[New] Breakthrough Techniques in YouTube Content Creation

[New] Breakthrough Techniques in YouTube Content Creation

Steven Lv12

Breakthrough Techniques in YouTube Content Creation

How to Make YouTube Video

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding the audience for short videos you create, sharing your knowledge of publicizing the music you create has become a much simpler and cheaper process in the last fourteen years. ‘Everyone deserves a voice’ is one of the core values that motivates the founders of YouTube to continue developing the world’s largest video sharing platform. So if you are looking for your own voice, but you’re not really sure where to start, you’ve come to the right place, because in this article we are going to show you how to make attention-grabbing YouTube videos that are going to attract a huge audience.

Preparation Stage: Getting Ready to Make a YouTube Video

Achieving success on YouTube may only seem easy before you realize how much time and effort it takes to run a successful YouTube channel. Making a YouTube video isn’t much different than making any other type of short or feature film as you have to go through the same stages of the video production process. Everything, including creating YouTube videos starts with an idea, so let’s take a look at the steps you’ll need to take before you actually start recording your first YouTube video.

1. Start a YouTube Channel

The journey towards success begins with seemingly small and insignificant steps. Creating a YouTube channel is exactly that, a step, without which you won’t be able to become a YouTuber. All you have to do in order to create a channel on YouTube is sign in to the platform using your Google account and then head over to the Settings menu. Click on the Create a new channel option and then pick a name for your Brand channel . Dedicate some extra time to the process of selecting a name for the channel, because that is the first thing your potential followers are going to notice. The platform lets you start as many as fifty channels with one Gmail ID, and as your channels grow, you can add multiple managers to each channel you’ve started. Click on the Create button when you’re done and that’s it you’re now a proud owner of a YouTube channel.

We have summarized some tips and tricks for creating a YouTube channel account , hope that will help you to create a channel more easily.

2. Choose a Niche and Craft a Video Content Strategy

Devising a plan before you start producing content you are going to share on YouTube is going to give you a sense of direction, since there are so many different types of videos that can attract a large audience. Try to imagine your ideal YouTube follower, and then think about what they are interested in or how you can generate value for them through the content you post on your channel. Attempting to cover a broad spectrum of topics usually doesn’t produce the best results, so instead, you should focus on a specific subject and do your best to offer a unique perspective to your viewers on that subject. More importantly, you need to choose the themes for your videos that are relevant to the audience you would like to reach. Gaming, tutorials, beauty or comedy videos are just a few of the most popular genres of videos on YouTube, although which niche you’re going to pick ultimately depends on your personal interests and reasons why you chose to become a YouTuber in the first place.

Additionally, you should follow the hottest trends on the Internet so that you can find out which topics are drawing the most attention at the moment. Don’t let all these questions trouble you, simply choose a niche in which you feel the most comfortable in and start shooting. Keep a watchful eye on how your followers respond to the videos you share on your channel as time goes on and remain open to new ideas or collaborations.

3. Secure a Fresh Supply of YouTube Video Ideas

Defining your niche is just a beginning because you have to keep producing your videos at a steady pace. Most YouTube experts say that sharing new content at least once a week is necessary if you want to gather a large group of followers on your channel. Consequently, you’ll need a constant supply of ideas for new videos that cover topics your audience is interested in. A simple search on YouTube can help you discover the videos on the platform that have the most views. This should give you a pretty good idea which types of videos are the most popular at the moment and what viewers want to see the most.

Reading the comments section below a YouTube video can be a great way to discover new ideas since viewers often ask questions or search for advice on very specific aspects of the topic that particular video is covering. Moreover, YouTube isn’t the only destination on the Internet where you can find inspiration for your next video since there are countless groups and communities where you can come across interesting topics for your next video.

4. Get the Right Video and Audio Recording Equipment

The list of audio and video recording gear you’re going to need to create a YouTube video depends on the type of video you’re trying to make. Gamers who want to record gameplay and post it on their YouTube channel only need a screen capturing software or a capture card and a microphone. The list of equipment is a bit longer for YouTubers interested in the production of vlogs, comedy or review videos since they are going to need a camera or a Smartphone capable of recording videos at high resolutions, lighting equipment, tripods, steady cams, microphones. If you would like to learn more about the pieces of equipment you are going to need while recording a YouTube video, check our picks of the YouTube Video Shooting Equipment List .

Production Stage: Recording a YouTube Video

After you’ve successfully completed the preparation stage it is time to start getting ready for the next step of the process of making a YouTube video. However, you can’t just pick up a camera and start randomly shooting unrelated scenes, instead, you should follow the steps below that make the production of a video much less complicated.

1. Write a Script and Make a Shooting Schedule

Write down all of your ideas for your next video prior to shooting the first shot of that video. A script can be particularly useful if the video you’re planning on making involves a lot of narration since you’ll always know what to say next. Furthermore, you don’t have to record the entire video on the same day, and you have the freedom to plan when and where you are going to record each scene you want to include in the video.

2. Set a Scene

You control what the viewers of your YouTube video are going to see. That’s why you have to choose your shooting locations carefully and to hand-pick each prop that is going to be visible in the shot. Avoid shooting in messy rooms, because the items in the background are going to distract the viewer and reduce the quality of your videos.

3. Pick the Best Camera Positions

Once you know where and when you are going to shoot your video, you should start planning your shots. Most YouTube videos are recorded from a single camera position, but you can also experiment with different shot angles if it helps you to tell the story of the video. Don’t put the actors near direct sources of light like windows or lamps because if you do so you can easily end up ruining the shot.

4. Make Sure that You Have Enough Light in The Shot

Natural sources of light are often not enough to light a scene properly, because the amount of available light you’ll have at your disposal can change in a few minutes. That’s why nearly all YouTubers use lighting kits that enable them to control the amount of light in the shot at any moment.

5. Bonus: Making YouTube Videos Without a Camera

In case using video and audio recording equipment is a bit too technical for you, there is a simple alternative solution since you can capture all activities on your computer’s screen with software products such as Filmora or OBS Studio. This is an excellent option for gamers who want to record gameplay of their favorite video games or skilled educators that would like to share their knowledge and show others how to use a piece of software or perform any other computer-based task.

Besides screencasting, you can also assemble existing footage from old TV shows, movies or cartoons to make a YouTube video. You don’t have to worry about copyright infringements, as long as the footage you’re using is within the public domain. However, if you accidentally end up using footage without permission it is highly unlikely that anyone is going to file a lawsuit, but your video may be removed from your YouTube channel if someone reports that you’ve used footage without the permission from its owners.

Postproduction Stage: Editing the Footage You Recorded

Before you can share the video clips you recorded with a camera, Smartphone or a screencasting software, you should edit them first. Choosing video editing software isn’t always easy since there are so many different options that enable you to perform both basic and advanced video editing tasks. You can check our recommendations about some of the best video editing software for YouTube videos, in case you are still looking for a video editor that is best suited for the price range you’ve had in mind or your skill level. You should choose a video editing app that you feel the most comfortable using since you are going to spend a lot of time editing videos with it.

The video editing techniques you will utilize during the process of piecing together a YouTube video depend on a number of factors that range from the genre of the video to its visual style. However, trimming or cutting the footage, creating opening titles and end credits are among the most common video editing actions you will have to perform on each new project. Mastering these basic video editing techniques is essential for the success of your videos on YouTube since it will enable you to quickly trim a video clip by dragging one of its ends in an inward or outward direction or remove a portion of a clip you don’t want to feature in the final cut of the video from the timeline.

Hard cuts can at times disrupt the flow of a video, but you can easily fix this by adding a transition between two clips. What’s more, nearly all video editing software products on the market come bundled with rich visual and audio effects libraries that make the color grading or audio editing process much faster. Adding opening titles, lower thirds or any other image overlay can help you introduce the characters in the video to the audience, inform the audience about important aspects of the topic you’re covering or summarize the key points of the video.

Creating a soundtrack is also a vital step of the video editing process that largely influences the quality of the final video. That’s why the narration or the dialogues must be recorded professionally since even the slightest background noise can distract the viewer. Whether or not you are going to add music to a video, depends on the type of project you’re working on. Video editing software products like Filmora have their own royalty free music libraries that offer songs from Rock or Electronic and numerous other genres.

When you complete the video editing process, you should export the video to a folder on your hard drive or directly to your YouTube channel if the video editing app you’ve chosen provides that option. How long the rendering of a video is going to take depends on your computer’s processing power, video’s length, and the output resolution.

Adding/Uploading Videos to Your YouTube Channel

As we already noted you can either upload a video to YouTube directly from a video editing software or from a hard drive after the rendering process is completed. You can upload videos with 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios to your channel, and the platform support videos in resolutions up to 8K. The minimum length of a YouTube video is 33 seconds while a video’s maximum length cannot exceed the twelve-hour limit. The file’s size can’t be larger than 128GB while the frame rates can go as high as 60fps. If you need to edit the uploaded and published YouTube videos, you can check our tips about editing existing YouTube videos , and you can check out our guide about how to make money on YouTube if you would like to learn more about account monetization.

