The best way to make money on YouTube and become a ‘massive YouTube Celebrity` is no doubt to actually get in front of the camera and speak to your audience in person. You want them to get to know you and you want to put your personality across in your videos.
This will help to make you considerably more persuasive while simultaneously giving you many more options in terms of what you can create. And if you`re going to do that, then there`s some crucial equipment and software that you`re going to need to invest in. This can be somewhat expensive but if all goes to plan, then it will pay for itself over time and will be money well-spent.
Hardware
Camera
Of course the most basic hardware you`re going to need is a camera. This is what you will use to capture your footage and that means that the quality of the camera is going to directly influence the quality of your videos. There are numerous factors to consider in this case. One is the resolution and here you will need at least 1080p.
For now, most people still do not have a 4K display meaning that you don`t need a 4K camera (and 4K creates very large video files which are hard to move around and edit) but if you want to offer the upmost crispness and also futureproof your setup, then choosing 4K is a great option.
Another factor is your framerate. This will generally be either 30fps or 60fps and once again, 60fps is an optional advantage that will make your footage that much more attractive and give it an almost too-real sense of fluidity. It`s entirely up to you if you want to push for this very highest level of quality but some discerning viewers will certainly appreciate it if you do.
Some features to look out for include an optical zoom if you`re planning on filming outdoors (this lets you zoom in with no loss of quality) and options to alter the aperture etc. Good autofocus is very important if you`ll be moving around a lot in front of the camera, while being able to use macros to blue out the background is also a nice option.
But what`s more important really are the practical considerations for your camera. Having a mic jack for example is a very good idea because it will give you the ability to improve your sound quality. Likewise, a wide angle lens is a very good idea if you`re going to be moving around a lot and capturing dynamic footage. Something that you should absolutely consider a requirement is a screen that can be rotated to face forward.
This will allow you to make sure that you`re in the shot before you start vlogging! And of course there`s no reason you can do all this using multiple cameras. Many people will use both a GoPro for capturing more action-packed and dynamic footage and then a regular camera for their vlogging.
If you want to go budget, then you can get by using an iPhone camera or a Samsung camera on your phone (as long as it is a newer model). But if you`re serious, then you should at least invest in a basic camera along the lines of a Cannon G7.
Tripod and Tracking
Also important is to get a tripod. Is it possible to film without one? Sure, you can always balance your camera on a pile of books on top of an ironing board… but you`ll find out that lining up good shots ends up taking a lot more time than you will be willing to go through on a regular basis if you take this approach.
A tripod will thus save you a huge amount of time while also getting better angles, thereby giving your channel a higher quantity and quality of video – which is obviously going to be a very good thing in terms of getting lots of views!
Another thing to look for potentially here is a tracking head from the likes of Manofrotto who also make tripods. This will allow you to attach your camera on top of your tripod and will then let you perform panning shots and slow zooms. This is what will give your footage a much higher level of professionalism and it`s very important if you`re planning on doing product reviews and want to feature slow pans of the items you`re reviewing!
These work by providing friction on a rotating pivot and a handle. You then gently push on the handle with just a finger or a palm and the resistance will keep the motion slow and smooth as it gradually moves around the object in focus. It`s important to use a manual focus during these shots rather than an automatic one.
Lighting
It is often said that the best lighting is natural lighting. To get a great shot, try to line yourself up so that you have a large window letting in natural light from the side. This will give you what`s known as ‘Rembrandt Lighting` which is a professional and very flattering looking type of lighting.
But while this type of lighting is highly desirable, it`s also not terribly reliable! You can`t trust in natural light to always be available when you need it and you can`t limit yourself to only filming at certain times of day.  Thus you need to make sure you have a way to set-up the perfect lighting when you need it. How are you going to do that? With some kind of lighting set-up. And a great choice is to get two soft boxes.
These take up a fair bit of space but it`s worth it as it will allow you to design your lighting however you wish and make sure that your subject matter is well lit and that your footage is clear and bright. Don`t underestimate this: in fact in many cases it can be more important to ensure that your footage is very light and very bright than it is to use a camera with a high definition!
This will make your footage look more professional and more appealing to watch! Want to go one step further? Depending on the nature of your videos you can get creative here if you want. Jonathan Morrison has a YouTube channel that is all about showcasing technology products in the very best way and making them highly desirable.
This gets him a lot of views, helps him to sell a lot of affiliate products and of course means that manufacturers are very happy to work with him and to supply free products for review. One trick he uses to accomplish this is to use colored lighting. He`ll often light phones and other gadgets in a bright pink, green or purple hue on a white background which makes them look more modern and more crisp – especially with his high quality filming equipment.
The great thing is that colored bulbs are actually very affordable, so this is something you can mimic fairly easily yourself if you should want to!
Sound
Just like it`s important not to underestimate the importance of your lighting, you also need to ensure that you never underestimate the importance of your sound quality. If you want to make your video sound and look professional, then it is absolutely crucial that you have good quality sound and don`t just record a muffled sound into a regular camera microphone from a distance.
Things like acoustics matter and even if your viewers don`t notice the difference, they will be able to feel the difference. Things like this make a massive psychological impact and can be the difference between a channel that has high production values and that people love to watch and one that looks unprofessional and no one takes seriously!
Fortunately, sound is a relatively easy thing to get right and the best way to do this is with a basic external microphone. You can get a lapel mic easily enough and then attach it to your phone to record your audio at the same time.
Better yet, find a high quality microphone that you can plug directly into your camera`s mic jack. The Blue Yeti Snowball microphone is one of the most popular choices among YouTubers right now and is a very affordable option that will provide a crisp and clear sound quality very easily.
Software. and Materials
Editing Software
As well as hardware, you`ll also need to invest in some basic software and other intangibles. The most obvious thing here is your editing software, which you`re going to use to take your footage and turn it into something that has a narrative structure and that`s actually fun to watch. There are plenty of options here, which include Sony Vegas, Final Cut Pro X, iMovie and Adobe Premiere w/ After Effects.
Your choice will depend on personal preference, budget and your computer – but either way you will need a professional editing suite in order to make your videos look the part. This is what you`ll use to cut and stitch together your footage and it`s what you`ll use to add things like music and logos.
Graphics
There are numerous graphics you will also want to add to your videos. For example, you will probably find you need some kind of logo to overlay on top of your videos if you want to build a brand. This is important as it will help to ensure people know who you are that all your videos and content are from the same creator.
A good logo should be coupled with a good name and ideally, the two together should be enough to communicate everything that new viewers need to know about your brand. If you get this just right, then people should be able to tell from those things alone whether they`d be interested in your channel and thus subscribe potentially with no further information!
Other graphics will also come in handy. For example, you might want to use ‘bottom thirds`, which you will overlay on top of your video as a way to annotate what`s happening on the screen. Then you might want to find some stock images that you can use to illustrate the points you`re making, or that you can use in conjunction with your recorded footage.
Video and Sound
On top of this, you`ll also need to look into video and sound for your videos. One important thing here is a ‘video opener` which is a short clip that will play at the start of your videos and help you to further cement your brand while indicating the video has started. Music can also be very useful and will allow you to make your videos a lot more engaging while also being able to invite emotional responses.
So where do you find all these extra materials? One answer is to pay for your materials to be created on a site like Fiverr or UpWork. These sites will allow you to find freelancers who can create your materials for you and make them look very professional. Again, it`s a small investment, but it is very much worth it seeing as how much use you`ll be getting out of these things.