Off Topic Productions

So I want to do a economics history vblog, and I have a few episodes written, but I don't know how to read off the script and still look directly into the camera. Even if the script is really close to the camera, you can still see my eyes are slightly off, and it just looks bad. How do the popular youtubers do it? Do they just adlib it or is there another technique they use to read but still look directly into the camera?

I can't afford a teleprompter and only have a gopro and a good mic with me. Or is there another easily made background I can have instead that I can just have the audio track to? I can't afford graphics or anything fancy like that lol. Would it be enough to just show footage of me walking around with the gopro on my head? I can't think of anything else that I can do easily.

Thanks in advance!

Most vlogs have enough jump-cuts in them that they never have to memorize more than a few words at a time, so you're probably fine.

so this video is unlisted until I finish it and officially release it under its own channel. Not sure yet what the new channel should be called

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkEpZ4GW_TM

How does this look and sound? Is it too fast? I am going to add more pictures and stuff today

Hashi wrote:How do the popular youtubers do it? Do they just adlib it or is there another technique they use to read but still look directly into the camera? I can't afford a teleprompter and only have a gopro and a good mic with me. I can't afford graphics or anything fancy like that lol.

The teleprompter is computer-based (and you can even use a word processor that you scroll with a hand off-camera). The graphics are added after the fact with video editing software, wherein the audio track is overlaid onto the video and then your graphic is laid over a specific amount of time. All of this can be done with free software. In fact, I could vlog with no troubles using the software I used to capture my Deus Ex videos back in 2010, outside of getting the video camera going.

As for actual video, I think most of them just use a webcam.

Hashi wrote:How does this look and sound? Is it too fast? I am going to add more pictures and stuff today

Close up the picture on the camera to your face and maybe your arms, it will put the focus more on you and your words than on the outer surroundings. The window is highly distracting, btw.

And yes, you are reading too fast. While it's not a hard and fast rule of speech writing, you generally want to work through a page of double-spaced text in an easily read font (if you were to print it out and hold the page at about arms length, usually I use 12 or 14 pt when I've spoken) in about a minute to a minute thirty.

Edit: I just remembered that reading the dialogue text aloud in my Deus Ex videos is how I determined how long to let each screen go before I hit ESC to move on. That might be helpful to get an idea of what I meant above.

Pleasantly surprised by the content, in both its focus on common people and in general quality. One thing though: when you talk about small village societies where people do not repay debts in full, I think you should be more specific about which societies those were and at what time, as this was not common amongst all societies. Also, perhaps it would be neat to state where that information is coming from (was there some ancient or medieval writer who mentioned this?).

About the presentation, my suggestion is to move the camera so that it faces you horizontally (the viewer is now looking up to you which somehow feels uncomfortable), move the camera closer to your face, and gesticulate less or keep your hands out of view. And to take pauses once in a while.

Thanks for the feedback. In terms of the sources, I could make another video as an addendum for this one, because that would be a lot easier than filming again just for this video. It would take a while to find all that information again, as most of this stuff is just information I have remembered along the way.

The new one I'm working on has a few graphics and cut away shots and is a bit closer to my face

For some reason I can't see the video as it says its blocked in the US even though I am in the UK? Anway, I have started working on videos for YouTube and when I have to record a video that I have scripted, I write the script, read over it and tweak it until it sounds like I am talking naturally to someone. Then after a day or two of reading over it until I can say the script properly, I will find the time to record the video. It usually takes me a few takes to get what I am saying right, sometimes a bit longer and as you make more videos and learn things here and there, you will improve over time.

If you practice enough you can get to the point where you can just talk to the camera and say what you want like in a vlog, or be able to learn a script and record the video just my memorizing it.

There is one YouTuber Jon Paula who makes great content videos and he makes a living from it and has a few editing tutorials on how he edits some of his videos and one I would recommend people who are learning how to edit and make a video is this: http://youtu.be/Z2eF2yePgtM and you can see his other editing videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFpkna- ... NIwpfGd4rd

Rode Microphones have also put up some videos on their YouTube channel about getting started on making a video, different mics and mic placement, lighting, storyboards, locations and editing videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/rodemicrophones just look for the videos named "My RØDE Reel Tips & Tricks"

Hope some of that helps. Also, My videos are on my signature links, but I am going to take all the videos down before uploading any new ones as they have been made badly (as I didn't really know what I was doing before now) and I am working on a bunch of new ones which I'll be uploading after the voice over mic I ordered arrives and I can do voice overs I need to do for them and finish these videos.

Morpheus wrote:For some reason I can't see the video as it says its blocked in the US even though I am in the UK? Anway, I have started working on videos for YouTube and when I have to record a video that I have scripted, I write the script, read over it and tweak it until it sounds like I am talking naturally to someone. Then after a day or two of reading over it until I can say the script properly, I will find the time to record the video. It usually takes me a few takes to get what I am saying right, sometimes a bit longer and as you make more videos and learn things here and there, you will improve over time.

If you practice enough you can get to the point where you can just talk to the camera and say what you want like in a vlog, or be able to learn a script and record the video just my memorizing it.

There is one YouTuber Jon Paula who makes great content videos and he makes a living from it and has a few editing tutorials on how he edits some of his videos and one I would recommend people who are learning how to edit and make a video is this: http://youtu.be/Z2eF2yePgtM and you can see his other editing videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFpkna- ... NIwpfGd4rd

Rode Microphones have also put up some videos on their YouTube channel about getting started on making a video, different mics and mic placement, lighting, storyboards, locations and editing videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/rodemicrophones just look for the videos named "My RØDE Reel Tips & Tricks"

Hope some of that helps. Also, My videos are on my signature links, but I am going to take all the videos down before uploading any new ones as they have been made badly (as I didn't really know what I was doing before now) and I am working on a bunch of new ones which I'll be uploading after the voice over mic I ordered arrives and I can do voice overs I need to do for them and finish these videos.

lol yeah the video is ancient news, I deleted it ages ago. I'm at least 10 times better now. I will have a look at these links though. Thanks!

Hashi wrote:so this video is unlisted until I finish it and officially release it under its own channel. Not sure yet what the new channel should be called

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkEpZ4GW_TM

How does this look and sound? Is it too fast? I am going to add more pictures and stuff today

I was going to check out your video... but it says The Video is Unavailable? Did you delete it?

I haven't written a script for stuff I've done... and almost all of it isn't uploaded because of it.. LOL I only have one with commentary uploaded. My friends say it doesn't even sound like me. Mind you it's my first crack at doing a commentary so I have no where to go but up... LOL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLDq725G_30

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