Read More to Get : How to Loop a YouTube Video >>

1. Optimize Your Content for YouTube Searches

Every bit of information you add to the video increases its visibility on the platform. Even the name of the file you’re uploading to your channel should contain a keyword, and once the upload is completed you should add a title, description, and metadata if you would like to increase the video’s visibility on the platform. It is vital to select your YouTube SEO strategy before you actually start adding new videos to your strategy. In case you’re not familiar with the concept of search engine optimization for YouTube, you can find everything you need to know aboutYouTube SEO in our guide.

2. Create Visually Captivating Thumbnails and End Screen Elements

A thumbnail is usually a snapshot of a frame from a video, you’ve created during the video editing process or any other still image that suggests what the video is about. A small thing like adding a thumbnail to a YouTube video can increase both the number of views and the number of likes that video is getting. In addition, YouTube’s video editor enables you to add end screens that last anywhere between five and twenty seconds to your videos, but keep in mind that the video must be at least 25 seconds long to have an end screen. There are a number of fully customizable templates available that can be uses to promote your upcoming videos or to invite viewers to subscribe to your channel.

Wanna making YouTube thumbnail yourself? Check some of the best YouTube thumbnail makers list.

3. Publish, Interact and Share

YouTube lets you keep your videos private until you are ready to make them public. Once you decide to make a video available to all YouTube users, you should share it on social media like Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr. Furthermore, embedding a YouTube video on your blog or website can drastically increase the number of views it’s getting. The YouTube Analytics tool is designed to help you track the metrics that indicate how well your video is performing. Don’t know which analytics tools should use? Check our picks of some useful YouTube Analytics Tools to learn how to analyze your video.

How to Make YouTube Videos from a Mac or PC Computer?

Even though you can use almost any video editing software to edit a YouTube video, we recommend trying a versatile video editing app like Filmora to edit videos on Windows PC and Mac which offers both basic and advanced video editing features. Creating a video in Filmora doesn’t require a developed set of video editing skills, since all of the tools and options the editor offers are remarkably easy to use.

When you are ready to start a new project you should simply launch the software, and once the new project loads, you should head over to the File menu and select the Project Settings option that lets you set the resolution, aspect ratio and the frame rate of the video. Proceed to import the footage into the project by selecting one of the available options in the Import drop-down menu or by simply dragging the media assets from a folder on your hard drive and dropping them to the Filmora’s Media Panel. In case you don’t have your own audio and video footage you can download videos, music, visual and audio effects from a stock footage website like Filmstock effects store . Filmora also offers screen casting features, so you can easily record gameplay, show viewers how to use a software or capture any other type of activity on your computer’s screen.

Add each media asset you want to include in the final cut of the video to the timeline and then proceed to remove all unwanted parts of the video and audio clips from the timeline using the Cut or Trim options. Filmora offers rich transitions and visual effects libraries you can use to make the cuts between shot smoother or enhance the colors in the video clips you’re editing. Furthermore, the editor lets you take snapshots of any frame in video clips you’ve placed on the timeline in a single click which can be quite useful if you want to create a thumbnail for your YouTube video. Creating the opening titles, end credits or adding different image overlays to a video is a straight forward process since you just have to select the option that fits the style of the video you’re creating and add it to the timeline. Once you’ve completed the video editing process, you can click on the Export button and decide if you want to export a video directly to your YouTube channel or to a destination on your hard drive.

New to Filmora? Check our beginner guide about How to Edit Videos in Filmora in details or check the quick video tutorial below to find out more details.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

Conclusion

Becoming a successful YouTuber requires a lot of dedication and hard work, so if at first, you don’t succeed, you should be patient and persistent. In time, as your channel grows, you will be able to monetize your videos, but only if you keep producing new content at a steady pace. Each step of the YouTube creation process is equally important, and you should dedicate an equal amount of attention to recording high-quality footage, editing, and promotion of the content you share on your YouTube channel. Was this article helpful? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts and experiences with us.

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding the audience for short videos you create, sharing your knowledge of publicizing the music you create has become a much simpler and cheaper process in the last fourteen years. ‘Everyone deserves a voice’ is one of the core values that motivates the founders of YouTube to continue developing the world’s largest video sharing platform. So if you are looking for your own voice, but you’re not really sure where to start, you’ve come to the right place, because in this article we are going to show you how to make attention-grabbing YouTube videos that are going to attract a huge audience.

Preparation Stage: Getting Ready to Make a YouTube Video

Achieving success on YouTube may only seem easy before you realize how much time and effort it takes to run a successful YouTube channel. Making a YouTube video isn’t much different than making any other type of short or feature film as you have to go through the same stages of the video production process. Everything, including creating YouTube videos starts with an idea, so let’s take a look at the steps you’ll need to take before you actually start recording your first YouTube video.

1. Start a YouTube Channel

The journey towards success begins with seemingly small and insignificant steps. Creating a YouTube channel is exactly that, a step, without which you won’t be able to become a YouTuber. All you have to do in order to create a channel on YouTube is sign in to the platform using your Google account and then head over to the Settings menu. Click on the Create a new channel option and then pick a name for your Brand channel . Dedicate some extra time to the process of selecting a name for the channel, because that is the first thing your potential followers are going to notice. The platform lets you start as many as fifty channels with one Gmail ID, and as your channels grow, you can add multiple managers to each channel you’ve started. Click on the Create button when you’re done and that’s it you’re now a proud owner of a YouTube channel.

We have summarized some tips and tricks for creating a YouTube channel account , hope that will help you to create a channel more easily.

2. Choose a Niche and Craft a Video Content Strategy

Devising a plan before you start producing content you are going to share on YouTube is going to give you a sense of direction, since there are so many different types of videos that can attract a large audience. Try to imagine your ideal YouTube follower, and then think about what they are interested in or how you can generate value for them through the content you post on your channel. Attempting to cover a broad spectrum of topics usually doesn’t produce the best results, so instead, you should focus on a specific subject and do your best to offer a unique perspective to your viewers on that subject. More importantly, you need to choose the themes for your videos that are relevant to the audience you would like to reach. Gaming, tutorials, beauty or comedy videos are just a few of the most popular genres of videos on YouTube, although which niche you’re going to pick ultimately depends on your personal interests and reasons why you chose to become a YouTuber in the first place.

Additionally, you should follow the hottest trends on the Internet so that you can find out which topics are drawing the most attention at the moment. Don’t let all these questions trouble you, simply choose a niche in which you feel the most comfortable in and start shooting. Keep a watchful eye on how your followers respond to the videos you share on your channel as time goes on and remain open to new ideas or collaborations.

3. Secure a Fresh Supply of YouTube Video Ideas

Defining your niche is just a beginning because you have to keep producing your videos at a steady pace. Most YouTube experts say that sharing new content at least once a week is necessary if you want to gather a large group of followers on your channel. Consequently, you’ll need a constant supply of ideas for new videos that cover topics your audience is interested in. A simple search on YouTube can help you discover the videos on the platform that have the most views. This should give you a pretty good idea which types of videos are the most popular at the moment and what viewers want to see the most.

Reading the comments section below a YouTube video can be a great way to discover new ideas since viewers often ask questions or search for advice on very specific aspects of the topic that particular video is covering. Moreover, YouTube isn’t the only destination on the Internet where you can find inspiration for your next video since there are countless groups and communities where you can come across interesting topics for your next video.

4. Get the Right Video and Audio Recording Equipment

The list of audio and video recording gear you’re going to need to create a YouTube video depends on the type of video you’re trying to make. Gamers who want to record gameplay and post it on their YouTube channel only need a screen capturing software or a capture card and a microphone. The list of equipment is a bit longer for YouTubers interested in the production of vlogs, comedy or review videos since they are going to need a camera or a Smartphone capable of recording videos at high resolutions, lighting equipment, tripods, steady cams, microphones. If you would like to learn more about the pieces of equipment you are going to need while recording a YouTube video, check our picks of the YouTube Video Shooting Equipment List .

Production Stage: Recording a YouTube Video

After you’ve successfully completed the preparation stage it is time to start getting ready for the next step of the process of making a YouTube video. However, you can’t just pick up a camera and start randomly shooting unrelated scenes, instead, you should follow the steps below that make the production of a video much less complicated.

1. Write a Script and Make a Shooting Schedule

Write down all of your ideas for your next video prior to shooting the first shot of that video. A script can be particularly useful if the video you’re planning on making involves a lot of narration since you’ll always know what to say next. Furthermore, you don’t have to record the entire video on the same day, and you have the freedom to plan when and where you are going to record each scene you want to include in the video.

2. Set a Scene

You control what the viewers of your YouTube video are going to see. That’s why you have to choose your shooting locations carefully and to hand-pick each prop that is going to be visible in the shot. Avoid shooting in messy rooms, because the items in the background are going to distract the viewer and reduce the quality of your videos.

3. Pick the Best Camera Positions

Once you know where and when you are going to shoot your video, you should start planning your shots. Most YouTube videos are recorded from a single camera position, but you can also experiment with different shot angles if it helps you to tell the story of the video. Don’t put the actors near direct sources of light like windows or lamps because if you do so you can easily end up ruining the shot.

