 What's up guys? Today I want to talk about why you should start a YouTube channel as a filmmaker. You might think that YouTube is for vloggers or for people that are in love with themselves. Or you might think that YouTube is for amateurs where you say yourself that is not serious filmmaking. I would say it's partly true because there are a lot of crappy videos out on YouTube that are just a waste of time. But there are also channels out there that produce great quality content that is inspiring and educational for the audience to watch. The good news is that the platform is still growing and it's not too late to hop in and share your content with the world. I want to share my experience with you of how YouTube has influenced and helped me become more successful as a filmmaker. Hopefully with this video I can inspire you to start something new that can benefit you in the long run. Because YouTube is full of opportunities that allows you to get your work in front of the large audience. One of the main benefits of having a YouTube channel is the freedom to express your creativity and create whatever you want. My job as a nurse didn't really give me that creative expression I needed. I always loved making videos and wanted to get better at it so I figured out why not make a YouTube channel and talk about filmmaking. It was a bit easier for me to get started producing content since I possessed some video production skills. But I know other people that started from the very bottom and worked their way up eventually reaching their own success. If you're motivated and have the dedication you could make anything happen with what you have. That's why I give beginners the advice to just get started making videos with their smartphone because on YouTube it's a content that matters. For filmmakers that have the training to bring image and story together you have the advantage to stand out above most people on YouTube because of the better production value. A major reason why most people don't start a YouTube channel is because of the fear of being in front of the camera but that shouldn't hold you back. YouTube has taught me how to talk in front of the camera and I believe that it is a valuable skill to learn to connect better with your audience especially if you're running a small business. I'm not perfect myself and sometimes I still find it difficult to speak in front of a camera without using a teleprompter. That is why I constantly challenge myself to sometimes do tutorials using bullet points and what I want to try out more is creating vlogs with cinematic storytelling in it. As a filmmaker I enjoy doing commercial work for clients but these videos only say so much about me but through a YouTube channel I get to express myself and offer the viewers to connect with me which makes them more investing in my work. I try to bring my subscribers along on my journey not only to educate them but also add value by giving them an insight look at a lifestyle that I have that my viewers may want to pursue. With that you also maximize the opportunity to be recognized for your hard work and talent which opens new doors to collaborate with brands you dreamed of working with. Having a lot of subscribers is great it gives you authority and means that people enjoy the content you create. Though it's more important to not focus yourself too much on subscribers but more on the content creation making sure that you upload consistently being on point keeping the information concise and analyzing where people drop off in your videos. If you don't know what kind of videos you want to make just make those videos that you want to be remembered for and explore that area. When I started out I knew that I wanted to make filmmaking tutorials so that I can learn about it myself and improve my video production skills. YouTube has sort of forced me to put out video consistently which helped me become a better filmmaker. My videos shifted towards making more smartphone filmmaking tutorials because that is an area I enjoy exploring and with that niche I was able to help many other creators start their YouTube channel with what they have. Though making these smartphone filmmaking tutorials growing a following in that niche and connecting with like-minded people here in Switzerland also led me to get hired by Mobile Motion Film Festival to help create a music video shot entirely on the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra that got premiered at the Zurich Film Festival. I also had the chance to give a workshop at another film festival where I showed the participants how to edit their videos on a smartphone. What I want to say is that if people know what you're good at they will hire you for that skill and you get to work on projects that you enjoy. Making a living in video production is difficult. I'm grateful that I can work part-time as a nurse to pursue my career as a filmmaker slash YouTuber. I don't recommend quitting your job and going after your passion full-time rather try building up your business on the side while working part-time at your job. With enough hard work and skill you can turn your passion into living it. Now YouTube helps pay the bills and as a freelance filmmaker you don't necessarily have to accept every non-inspiring project where you have zero creative control. This way you can focus on what's more important and invest a portion of your time on your own goals as a filmmaker which for me is to put work that I'm proud of. So this year has been a good year for me. I was able to grow my audience to around 60,000 subscribers and work on interesting corporate projects together with content creators who are a social media slash video production agency here in Zurich. I have been part of their team since around March and they discovered me through my work on YouTube. I really enjoy working with them, we are a great team. Just creating content on YouTube by yourself can get very lonely. Most of the time you work as a one-man crew that must research the next video idea shoot and edit the video without the help of anyone else and this is especially true if you're starting out. Working in a team produces great ideas and each team member has their own strength and when doing corporate shoots you can distribute those tasks not having to take full responsibility. I enjoy the flexibility to working as an individual but also with a production team. One of the biggest video projects I did with content creators that I enjoyed the most was a 10-second commercial video for my casino in collaboration with Yapil which is a digital bank system. Since we had a good amount of budget and full creative control we were able to hire a crew and together with my friend Ion we directed and edited the commercial which overall was an amazing experience and the client was very happy with the result of the final video. If you want to check out the commercial video we made I will leave a link in the video description below. The combination of producing content on YouTube and working on inspiring client projects with a great team is something that I could imagine doing a lifetime. This way learning never stops and I keep developing my skills. I'm grateful for being able to create videos on YouTube because it allows me to build my own filmmaking career the way I wanted to. If you're a filmmaker that is thinking of starting a YouTube channel just start and don't look back. If you can inspire entertain and educate your audience your video will do well because that is the I would watch. Alright guys thank you so much for watching I hope you enjoyed this episode let me know in the comment section below should you or should you not start a YouTube channel as a filmmaker is it worth it we'd like to know from you guys. If you have any YouTube related questions feel free to comment down below if you're new to this channel make sure to subscribe so that I can keep creating these awesome videos for you guys. If you want to know more about my YouTube strategies make sure to check out this video right here where I explain how I gained 30,000 subscribers fast. If not check out this video that YouTube suggests to you. Thanks a lot for watching guys stay creative and I will see you in the next video.