 Today, we're going to take your video from looking and sounding like this to this with only $100. Hey, it's Herman here again on Artlist and if you're like me when I first started making videos, you're probably looking for the cheapest way to look like a pro. Thankfully, you can shoot high quality content for your YouTube in the comfort of your own home and with the phone in your pocket. So instead of replying to that Nigerian prince for a windfall of money, let's learn the greatest magic trick I know, turning $100 into your own professional content creation space. Now you don't want to miss any of these steps because just like a Jenga tower, your setup can fall apart without just one of these pieces. If you're ready, then hit that like button and let's go. Unless you've got the forearm size of the rocks, I find that holding anything, including my phone, gets pretty exhausting after a while. That's why it is so important to mount your device onto something that you can adjust the height of. Trust me, no one wants to watch this angle of you talking all the time. A basic tripod will free up your hands and you can get a pretty cheap selfie stick with some legs on the bottom for around $11. Adjust it to a cozy eye level so that the viewers feel like they're right next to you and you're good to go. Just make sure to even out the other arm before you buy this though. Next, let's take care of your main light source. Now this is known as your key light in a three-point lighting setup, which is the technique we'll be using for your home studio because it's the most standard setup for a professional look. If you have a large window at home, then you can use that as your main source of light and put a bit of your money into your piggy bank. Maybe even invest a bit more onto step five, which is super important, but we'll get to that. But if you are a vampire like me, or you just don't have many windows, then softboxes are your best friends. With this one only being $37, it's the easiest and cheapest way to instantly get professional lighting. Sure, you can use that IKEA lamp sitting in your living room instead, but the advantage of a softbox is in its name. It produces soft light. That means instead of having harsh, defined shadows that look like you're being interrogated, soft, smooth shadows feel professional and way more pleasant to look at. Softboxes will also cover a broader area, which gives you wiggle room while still being well lit. Now when I first set up my light, I wonder why it didn't look like a million dollars studio. If you're wondering the same thing, then I recommend looking at the title of this video you're watching and then be relieved that there's actually a very simple fix to this. All you have to do is angle your light 45 degrees toward your face so that it gives some contrast. Now if you're filming against a flat wall, then make sure to bring your seat and lights away from the wall to create a sense of depth. Now it might not look like a million dollars, but it does look a million times better than when we first started. When I had my first light set up, I realized that everything I shot was too dark and dramatic. Now this may have been good for my emo phase, but showing off your space creates a more welcoming atmosphere. Thankfully, I think that you can use a larger variety of lights to do this. Yes, I'm looking at you IKEA lamp. By strategically placing the lights you already own into your scene, you can make it way more visually interesting than just a flat wall. Any lights that you can see in the frame are known as practicals. There's a cinematography trivia fact for you. Now remember that three-point lighting setup I mentioned earlier? One of those lights is your backlight. We have a background light so far, but not a backlight. Yep, this distinction was how I almost failed film school. A backlight, as the name implies, lights your back. I like using LED lights to do this because of how cheap and portable they are. The ones here run about $25 for two lights and it comes with stands. That's two for one deal that you'd only expect from McDonald's. So let's point one of these lights at your back to create some separation between you and the background. The other light can be used as a background light if you don't have any lights you want to use at home. The last light in your three-point lighting setup is your fill light, which fills the shadows on your face to make it a little bit less dark. This is really dependent on the look that you're going for and what's available to you because in most cases I've completely stopped using a fill light entirely. But I do want to share a few options for you so that you can adjust how bright your fill is. If you're filming in a white room like I am right now, then the lights will bounce off the walls so that your shadows aren't going to be too dark. So option one is to just not set up a fill light at all. Option two is to get something to bounce the light from the softbox onto your face. Something as simple as a white foam board from a dollar store can do this. Even taping sheets of white paper like what I'm doing right now, you just need to set that up near your face. Option three is to use an additional light. However, I recommend balancing the light instead of pointing it directly at your face. Remember, we want to keep the light on your face soft and fluffy like a marshmallow, so you can use that additional LED you bought to do this. Just aim the light at the white surface and say goodbye to those intense shadows. With your lights set up, you are almost ready to be a content-creating beast, but I have saved the most important thing for last, your audio. Now, I didn't really care about good audio when I first started because I thought that visuals were more important to keep your viewers engaged. But without good sound, a video becomes pretty unbearable to watch and people are going to click one of two buttons, this one or this one. There's so many options now that hook up to your phone, but I want to recommend a wireless lab solution in this video. Instead of being tethered to your phone like a dog on a leash, a wireless lav mic lets you freely move around without having to be an escape artist. Lav mics are small microphones that can be attached to your body for high quality audio. Check out our blog post for more information about different types of microphones and what they accomplish. The ones I'm using right now run about $26. It makes your audio go from sounding like this to this, which is way better to listen to. On the topic of good audio, music and sound effects also play a massive part in creating high quality content. Choosing the wrong music can be another reason for people to click off your videos, so having options to a wide range of genres like on Artlist is pretty handy. They also have templates, footage, plugins, and apps to enhance your video, so check out Artlist if you need high quality assets to match your new high quality studio. Congratulations because you now have an awesome setup that doesn't stop you from creating your best videos. Now if you're looking to upgrade your equipment eventually, then there are so many options out there, but the fundamentals stay the same. In this case, I'm using a more expensive softbox, no fill, and just let the LED lights behind me be the background light and backlight. Now if you want more ways to save money and effort on creating high quality content, then make sure to subscribe to our channel and check out the video where I shot a commercial with only one light. Otherwise, thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next one.