4. Make Sure that You Have Enough Light in The Shot

Natural sources of light are often not enough to light a scene properly, because the amount of available light you’ll have at your disposal can change in a few minutes. That’s why nearly all YouTubers use lighting kits that enable them to control the amount of light in the shot at any moment.

5. Bonus: Making YouTube Videos Without a Camera

In case using video and audio recording equipment is a bit too technical for you, there is a simple alternative solution since you can capture all activities on your computer’s screen with software products such as Filmora or OBS Studio. This is an excellent option for gamers who want to record gameplay of their favorite video games or skilled educators that would like to share their knowledge and show others how to use a piece of software or perform any other computer-based task.

Besides screencasting, you can also assemble existing footage from old TV shows, movies or cartoons to make a YouTube video. You don’t have to worry about copyright infringements, as long as the footage you’re using is within the public domain. However, if you accidentally end up using footage without permission it is highly unlikely that anyone is going to file a lawsuit, but your video may be removed from your YouTube channel if someone reports that you’ve used footage without the permission from its owners.

Postproduction Stage: Editing the Footage You Recorded

Before you can share the video clips you recorded with a camera, Smartphone or a screencasting software, you should edit them first. Choosing video editing software isn’t always easy since there are so many different options that enable you to perform both basic and advanced video editing tasks. You can check our recommendations about some of the best video editing software for YouTube videos, in case you are still looking for a video editor that is best suited for the price range you’ve had in mind or your skill level. You should choose a video editing app that you feel the most comfortable using since you are going to spend a lot of time editing videos with it.

The video editing techniques you will utilize during the process of piecing together a YouTube video depend on a number of factors that range from the genre of the video to its visual style. However, trimming or cutting the footage, creating opening titles and end credits are among the most common video editing actions you will have to perform on each new project. Mastering these basic video editing techniques is essential for the success of your videos on YouTube since it will enable you to quickly trim a video clip by dragging one of its ends in an inward or outward direction or remove a portion of a clip you don’t want to feature in the final cut of the video from the timeline.

Hard cuts can at times disrupt the flow of a video, but you can easily fix this by adding a transition between two clips. What’s more, nearly all video editing software products on the market come bundled with rich visual and audio effects libraries that make the color grading or audio editing process much faster. Adding opening titles, lower thirds or any other image overlay can help you introduce the characters in the video to the audience, inform the audience about important aspects of the topic you’re covering or summarize the key points of the video.

Creating a soundtrack is also a vital step of the video editing process that largely influences the quality of the final video. That’s why the narration or the dialogues must be recorded professionally since even the slightest background noise can distract the viewer. Whether or not you are going to add music to a video, depends on the type of project you’re working on. Video editing software products like Filmora have their own royalty free music libraries that offer songs from Rock or Electronic and numerous other genres.

When you complete the video editing process, you should export the video to a folder on your hard drive or directly to your YouTube channel if the video editing app you’ve chosen provides that option. How long the rendering of a video is going to take depends on your computer’s processing power, video’s length, and the output resolution.

Adding/Uploading Videos to Your YouTube Channel

As we already noted you can either upload a video to YouTube directly from a video editing software or from a hard drive after the rendering process is completed. You can upload videos with 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios to your channel, and the platform support videos in resolutions up to 8K. The minimum length of a YouTube video is 33 seconds while a video’s maximum length cannot exceed the twelve-hour limit. The file’s size can’t be larger than 128GB while the frame rates can go as high as 60fps. If you need to edit the uploaded and published YouTube videos, you can check our tips about editing existing YouTube videos , and you can check out our guide about how to make money on YouTube if you would like to learn more about account monetization.

Read More to Get : How to Loop a YouTube Video >>

1. Optimize Your Content for YouTube Searches

Every bit of information you add to the video increases its visibility on the platform. Even the name of the file you’re uploading to your channel should contain a keyword, and once the upload is completed you should add a title, description, and metadata if you would like to increase the video’s visibility on the platform. It is vital to select your YouTube SEO strategy before you actually start adding new videos to your strategy. In case you’re not familiar with the concept of search engine optimization for YouTube, you can find everything you need to know aboutYouTube SEO in our guide.

2. Create Visually Captivating Thumbnails and End Screen Elements

A thumbnail is usually a snapshot of a frame from a video, you’ve created during the video editing process or any other still image that suggests what the video is about. A small thing like adding a thumbnail to a YouTube video can increase both the number of views and the number of likes that video is getting. In addition, YouTube’s video editor enables you to add end screens that last anywhere between five and twenty seconds to your videos, but keep in mind that the video must be at least 25 seconds long to have an end screen. There are a number of fully customizable templates available that can be uses to promote your upcoming videos or to invite viewers to subscribe to your channel.

Wanna making YouTube thumbnail yourself? Check some of the best YouTube thumbnail makers list.

3. Publish, Interact and Share

YouTube lets you keep your videos private until you are ready to make them public. Once you decide to make a video available to all YouTube users, you should share it on social media like Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr. Furthermore, embedding a YouTube video on your blog or website can drastically increase the number of views it’s getting. The YouTube Analytics tool is designed to help you track the metrics that indicate how well your video is performing. Don’t know which analytics tools should use? Check our picks of some useful YouTube Analytics Tools to learn how to analyze your video.

How to Make YouTube Videos from a Mac or PC Computer?

Even though you can use almost any video editing software to edit a YouTube video, we recommend trying a versatile video editing app like Filmora to edit videos on Windows PC and Mac which offers both basic and advanced video editing features. Creating a video in Filmora doesn’t require a developed set of video editing skills, since all of the tools and options the editor offers are remarkably easy to use.

When you are ready to start a new project you should simply launch the software, and once the new project loads, you should head over to the File menu and select the Project Settings option that lets you set the resolution, aspect ratio and the frame rate of the video. Proceed to import the footage into the project by selecting one of the available options in the Import drop-down menu or by simply dragging the media assets from a folder on your hard drive and dropping them to the Filmora’s Media Panel. In case you don’t have your own audio and video footage you can download videos, music, visual and audio effects from a stock footage website like Filmstock effects store . Filmora also offers screen casting features, so you can easily record gameplay, show viewers how to use a software or capture any other type of activity on your computer’s screen.

Add each media asset you want to include in the final cut of the video to the timeline and then proceed to remove all unwanted parts of the video and audio clips from the timeline using the Cut or Trim options. Filmora offers rich transitions and visual effects libraries you can use to make the cuts between shot smoother or enhance the colors in the video clips you’re editing. Furthermore, the editor lets you take snapshots of any frame in video clips you’ve placed on the timeline in a single click which can be quite useful if you want to create a thumbnail for your YouTube video. Creating the opening titles, end credits or adding different image overlays to a video is a straight forward process since you just have to select the option that fits the style of the video you’re creating and add it to the timeline. Once you’ve completed the video editing process, you can click on the Export button and decide if you want to export a video directly to your YouTube channel or to a destination on your hard drive.

New to Filmora? Check our beginner guide about How to Edit Videos in Filmora in details or check the quick video tutorial below to find out more details.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

Conclusion

Becoming a successful YouTuber requires a lot of dedication and hard work, so if at first, you don’t succeed, you should be patient and persistent. In time, as your channel grows, you will be able to monetize your videos, but only if you keep producing new content at a steady pace. Each step of the YouTube creation process is equally important, and you should dedicate an equal amount of attention to recording high-quality footage, editing, and promotion of the content you share on your YouTube channel. Was this article helpful? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts and experiences with us.

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding the audience for short videos you create, sharing your knowledge of publicizing the music you create has become a much simpler and cheaper process in the last fourteen years. ‘Everyone deserves a voice’ is one of the core values that motivates the founders of YouTube to continue developing the world’s largest video sharing platform. So if you are looking for your own voice, but you’re not really sure where to start, you’ve come to the right place, because in this article we are going to show you how to make attention-grabbing YouTube videos that are going to attract a huge audience.

Preparation Stage: Getting Ready to Make a YouTube Video

Achieving success on YouTube may only seem easy before you realize how much time and effort it takes to run a successful YouTube channel. Making a YouTube video isn’t much different than making any other type of short or feature film as you have to go through the same stages of the video production process. Everything, including creating YouTube videos starts with an idea, so let’s take a look at the steps you’ll need to take before you actually start recording your first YouTube video.

1. Start a YouTube Channel

The journey towards success begins with seemingly small and insignificant steps. Creating a YouTube channel is exactly that, a step, without which you won’t be able to become a YouTuber. All you have to do in order to create a channel on YouTube is sign in to the platform using your Google account and then head over to the Settings menu. Click on the Create a new channel option and then pick a name for your Brand channel . Dedicate some extra time to the process of selecting a name for the channel, because that is the first thing your potential followers are going to notice. The platform lets you start as many as fifty channels with one Gmail ID, and as your channels grow, you can add multiple managers to each channel you’ve started. Click on the Create button when you’re done and that’s it you’re now a proud owner of a YouTube channel.

