I wrote about my lockdown project to become a YouTube sensation here.

If you are interested in doing something similar this is what I learnt.

Equipment

I use an iPhone X. The video footage is 1080p HD and the sound quality is pretty good. It was also free as I already owned the phone.

The downside of using an iPhone was that the video lacked image stabilisation. This is OK, if I didn’t move the phone but if I did move it then the footage was jerky.

To improve the video quality I purchased a gimble. This is a device that steadies the camera. Unlike the non gimble footage, viewers did not get seasick when the camera moved.

The second issue was that the iPhone microphone picked up wind and other background noise. Many a take was ruined by a big blast of wind blowing in and deafening the vocals.

I purchased a mic with a wind sock. This dampened the wind noise and improved the quality of the vocal recording.

Editing

I initially tried a few free video editing tools but they were all too complicated. I’d previously learnt how to use Adobe Photoshop for a project called The Fat Minister.

I decided to try Adobe Premiere as it was a similar interface. It’s an expensive product but thankfully I get it for a discount because I work for a University. I’d highly recommend it. It is very easy to use and makes even the worst footage look professional.

Music

The music is completely free. I googled free music and found a website https://freemusicarchive.org/ I clicked on the first link on the page and that is the Bonnie Gardener theme tune!

I clicked on a lot of other links afterwards but I never found anything else as good as that first bit of music. It must have been fate!

As the season progressed I added in some other music. It is all from https://www.epidemicsound.com/ I had to pay a samll fee for the music but the choice and quality was much higher than the free archive.

Upgrades

The next step would be to upgrade the iPhone to a proper camera. Andrew has a good one. I’ll ask nicely to borrow it and then hope he forgets to ask for it back!