. I will use microphone and a different software on my laptop, which I'll explain at the end of the video to be able to do that. So I would recommend that if that's the style of video you are doing. Next would be lighting. For me, lighting is very important and whenever I say lighting, I don't mean you have to go out and purchase lighting like the big YouTubers use, those big ring lights and everything. I do not have any of that. All I have is basically one lamp in the corner of my room, one light overhead. And then I have a big patio window, which is what I'm using right now because it's daytime as I'm recording this. So my lighting right now, I'm using natural lights. But if I'm recording later at night or in the evening, I might have to put my lamp on and lift the lamp shade up so I have all the light leaning this way. And I'll put the overhead light on also at the same time. And the reason I do both the one in the corner and the one overhead is so that I have no shadow on my face and you can see my face perfectly like you can right now. The reason I can, you guys can right now is because I'm using natural light of course. But that's why I'm trying to emphasize lighting is because lighting is very important. You do not want your videos to come out dark. You do not want them to basically your face and everything. You want your face to be seen on your videos if that's what you're going for on your channel. So you don't want a big shadow. You don't want the shadow behind you and basically it'd be a distraction. So in my opinion, lighting is very important, but you don't need to spend money on lighting. You can just use what you have available to you because that's what I do. You just have to kind of set it up a certain way so your videos are going to come out better with whatever lighting you're going for. The next is after you're finished recording your video, video editing software. Whenever I started my channel, whenever I was just on the PlayStation 4 and recording videos and uploading them, I was literally recording a video and uploading it without editing it. I wasn't editing anything back then and it really hurt my channel. I've basically taught myself to edit videos and every video that I make now is edited from start to finish. I make sure it's perfect, the way that I want it, and edited the way that I expect my videos to be. So I have a certain method that I do and eventually I'm going to show you guys how I edit my videos, just not in this video because there's a lot to it. Back in the day, I was using Movie Maker because it was so easy to chop and cut my videos. I found it very easy to use, but Movie Maker has since been discontinued. There's also another free video editor out there which is VSDC. It's a free video editor and has a lot to it. You can do different transitions and have two videos at the same time playing and different effects and different things like that. So it is easy to use as well. But what I'm currently using is Filmora 9 because I find it so phenomenal. It's easy to use like Movie Maker was. Everything's coming natural to me. I'm always learning new things because it has a whole bunch of different effects and everything on it. However, it is not free. It cost me about $55 and that was with a discount that they offered and also using Honey on my browser. So there is discounts that you can get for it. I think it's regular around $100. I only paid $55 for it and I find it easy to use. It's easy, efficient and it makes my video editing so much faster than when I once was using Movie Maker. So definitely if you're going to be recording videos, I would recommend to have a video editor of some sort, whether it's a free video editor or something cheap and easy on your phone. If you just want to record and edit your videos on your phone, there's always a way, but I think every video in my opinion should be edited in some way, shape or form. The next thing is a thumbnail creator. Right now, I'm using Kavana and I've been using that for years. To me, that is the style of thumbnails that I like. It's very easy to use. It's free and I find everything about it since I've been using it for years. I just enjoy how I can make my thumbnails using Kavana. Now, back when I started my channel, I was not using any thumbnails and honestly, I had to basically teach myself how to make my thumbnails and to improve on them to make the quality of them a lot better because I found out having videos with a customized thumbnail on them, it gets more views. People click on it more if it has a very interesting thumbnail. If you just have these stock thumbnail that YouTube provides you whenever you upload a video, usually it lets you choose three, which is just little screenshots of your video throughout it. They might get views. It might be interesting. It might be okay depending on which ones you choose. But in my opinion, a custom thumbnail always helps and it makes it look a little bit better. So that's what I currently use. I always make a thumbnail for every video and it just helps out in the long run. Again, you don't necessarily need it whenever you're starting out your channel, but it is something that I would recommend because it'll make your channel and make your videos look more appealing to your audience. And the last two things are software that I would recommend downloading on your laptop to help improve your videos in the long run. The first one is an audio recorder, which I use audacity and it's basically to record your audio separate from your video. So like I mentioned earlier, whenever I was talking about my mic, if I'm recording voiceover work or different reactions or different style of video that require me to record my voice separate, I needed a way to be able to do that and audacity is easy to use. It's something I've been using for years back whenever I started making beats on my channel and basically you just go in, you change a few of the settings and you hit record and you record your audio with a mic or even whenever you're recording a video, you can record your audio at the same time. So it's very easy to use. You can go and change effects in it. So I might in the future, if you guys request it, show you guys how to use audacity a little bit more and with a little bit more of their features in that, but definitely if you're recording your videos and you need to record your audio separate, audacity in my opinion is the way to go. It's free. You just download on your laptop and ready to use. And the next thing that you might want to use is a screen recorder, whether you're recording gameplay on your laptop or you want to make a reaction video to a movie trailer or a music video or something like that because that's things that I use. I needed to find a screen recorder. There is a bunch of screen recorders online that you're able to start, but some of them have watermarks. Some of them are limited time. So you can only do maybe three or four videos. Some of them are length limited. So you can only record about three minutes of video and it cuts off. But for me, I didn't want anything that had a watermark. I wanted it to look phenomenal because I want my videos to come out in a good quality if that makes sense. So I was always trying to find something and eventually I found out the free video editor, which I have on my laptop, which is VSDC. I don't use it right now for editing my videos because like I mentioned, I use Filmora 9, but on VSDC there's actually a part of it that lets you screen record. So you can capture anything on your screen for free because it's a free video editor. It includes a free screen capture and you can save your videos that way and piece them together on VSDC or another video editor. So that's what I use to capture my videos. The audio comes out great. The screen comes out great. You can choose the resolution. You can choose the area that you wish to record on your laptop. So like I said, if you're recording a music video or a reaction to a movie trailer or something like that or a compilation of funny videos for trying not to laugh, you may need to get a screen recorder. So VSDC has one built into it. So you don't have to go and find one online and eventually find out that it has a watermark or something like that because VSDC doesn't have a watermark. It's full. Record whatever you want. No limitations or anything like that. So that's why I enjoy it and that's why I use it. So these are basically just a few things that may help you improve your videos, improve the quality of your videos. In the future, I'm going to show you guys how I edit my videos using Filmora. I will show you guys how I record my audio with Audacity. I may show you guys how to edit videos on VSDC. If you guys request it, it's just something that I don't use right now. So I'm basically going to have to reteach myself on how to edit videos on that software because I'm using Filmora 9, which is so much easier. But these are things that, like I said, will help improve your videos. But in the long run, you do not need them to start out your channel. Just eventually, you might want to incorporate some of them to help improve your channel. So I hope this has helped you guys understand a few things that may help you with your channel. I know whenever I started my channel, if I would have known about some of these, I would have used them right away. For example, my tripod to get the right angle that would have been better, the lighting for my videos. If I got something like that, that would have been a lot better. Honestly, I'm just enjoying my time here on YouTube. And that's why I wanted to make this video to help others maybe improve their videos as well. So I'm going to leave this video here. Thanks for watching. I hope this has helped some of you. And I'll see you guys in the next video. Please take care. Peace.