We have summarized some tips and tricks for creating a YouTube channel account , hope that will help you to create a channel more easily.

2. Choose a Niche and Craft a Video Content Strategy

Devising a plan before you start producing content you are going to share on YouTube is going to give you a sense of direction, since there are so many different types of videos that can attract a large audience. Try to imagine your ideal YouTube follower, and then think about what they are interested in or how you can generate value for them through the content you post on your channel. Attempting to cover a broad spectrum of topics usually doesn’t produce the best results, so instead, you should focus on a specific subject and do your best to offer a unique perspective to your viewers on that subject. More importantly, you need to choose the themes for your videos that are relevant to the audience you would like to reach. Gaming, tutorials, beauty or comedy videos are just a few of the most popular genres of videos on YouTube, although which niche you’re going to pick ultimately depends on your personal interests and reasons why you chose to become a YouTuber in the first place.

Additionally, you should follow the hottest trends on the Internet so that you can find out which topics are drawing the most attention at the moment. Don’t let all these questions trouble you, simply choose a niche in which you feel the most comfortable in and start shooting. Keep a watchful eye on how your followers respond to the videos you share on your channel as time goes on and remain open to new ideas or collaborations.

3. Secure a Fresh Supply of YouTube Video Ideas

Defining your niche is just a beginning because you have to keep producing your videos at a steady pace. Most YouTube experts say that sharing new content at least once a week is necessary if you want to gather a large group of followers on your channel. Consequently, you’ll need a constant supply of ideas for new videos that cover topics your audience is interested in. A simple search on YouTube can help you discover the videos on the platform that have the most views. This should give you a pretty good idea which types of videos are the most popular at the moment and what viewers want to see the most.

Reading the comments section below a YouTube video can be a great way to discover new ideas since viewers often ask questions or search for advice on very specific aspects of the topic that particular video is covering. Moreover, YouTube isn’t the only destination on the Internet where you can find inspiration for your next video since there are countless groups and communities where you can come across interesting topics for your next video.

4. Get the Right Video and Audio Recording Equipment

The list of audio and video recording gear you’re going to need to create a YouTube video depends on the type of video you’re trying to make. Gamers who want to record gameplay and post it on their YouTube channel only need a screen capturing software or a capture card and a microphone. The list of equipment is a bit longer for YouTubers interested in the production of vlogs, comedy or review videos since they are going to need a camera or a Smartphone capable of recording videos at high resolutions, lighting equipment, tripods, steady cams, microphones. If you would like to learn more about the pieces of equipment you are going to need while recording a YouTube video, check our picks of the YouTube Video Shooting Equipment List .

Production Stage: Recording a YouTube Video

After you’ve successfully completed the preparation stage it is time to start getting ready for the next step of the process of making a YouTube video. However, you can’t just pick up a camera and start randomly shooting unrelated scenes, instead, you should follow the steps below that make the production of a video much less complicated.

1. Write a Script and Make a Shooting Schedule

Write down all of your ideas for your next video prior to shooting the first shot of that video. A script can be particularly useful if the video you’re planning on making involves a lot of narration since you’ll always know what to say next. Furthermore, you don’t have to record the entire video on the same day, and you have the freedom to plan when and where you are going to record each scene you want to include in the video.

2. Set a Scene

You control what the viewers of your YouTube video are going to see. That’s why you have to choose your shooting locations carefully and to hand-pick each prop that is going to be visible in the shot. Avoid shooting in messy rooms, because the items in the background are going to distract the viewer and reduce the quality of your videos.

3. Pick the Best Camera Positions

Once you know where and when you are going to shoot your video, you should start planning your shots. Most YouTube videos are recorded from a single camera position, but you can also experiment with different shot angles if it helps you to tell the story of the video. Don’t put the actors near direct sources of light like windows or lamps because if you do so you can easily end up ruining the shot.

4. Make Sure that You Have Enough Light in The Shot

Natural sources of light are often not enough to light a scene properly, because the amount of available light you’ll have at your disposal can change in a few minutes. That’s why nearly all YouTubers use lighting kits that enable them to control the amount of light in the shot at any moment.

5. Bonus: Making YouTube Videos Without a Camera

In case using video and audio recording equipment is a bit too technical for you, there is a simple alternative solution since you can capture all activities on your computer’s screen with software products such as Filmora or OBS Studio. This is an excellent option for gamers who want to record gameplay of their favorite video games or skilled educators that would like to share their knowledge and show others how to use a piece of software or perform any other computer-based task.

Besides screencasting, you can also assemble existing footage from old TV shows, movies or cartoons to make a YouTube video. You don’t have to worry about copyright infringements, as long as the footage you’re using is within the public domain. However, if you accidentally end up using footage without permission it is highly unlikely that anyone is going to file a lawsuit, but your video may be removed from your YouTube channel if someone reports that you’ve used footage without the permission from its owners.

Postproduction Stage: Editing the Footage You Recorded

Before you can share the video clips you recorded with a camera, Smartphone or a screencasting software, you should edit them first. Choosing video editing software isn’t always easy since there are so many different options that enable you to perform both basic and advanced video editing tasks. You can check our recommendations about some of the best video editing software for YouTube videos, in case you are still looking for a video editor that is best suited for the price range you’ve had in mind or your skill level. You should choose a video editing app that you feel the most comfortable using since you are going to spend a lot of time editing videos with it.

The video editing techniques you will utilize during the process of piecing together a YouTube video depend on a number of factors that range from the genre of the video to its visual style. However, trimming or cutting the footage, creating opening titles and end credits are among the most common video editing actions you will have to perform on each new project. Mastering these basic video editing techniques is essential for the success of your videos on YouTube since it will enable you to quickly trim a video clip by dragging one of its ends in an inward or outward direction or remove a portion of a clip you don’t want to feature in the final cut of the video from the timeline.

Hard cuts can at times disrupt the flow of a video, but you can easily fix this by adding a transition between two clips. What’s more, nearly all video editing software products on the market come bundled with rich visual and audio effects libraries that make the color grading or audio editing process much faster. Adding opening titles, lower thirds or any other image overlay can help you introduce the characters in the video to the audience, inform the audience about important aspects of the topic you’re covering or summarize the key points of the video.

Creating a soundtrack is also a vital step of the video editing process that largely influences the quality of the final video. That’s why the narration or the dialogues must be recorded professionally since even the slightest background noise can distract the viewer. Whether or not you are going to add music to a video, depends on the type of project you’re working on. Video editing software products like Filmora have their own royalty free music libraries that offer songs from Rock or Electronic and numerous other genres.

When you complete the video editing process, you should export the video to a folder on your hard drive or directly to your YouTube channel if the video editing app you’ve chosen provides that option. How long the rendering of a video is going to take depends on your computer’s processing power, video’s length, and the output resolution.

Adding/Uploading Videos to Your YouTube Channel

As we already noted you can either upload a video to YouTube directly from a video editing software or from a hard drive after the rendering process is completed. You can upload videos with 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios to your channel, and the platform support videos in resolutions up to 8K. The minimum length of a YouTube video is 33 seconds while a video’s maximum length cannot exceed the twelve-hour limit. The file’s size can’t be larger than 128GB while the frame rates can go as high as 60fps. If you need to edit the uploaded and published YouTube videos, you can check our tips about editing existing YouTube videos , and you can check out our guide about how to make money on YouTube if you would like to learn more about account monetization.

Read More to Get : How to Loop a YouTube Video >>

1. Optimize Your Content for YouTube Searches

Every bit of information you add to the video increases its visibility on the platform. Even the name of the file you’re uploading to your channel should contain a keyword, and once the upload is completed you should add a title, description, and metadata if you would like to increase the video’s visibility on the platform. It is vital to select your YouTube SEO strategy before you actually start adding new videos to your strategy. In case you’re not familiar with the concept of search engine optimization for YouTube, you can find everything you need to know aboutYouTube SEO in our guide.

2. Create Visually Captivating Thumbnails and End Screen Elements

A thumbnail is usually a snapshot of a frame from a video, you’ve created during the video editing process or any other still image that suggests what the video is about. A small thing like adding a thumbnail to a YouTube video can increase both the number of views and the number of likes that video is getting. In addition, YouTube’s video editor enables you to add end screens that last anywhere between five and twenty seconds to your videos, but keep in mind that the video must be at least 25 seconds long to have an end screen. There are a number of fully customizable templates available that can be uses to promote your upcoming videos or to invite viewers to subscribe to your channel.

Wanna making YouTube thumbnail yourself? Check some of the best YouTube thumbnail makers list.

3. Publish, Interact and Share

YouTube lets you keep your videos private until you are ready to make them public. Once you decide to make a video available to all YouTube users, you should share it on social media like Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr. Furthermore, embedding a YouTube video on your blog or website can drastically increase the number of views it’s getting. The YouTube Analytics tool is designed to help you track the metrics that indicate how well your video is performing. Don’t know which analytics tools should use? Check our picks of some useful YouTube Analytics Tools to learn how to analyze your video.

How to Make YouTube Videos from a Mac or PC Computer?

Even though you can use almost any video editing software to edit a YouTube video, we recommend trying a versatile video editing app like Filmora to edit videos on Windows PC and Mac which offers both basic and advanced video editing features. Creating a video in Filmora doesn’t require a developed set of video editing skills, since all of the tools and options the editor offers are remarkably easy to use.

When you are ready to start a new project you should simply launch the software, and once the new project loads, you should head over to the File menu and select the Project Settings option that lets you set the resolution, aspect ratio and the frame rate of the video. Proceed to import the footage into the project by selecting one of the available options in the Import drop-down menu or by simply dragging the media assets from a folder on your hard drive and dropping them to the Filmora’s Media Panel. In case you don’t have your own audio and video footage you can download videos, music, visual and audio effects from a stock footage website like Filmstock effects store . Filmora also offers screen casting features, so you can easily record gameplay, show viewers how to use a software or capture any other type of activity on your computer’s screen.

Add each media asset you want to include in the final cut of the video to the timeline and then proceed to remove all unwanted parts of the video and audio clips from the timeline using the Cut or Trim options. Filmora offers rich transitions and visual effects libraries you can use to make the cuts between shot smoother or enhance the colors in the video clips you’re editing. Furthermore, the editor lets you take snapshots of any frame in video clips you’ve placed on the timeline in a single click which can be quite useful if you want to create a thumbnail for your YouTube video. Creating the opening titles, end credits or adding different image overlays to a video is a straight forward process since you just have to select the option that fits the style of the video you’re creating and add it to the timeline. Once you’ve completed the video editing process, you can click on the Export button and decide if you want to export a video directly to your YouTube channel or to a destination on your hard drive.

New to Filmora? Check our beginner guide about How to Edit Videos in Filmora in details or check the quick video tutorial below to find out more details.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

Conclusion

Becoming a successful YouTuber requires a lot of dedication and hard work, so if at first, you don’t succeed, you should be patient and persistent. In time, as your channel grows, you will be able to monetize your videos, but only if you keep producing new content at a steady pace. Each step of the YouTube creation process is equally important, and you should dedicate an equal amount of attention to recording high-quality footage, editing, and promotion of the content you share on your YouTube channel. Was this article helpful? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts and experiences with us.

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding the audience for short videos you create, sharing your knowledge of publicizing the music you create has become a much simpler and cheaper process in the last fourteen years. ‘Everyone deserves a voice’ is one of the core values that motivates the founders of YouTube to continue developing the world’s largest video sharing platform. So if you are looking for your own voice, but you’re not really sure where to start, you’ve come to the right place, because in this article we are going to show you how to make attention-grabbing YouTube videos that are going to attract a huge audience.

Preparation Stage: Getting Ready to Make a YouTube Video

Achieving success on YouTube may only seem easy before you realize how much time and effort it takes to run a successful YouTube channel. Making a YouTube video isn’t much different than making any other type of short or feature film as you have to go through the same stages of the video production process. Everything, including creating YouTube videos starts with an idea, so let’s take a look at the steps you’ll need to take before you actually start recording your first YouTube video.

1. Start a YouTube Channel

The journey towards success begins with seemingly small and insignificant steps. Creating a YouTube channel is exactly that, a step, without which you won’t be able to become a YouTuber. All you have to do in order to create a channel on YouTube is sign in to the platform using your Google account and then head over to the Settings menu. Click on the Create a new channel option and then pick a name for your Brand channel . Dedicate some extra time to the process of selecting a name for the channel, because that is the first thing your potential followers are going to notice. The platform lets you start as many as fifty channels with one Gmail ID, and as your channels grow, you can add multiple managers to each channel you’ve started. Click on the Create button when you’re done and that’s it you’re now a proud owner of a YouTube channel.

We have summarized some tips and tricks for creating a YouTube channel account , hope that will help you to create a channel more easily.

2. Choose a Niche and Craft a Video Content Strategy

Devising a plan before you start producing content you are going to share on YouTube is going to give you a sense of direction, since there are so many different types of videos that can attract a large audience. Try to imagine your ideal YouTube follower, and then think about what they are interested in or how you can generate value for them through the content you post on your channel. Attempting to cover a broad spectrum of topics usually doesn’t produce the best results, so instead, you should focus on a specific subject and do your best to offer a unique perspective to your viewers on that subject. More importantly, you need to choose the themes for your videos that are relevant to the audience you would like to reach. Gaming, tutorials, beauty or comedy videos are just a few of the most popular genres of videos on YouTube, although which niche you’re going to pick ultimately depends on your personal interests and reasons why you chose to become a YouTuber in the first place.

Additionally, you should follow the hottest trends on the Internet so that you can find out which topics are drawing the most attention at the moment. Don’t let all these questions trouble you, simply choose a niche in which you feel the most comfortable in and start shooting. Keep a watchful eye on how your followers respond to the videos you share on your channel as time goes on and remain open to new ideas or collaborations.

3. Secure a Fresh Supply of YouTube Video Ideas

Defining your niche is just a beginning because you have to keep producing your videos at a steady pace. Most YouTube experts say that sharing new content at least once a week is necessary if you want to gather a large group of followers on your channel. Consequently, you’ll need a constant supply of ideas for new videos that cover topics your audience is interested in. A simple search on YouTube can help you discover the videos on the platform that have the most views. This should give you a pretty good idea which types of videos are the most popular at the moment and what viewers want to see the most.

Reading the comments section below a YouTube video can be a great way to discover new ideas since viewers often ask questions or search for advice on very specific aspects of the topic that particular video is covering. Moreover, YouTube isn’t the only destination on the Internet where you can find inspiration for your next video since there are countless groups and communities where you can come across interesting topics for your next video.

4. Get the Right Video and Audio Recording Equipment

The list of audio and video recording gear you’re going to need to create a YouTube video depends on the type of video you’re trying to make. Gamers who want to record gameplay and post it on their YouTube channel only need a screen capturing software or a capture card and a microphone. The list of equipment is a bit longer for YouTubers interested in the production of vlogs, comedy or review videos since they are going to need a camera or a Smartphone capable of recording videos at high resolutions, lighting equipment, tripods, steady cams, microphones. If you would like to learn more about the pieces of equipment you are going to need while recording a YouTube video, check our picks of the YouTube Video Shooting Equipment List .

Production Stage: Recording a YouTube Video

After you’ve successfully completed the preparation stage it is time to start getting ready for the next step of the process of making a YouTube video. However, you can’t just pick up a camera and start randomly shooting unrelated scenes, instead, you should follow the steps below that make the production of a video much less complicated.

1. Write a Script and Make a Shooting Schedule

Write down all of your ideas for your next video prior to shooting the first shot of that video. A script can be particularly useful if the video you’re planning on making involves a lot of narration since you’ll always know what to say next. Furthermore, you don’t have to record the entire video on the same day, and you have the freedom to plan when and where you are going to record each scene you want to include in the video.

2. Set a Scene

You control what the viewers of your YouTube video are going to see. That’s why you have to choose your shooting locations carefully and to hand-pick each prop that is going to be visible in the shot. Avoid shooting in messy rooms, because the items in the background are going to distract the viewer and reduce the quality of your videos.

3. Pick the Best Camera Positions

Once you know where and when you are going to shoot your video, you should start planning your shots. Most YouTube videos are recorded from a single camera position, but you can also experiment with different shot angles if it helps you to tell the story of the video. Don’t put the actors near direct sources of light like windows or lamps because if you do so you can easily end up ruining the shot.

4. Make Sure that You Have Enough Light in The Shot

Natural sources of light are often not enough to light a scene properly, because the amount of available light you’ll have at your disposal can change in a few minutes. That’s why nearly all YouTubers use lighting kits that enable them to control the amount of light in the shot at any moment.

5. Bonus: Making YouTube Videos Without a Camera

In case using video and audio recording equipment is a bit too technical for you, there is a simple alternative solution since you can capture all activities on your computer’s screen with software products such as Filmora or OBS Studio. This is an excellent option for gamers who want to record gameplay of their favorite video games or skilled educators that would like to share their knowledge and show others how to use a piece of software or perform any other computer-based task.

Besides screencasting, you can also assemble existing footage from old TV shows, movies or cartoons to make a YouTube video. You don’t have to worry about copyright infringements, as long as the footage you’re using is within the public domain. However, if you accidentally end up using footage without permission it is highly unlikely that anyone is going to file a lawsuit, but your video may be removed from your YouTube channel if someone reports that you’ve used footage without the permission from its owners.

Postproduction Stage: Editing the Footage You Recorded

Before you can share the video clips you recorded with a camera, Smartphone or a screencasting software, you should edit them first. Choosing video editing software isn’t always easy since there are so many different options that enable you to perform both basic and advanced video editing tasks. You can check our recommendations about some of the best video editing software for YouTube videos, in case you are still looking for a video editor that is best suited for the price range you’ve had in mind or your skill level. You should choose a video editing app that you feel the most comfortable using since you are going to spend a lot of time editing videos with it.

The video editing techniques you will utilize during the process of piecing together a YouTube video depend on a number of factors that range from the genre of the video to its visual style. However, trimming or cutting the footage, creating opening titles and end credits are among the most common video editing actions you will have to perform on each new project. Mastering these basic video editing techniques is essential for the success of your videos on YouTube since it will enable you to quickly trim a video clip by dragging one of its ends in an inward or outward direction or remove a portion of a clip you don’t want to feature in the final cut of the video from the timeline.

Hard cuts can at times disrupt the flow of a video, but you can easily fix this by adding a transition between two clips. What’s more, nearly all video editing software products on the market come bundled with rich visual and audio effects libraries that make the color grading or audio editing process much faster. Adding opening titles, lower thirds or any other image overlay can help you introduce the characters in the video to the audience, inform the audience about important aspects of the topic you’re covering or summarize the key points of the video.

Creating a soundtrack is also a vital step of the video editing process that largely influences the quality of the final video. That’s why the narration or the dialogues must be recorded professionally since even the slightest background noise can distract the viewer. Whether or not you are going to add music to a video, depends on the type of project you’re working on. Video editing software products like Filmora have their own royalty free music libraries that offer songs from Rock or Electronic and numerous other genres.

When you complete the video editing process, you should export the video to a folder on your hard drive or directly to your YouTube channel if the video editing app you’ve chosen provides that option. How long the rendering of a video is going to take depends on your computer’s processing power, video’s length, and the output resolution.

Adding/Uploading Videos to Your YouTube Channel

As we already noted you can either upload a video to YouTube directly from a video editing software or from a hard drive after the rendering process is completed. You can upload videos with 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios to your channel, and the platform support videos in resolutions up to 8K. The minimum length of a YouTube video is 33 seconds while a video’s maximum length cannot exceed the twelve-hour limit. The file’s size can’t be larger than 128GB while the frame rates can go as high as 60fps. If you need to edit the uploaded and published YouTube videos, you can check our tips about editing existing YouTube videos , and you can check out our guide about how to make money on YouTube if you would like to learn more about account monetization.

Read More to Get : How to Loop a YouTube Video >>

1. Optimize Your Content for YouTube Searches

Every bit of information you add to the video increases its visibility on the platform. Even the name of the file you’re uploading to your channel should contain a keyword, and once the upload is completed you should add a title, description, and metadata if you would like to increase the video’s visibility on the platform. It is vital to select your YouTube SEO strategy before you actually start adding new videos to your strategy. In case you’re not familiar with the concept of search engine optimization for YouTube, you can find everything you need to know aboutYouTube SEO in our guide.

2. Create Visually Captivating Thumbnails and End Screen Elements

A thumbnail is usually a snapshot of a frame from a video, you’ve created during the video editing process or any other still image that suggests what the video is about. A small thing like adding a thumbnail to a YouTube video can increase both the number of views and the number of likes that video is getting. In addition, YouTube’s video editor enables you to add end screens that last anywhere between five and twenty seconds to your videos, but keep in mind that the video must be at least 25 seconds long to have an end screen. There are a number of fully customizable templates available that can be uses to promote your upcoming videos or to invite viewers to subscribe to your channel.

Wanna making YouTube thumbnail yourself? Check some of the best YouTube thumbnail makers list.

3. Publish, Interact and Share

YouTube lets you keep your videos private until you are ready to make them public. Once you decide to make a video available to all YouTube users, you should share it on social media like Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr. Furthermore, embedding a YouTube video on your blog or website can drastically increase the number of views it’s getting. The YouTube Analytics tool is designed to help you track the metrics that indicate how well your video is performing. Don’t know which analytics tools should use? Check our picks of some useful YouTube Analytics Tools to learn how to analyze your video.

How to Make YouTube Videos from a Mac or PC Computer?

Even though you can use almost any video editing software to edit a YouTube video, we recommend trying a versatile video editing app like Filmora to edit videos on Windows PC and Mac which offers both basic and advanced video editing features. Creating a video in Filmora doesn’t require a developed set of video editing skills, since all of the tools and options the editor offers are remarkably easy to use.

When you are ready to start a new project you should simply launch the software, and once the new project loads, you should head over to the File menu and select the Project Settings option that lets you set the resolution, aspect ratio and the frame rate of the video. Proceed to import the footage into the project by selecting one of the available options in the Import drop-down menu or by simply dragging the media assets from a folder on your hard drive and dropping them to the Filmora’s Media Panel. In case you don’t have your own audio and video footage you can download videos, music, visual and audio effects from a stock footage website like Filmstock effects store . Filmora also offers screen casting features, so you can easily record gameplay, show viewers how to use a software or capture any other type of activity on your computer’s screen.

Add each media asset you want to include in the final cut of the video to the timeline and then proceed to remove all unwanted parts of the video and audio clips from the timeline using the Cut or Trim options. Filmora offers rich transitions and visual effects libraries you can use to make the cuts between shot smoother or enhance the colors in the video clips you’re editing. Furthermore, the editor lets you take snapshots of any frame in video clips you’ve placed on the timeline in a single click which can be quite useful if you want to create a thumbnail for your YouTube video. Creating the opening titles, end credits or adding different image overlays to a video is a straight forward process since you just have to select the option that fits the style of the video you’re creating and add it to the timeline. Once you’ve completed the video editing process, you can click on the Export button and decide if you want to export a video directly to your YouTube channel or to a destination on your hard drive.

New to Filmora? Check our beginner guide about How to Edit Videos in Filmora in details or check the quick video tutorial below to find out more details.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

Conclusion

Becoming a successful YouTuber requires a lot of dedication and hard work, so if at first, you don’t succeed, you should be patient and persistent. In time, as your channel grows, you will be able to monetize your videos, but only if you keep producing new content at a steady pace. Each step of the YouTube creation process is equally important, and you should dedicate an equal amount of attention to recording high-quality footage, editing, and promotion of the content you share on your YouTube channel. Was this article helpful? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts and experiences with us.

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Perfectly Positioned Cards: YouTube Embedding Techniques

How to Add YouTube Annotations and Cards?

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Update: YouTube has replaced annotation with end screen. You can find the latest informaiton about YouTube screen and YouTube cards here.

YouTube Cards and Annotations are very useful if you want to encourage your viewrs to take an action, like Subscribe, go to another video or associated website, etc. Today, we’re going to show you the differences between cards and annotations, and how to add them in YouTube videos.


Do you want to make your YouTube video more attractive? Wondershare Filmora is a such video editing software designed for YouTube creator. It not only allows you cut, trim, crop, zoom, reverse, rotate the video clips, but also makes the advanced features like green screen, PIP, tilt-shift and mosaic easy like a piece of cake. With Wondershare Filmora, you can ignite your YouTube videos with over 300 effects like Fashion, Beauty, Block Buster, Travel, etc.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )


The main difference between annotation and cards is their outlook. Cards are more graphical whereas annotations are text based. The cards slide in once you click the small “i” button on the video where as the annotation is there based on the timings set by the user. Moreover the main differences between the two are:

1. YouTube Cards are small and unobtrusive, unless a viewer chooses to click on them, which is why they are the better option when you are trying to get views on other videos. Irritating a few people with a big annotation might be worth it if you also draw other people’s attention to your cause or website, but it is not a good way to endear yourself to people you are trying to get views and subscriptions from. When a card is clicked a thumbnail will appear with a link to your additional content. YouTube Cards are often better than annotations for adding links to your videos because they look much tidier. Also, unlike annotations, cards will be visible to people watching your videos on their mobile devices.

2. You cannot use Cards just to insert notes into your videos, though, and you cannot adjust their size like you can with annotations. So, if you do need a link to be large and extremely noticeable, annotations might still be your best option. Cards and annotations can even be used in combination sometimes.

How to add YouTube Cards

YouTube Cards are similar to annotations but more interactive. They allow the owner of the video to add images and other links. A small box appears, clicking on which will activate the cards.

  • Click on the “Video Manager” tab

  • Click “Edit” tab under the video screen shot you want to add the card on
  • Click on the “Cards” tab

  • On the right panel click on “Add Card” drop down menu and select the type of card you want to add
  • Click on the create button which will open the corresponding video
  • Once you finish the subsequent information required click create card
  • Select the timeline for the playhead to appear which leads to the card slide

  • Apply changes and exit

How to add YouTube annotations

YouTube Annotation is addition of a text layer, link or hotspots over your video. They add interactive boxes which link to other websites or videos (any link you want).

  • Click on the video manager tab
  • Click edit tab under the video screen shot you want to add the annotation on
  • Click on the “End screen & Annotation” tab

  • On the right panel click on “+ Add Element” and select the kind of annotation you want to add
  • Adjust the position of Annotation, you can drag the rectangle to locate it at any position of the video, move the slide to set the start and end time of the annotation

  • Apply changes

The types of YouTube annotations:

1. Speech Bubbles

Speech Bubbles: look like the dialogue box in a comic strip. There is a tail which you can adjust so it looks like one of the people in your video is saying what is written in the annotation. Speech bubbles are great for adding in funny comments.

2. Notes

Notes: come in a limited selection of colors and can be adjusted to take up a maximum of 30% of your player screen. Sometimes you need a huge annotation to get an important point across, but using huge note annotations too often – especially near the beginnings of your videos – will annoy viewers. If you need a large note annotation make sure to place it later in your video, when a viewer will already be invested in what they are watching and less likely to click away.

3. Titles

Titles: are large pieces of text that go either at the beginning of your video or in-between different topics within your video. YouTube’s titles are not very nice to look at, but they are a decent option if you do not have access to video editing software.

4. Spotlights

Spotlights: have a subtle border and are completely clear inside. Your text only appears when a user hovers over the spotlight. Spotlights are great for turning elements within your video into links.

5. Labels

Labels: are completely transparent, like spotlights, but the user does not have to hover over them for your text to be visible.

6. Pauses

Pauses: are no longer available to add to your videos, although Pause Annotations added before they were removed still work. Pause Annotations used to stop your video for a set period of time when your annotation appeared.

If somebody watches your video and gets to the end then that means they enjoyed it and will probably be open to checking out more of your content. Rather than hoping that your other videos show up in the ‘Suggested Videos’ YouTube will show after yours has finished playing you should always include an outro, or ending card, after your video to recommend your own work. Annotations are used in a lot of successful YouTuber’s ending cards.

One form this takes is small Note annotations in the bottom corners of the screen, one linking to your previous video and one to the next. Sometimes your viewers might not necessarily get the most enjoyment out of your videos by watching them in order, though. Sometimes you want to link viewers to the videos that are most related to the one they just watched.

The best outros also include a subscribe button, which can be created using annotations. These annotations work best when combined with a verbal call to action. Make sure your outro lasts long enough for people to make the decision to subscribe or click another video.

No matter what kind of annotations you are using, you should never use more than two of them at a time anywhere except for your outro. You should also never place annotations at the very top of your screen, or in the middle at the bottom. If your video is embedding on a separate website then the player will cover annotations at the top of the screen, and ads might cover annotations placed in the bottom-middle of the screen. Keep in mind when using annotations that they will not be visible to users watching your videos on mobile devices. If mobile traffic is very important to you then consider using YouTube Cards.

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Update: YouTube has replaced annotation with end screen. You can find the latest informaiton about YouTube screen and YouTube cards here.

YouTube Cards and Annotations are very useful if you want to encourage your viewrs to take an action, like Subscribe, go to another video or associated website, etc. Today, we’re going to show you the differences between cards and annotations, and how to add them in YouTube videos.


Do you want to make your YouTube video more attractive? Wondershare Filmora is a such video editing software designed for YouTube creator. It not only allows you cut, trim, crop, zoom, reverse, rotate the video clips, but also makes the advanced features like green screen, PIP, tilt-shift and mosaic easy like a piece of cake. With Wondershare Filmora, you can ignite your YouTube videos with over 300 effects like Fashion, Beauty, Block Buster, Travel, etc.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )


The main difference between annotation and cards is their outlook. Cards are more graphical whereas annotations are text based. The cards slide in once you click the small “i” button on the video where as the annotation is there based on the timings set by the user. Moreover the main differences between the two are:

1. YouTube Cards are small and unobtrusive, unless a viewer chooses to click on them, which is why they are the better option when you are trying to get views on other videos. Irritating a few people with a big annotation might be worth it if you also draw other people’s attention to your cause or website, but it is not a good way to endear yourself to people you are trying to get views and subscriptions from. When a card is clicked a thumbnail will appear with a link to your additional content. YouTube Cards are often better than annotations for adding links to your videos because they look much tidier. Also, unlike annotations, cards will be visible to people watching your videos on their mobile devices.

2. You cannot use Cards just to insert notes into your videos, though, and you cannot adjust their size like you can with annotations. So, if you do need a link to be large and extremely noticeable, annotations might still be your best option. Cards and annotations can even be used in combination sometimes.

How to add YouTube Cards

YouTube Cards are similar to annotations but more interactive. They allow the owner of the video to add images and other links. A small box appears, clicking on which will activate the cards.

  • Click on the “Video Manager” tab

  • Click “Edit” tab under the video screen shot you want to add the card on
  • Click on the “Cards” tab

  • On the right panel click on “Add Card” drop down menu and select the type of card you want to add
  • Click on the create button which will open the corresponding video
  • Once you finish the subsequent information required click create card
  • Select the timeline for the playhead to appear which leads to the card slide

  • Apply changes and exit

How to add YouTube annotations

YouTube Annotation is addition of a text layer, link or hotspots over your video. They add interactive boxes which link to other websites or videos (any link you want).

  • Click on the video manager tab
  • Click edit tab under the video screen shot you want to add the annotation on
  • Click on the “End screen & Annotation” tab

  • On the right panel click on “+ Add Element” and select the kind of annotation you want to add
  • Adjust the position of Annotation, you can drag the rectangle to locate it at any position of the video, move the slide to set the start and end time of the annotation

  • Apply changes

The types of YouTube annotations:

1. Speech Bubbles

Speech Bubbles: look like the dialogue box in a comic strip. There is a tail which you can adjust so it looks like one of the people in your video is saying what is written in the annotation. Speech bubbles are great for adding in funny comments.

2. Notes

Notes: come in a limited selection of colors and can be adjusted to take up a maximum of 30% of your player screen. Sometimes you need a huge annotation to get an important point across, but using huge note annotations too often – especially near the beginnings of your videos – will annoy viewers. If you need a large note annotation make sure to place it later in your video, when a viewer will already be invested in what they are watching and less likely to click away.

3. Titles

Titles: are large pieces of text that go either at the beginning of your video or in-between different topics within your video. YouTube’s titles are not very nice to look at, but they are a decent option if you do not have access to video editing software.

4. Spotlights

Spotlights: have a subtle border and are completely clear inside. Your text only appears when a user hovers over the spotlight. Spotlights are great for turning elements within your video into links.

5. Labels

Labels: are completely transparent, like spotlights, but the user does not have to hover over them for your text to be visible.

6. Pauses

Pauses: are no longer available to add to your videos, although Pause Annotations added before they were removed still work. Pause Annotations used to stop your video for a set period of time when your annotation appeared.

If somebody watches your video and gets to the end then that means they enjoyed it and will probably be open to checking out more of your content. Rather than hoping that your other videos show up in the ‘Suggested Videos’ YouTube will show after yours has finished playing you should always include an outro, or ending card, after your video to recommend your own work. Annotations are used in a lot of successful YouTuber’s ending cards.

One form this takes is small Note annotations in the bottom corners of the screen, one linking to your previous video and one to the next. Sometimes your viewers might not necessarily get the most enjoyment out of your videos by watching them in order, though. Sometimes you want to link viewers to the videos that are most related to the one they just watched.

The best outros also include a subscribe button, which can be created using annotations. These annotations work best when combined with a verbal call to action. Make sure your outro lasts long enough for people to make the decision to subscribe or click another video.

No matter what kind of annotations you are using, you should never use more than two of them at a time anywhere except for your outro. You should also never place annotations at the very top of your screen, or in the middle at the bottom. If your video is embedding on a separate website then the player will cover annotations at the top of the screen, and ads might cover annotations placed in the bottom-middle of the screen. Keep in mind when using annotations that they will not be visible to users watching your videos on mobile devices. If mobile traffic is very important to you then consider using YouTube Cards.

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Update: YouTube has replaced annotation with end screen. You can find the latest informaiton about YouTube screen and YouTube cards here.

YouTube Cards and Annotations are very useful if you want to encourage your viewrs to take an action, like Subscribe, go to another video or associated website, etc. Today, we’re going to show you the differences between cards and annotations, and how to add them in YouTube videos.


Do you want to make your YouTube video more attractive? Wondershare Filmora is a such video editing software designed for YouTube creator. It not only allows you cut, trim, crop, zoom, reverse, rotate the video clips, but also makes the advanced features like green screen, PIP, tilt-shift and mosaic easy like a piece of cake. With Wondershare Filmora, you can ignite your YouTube videos with over 300 effects like Fashion, Beauty, Block Buster, Travel, etc.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )


The main difference between annotation and cards is their outlook. Cards are more graphical whereas annotations are text based. The cards slide in once you click the small “i” button on the video where as the annotation is there based on the timings set by the user. Moreover the main differences between the two are:

1. YouTube Cards are small and unobtrusive, unless a viewer chooses to click on them, which is why they are the better option when you are trying to get views on other videos. Irritating a few people with a big annotation might be worth it if you also draw other people’s attention to your cause or website, but it is not a good way to endear yourself to people you are trying to get views and subscriptions from. When a card is clicked a thumbnail will appear with a link to your additional content. YouTube Cards are often better than annotations for adding links to your videos because they look much tidier. Also, unlike annotations, cards will be visible to people watching your videos on their mobile devices.

2. You cannot use Cards just to insert notes into your videos, though, and you cannot adjust their size like you can with annotations. So, if you do need a link to be large and extremely noticeable, annotations might still be your best option. Cards and annotations can even be used in combination sometimes.

How to add YouTube Cards

YouTube Cards are similar to annotations but more interactive. They allow the owner of the video to add images and other links. A small box appears, clicking on which will activate the cards.

  • Click on the “Video Manager” tab

  • Click “Edit” tab under the video screen shot you want to add the card on
  • Click on the “Cards” tab

  • On the right panel click on “Add Card” drop down menu and select the type of card you want to add
  • Click on the create button which will open the corresponding video
  • Once you finish the subsequent information required click create card
  • Select the timeline for the playhead to appear which leads to the card slide

  • Apply changes and exit

How to add YouTube annotations

YouTube Annotation is addition of a text layer, link or hotspots over your video. They add interactive boxes which link to other websites or videos (any link you want).

  • Click on the video manager tab
  • Click edit tab under the video screen shot you want to add the annotation on
  • Click on the “End screen & Annotation” tab

  • On the right panel click on “+ Add Element” and select the kind of annotation you want to add
  • Adjust the position of Annotation, you can drag the rectangle to locate it at any position of the video, move the slide to set the start and end time of the annotation

  • Apply changes

The types of YouTube annotations:

1. Speech Bubbles

Speech Bubbles: look like the dialogue box in a comic strip. There is a tail which you can adjust so it looks like one of the people in your video is saying what is written in the annotation. Speech bubbles are great for adding in funny comments.

2. Notes

Notes: come in a limited selection of colors and can be adjusted to take up a maximum of 30% of your player screen. Sometimes you need a huge annotation to get an important point across, but using huge note annotations too often – especially near the beginnings of your videos – will annoy viewers. If you need a large note annotation make sure to place it later in your video, when a viewer will already be invested in what they are watching and less likely to click away.

3. Titles

Titles: are large pieces of text that go either at the beginning of your video or in-between different topics within your video. YouTube’s titles are not very nice to look at, but they are a decent option if you do not have access to video editing software.

4. Spotlights

Spotlights: have a subtle border and are completely clear inside. Your text only appears when a user hovers over the spotlight. Spotlights are great for turning elements within your video into links.

5. Labels

Labels: are completely transparent, like spotlights, but the user does not have to hover over them for your text to be visible.

6. Pauses

Pauses: are no longer available to add to your videos, although Pause Annotations added before they were removed still work. Pause Annotations used to stop your video for a set period of time when your annotation appeared.

If somebody watches your video and gets to the end then that means they enjoyed it and will probably be open to checking out more of your content. Rather than hoping that your other videos show up in the ‘Suggested Videos’ YouTube will show after yours has finished playing you should always include an outro, or ending card, after your video to recommend your own work. Annotations are used in a lot of successful YouTuber’s ending cards.

One form this takes is small Note annotations in the bottom corners of the screen, one linking to your previous video and one to the next. Sometimes your viewers might not necessarily get the most enjoyment out of your videos by watching them in order, though. Sometimes you want to link viewers to the videos that are most related to the one they just watched.

The best outros also include a subscribe button, which can be created using annotations. These annotations work best when combined with a verbal call to action. Make sure your outro lasts long enough for people to make the decision to subscribe or click another video.

No matter what kind of annotations you are using, you should never use more than two of them at a time anywhere except for your outro. You should also never place annotations at the very top of your screen, or in the middle at the bottom. If your video is embedding on a separate website then the player will cover annotations at the top of the screen, and ads might cover annotations placed in the bottom-middle of the screen. Keep in mind when using annotations that they will not be visible to users watching your videos on mobile devices. If mobile traffic is very important to you then consider using YouTube Cards.

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Update: YouTube has replaced annotation with end screen. You can find the latest informaiton about YouTube screen and YouTube cards here.

YouTube Cards and Annotations are very useful if you want to encourage your viewrs to take an action, like Subscribe, go to another video or associated website, etc. Today, we’re going to show you the differences between cards and annotations, and how to add them in YouTube videos.


Do you want to make your YouTube video more attractive? Wondershare Filmora is a such video editing software designed for YouTube creator. It not only allows you cut, trim, crop, zoom, reverse, rotate the video clips, but also makes the advanced features like green screen, PIP, tilt-shift and mosaic easy like a piece of cake. With Wondershare Filmora, you can ignite your YouTube videos with over 300 effects like Fashion, Beauty, Block Buster, Travel, etc.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )


The main difference between annotation and cards is their outlook. Cards are more graphical whereas annotations are text based. The cards slide in once you click the small “i” button on the video where as the annotation is there based on the timings set by the user. Moreover the main differences between the two are:

1. YouTube Cards are small and unobtrusive, unless a viewer chooses to click on them, which is why they are the better option when you are trying to get views on other videos. Irritating a few people with a big annotation might be worth it if you also draw other people’s attention to your cause or website, but it is not a good way to endear yourself to people you are trying to get views and subscriptions from. When a card is clicked a thumbnail will appear with a link to your additional content. YouTube Cards are often better than annotations for adding links to your videos because they look much tidier. Also, unlike annotations, cards will be visible to people watching your videos on their mobile devices.

2. You cannot use Cards just to insert notes into your videos, though, and you cannot adjust their size like you can with annotations. So, if you do need a link to be large and extremely noticeable, annotations might still be your best option. Cards and annotations can even be used in combination sometimes.

How to add YouTube Cards

YouTube Cards are similar to annotations but more interactive. They allow the owner of the video to add images and other links. A small box appears, clicking on which will activate the cards.

  • Click on the “Video Manager” tab

  • Click “Edit” tab under the video screen shot you want to add the card on
  • Click on the “Cards” tab

  • On the right panel click on “Add Card” drop down menu and select the type of card you want to add
  • Click on the create button which will open the corresponding video
  • Once you finish the subsequent information required click create card
  • Select the timeline for the playhead to appear which leads to the card slide

  • Apply changes and exit

How to add YouTube annotations

YouTube Annotation is addition of a text layer, link or hotspots over your video. They add interactive boxes which link to other websites or videos (any link you want).

  • Click on the video manager tab
  • Click edit tab under the video screen shot you want to add the annotation on
  • Click on the “End screen & Annotation” tab

  • On the right panel click on “+ Add Element” and select the kind of annotation you want to add
  • Adjust the position of Annotation, you can drag the rectangle to locate it at any position of the video, move the slide to set the start and end time of the annotation

  • Apply changes

The types of YouTube annotations:

1. Speech Bubbles

Speech Bubbles: look like the dialogue box in a comic strip. There is a tail which you can adjust so it looks like one of the people in your video is saying what is written in the annotation. Speech bubbles are great for adding in funny comments.

2. Notes

Notes: come in a limited selection of colors and can be adjusted to take up a maximum of 30% of your player screen. Sometimes you need a huge annotation to get an important point across, but using huge note annotations too often – especially near the beginnings of your videos – will annoy viewers. If you need a large note annotation make sure to place it later in your video, when a viewer will already be invested in what they are watching and less likely to click away.

3. Titles

Titles: are large pieces of text that go either at the beginning of your video or in-between different topics within your video. YouTube’s titles are not very nice to look at, but they are a decent option if you do not have access to video editing software.

4. Spotlights

Spotlights: have a subtle border and are completely clear inside. Your text only appears when a user hovers over the spotlight. Spotlights are great for turning elements within your video into links.

5. Labels

Labels: are completely transparent, like spotlights, but the user does not have to hover over them for your text to be visible.

6. Pauses

Pauses: are no longer available to add to your videos, although Pause Annotations added before they were removed still work. Pause Annotations used to stop your video for a set period of time when your annotation appeared.

If somebody watches your video and gets to the end then that means they enjoyed it and will probably be open to checking out more of your content. Rather than hoping that your other videos show up in the ‘Suggested Videos’ YouTube will show after yours has finished playing you should always include an outro, or ending card, after your video to recommend your own work. Annotations are used in a lot of successful YouTuber’s ending cards.

One form this takes is small Note annotations in the bottom corners of the screen, one linking to your previous video and one to the next. Sometimes your viewers might not necessarily get the most enjoyment out of your videos by watching them in order, though. Sometimes you want to link viewers to the videos that are most related to the one they just watched.

The best outros also include a subscribe button, which can be created using annotations. These annotations work best when combined with a verbal call to action. Make sure your outro lasts long enough for people to make the decision to subscribe or click another video.

No matter what kind of annotations you are using, you should never use more than two of them at a time anywhere except for your outro. You should also never place annotations at the very top of your screen, or in the middle at the bottom. If your video is embedding on a separate website then the player will cover annotations at the top of the screen, and ads might cover annotations placed in the bottom-middle of the screen. Keep in mind when using annotations that they will not be visible to users watching your videos on mobile devices. If mobile traffic is very important to you then consider using YouTube Cards.

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Also read:

  • Title: [New] Breakthrough Techniques in YouTube Content Creation
  • Author: Steven
  • Created at : 2024-05-25 20:02:10
  • Updated at : 2024-05-26 20:02:10
  • Link: https://youtube-clips.techidaily.com/new-breakthrough-techniques-in-youtube-content-creation/
  • License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.