How to Make Your First YouTube Video in 2026 - Complete Beginner Guide — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00This button is one of the scariest on
2. 0:02the internet because when you press it,
3. 0:04it changes everything. You stop being a
4. 0:08viewer and you become a creator.
5. 0:11Now, I know that thought is both
6. 0:13terrifying and exciting in equal
7. 0:16measure. So, today I'll walk you through
8. 0:18exactly how to turn that fear into your
9. 0:21very first YouTube upload. Everyone
10. 0:24overthinks their first video idea when
11. 0:26they're essentially starting with
12. 0:28nothing. And I get it. When 20 million
13. 0:30videos are being uploaded to YouTube
14. 0:31every single day, it feels like
15. 0:34everything's been done already. But
16. 0:35that's a trap of the new creator. Your
17. 0:38first video doesn't need to be unique,
18. 0:41but it does need to be clear. And the
19. 0:42good news is you're not starting from
20. 0:45scratch.
21. 0:47Some creator out there has probably
22. 0:49already made something very, very
23. 0:52similar.
24. 1:00Yeah. And your job is to find out what
25. 1:03worked and make it your own. And here is
26. 1:06how you're going to do it
27. 1:10through some very simple arts and
28. 1:12crafts.
29. 1:15The topic is the video idea, what you're
30. 1:18going to talk about.
31. 1:20The format is how you're going to
32. 1:22deliver that topic through a review, a
33. 1:25vlog, whatever suits your skills best,
34. 1:29and the angle is your unique twist
35. 1:31that's going to make this video topic
36. 1:33and this video format truly yours. For
37. 1:36example, let's say you're a tech channel
38. 1:38and you have the latest iPhone. Instead
39. 1:40of a fairly generic title such as iPhone
40. 1:4317 review that every creator is going to
41. 1:45be using, why not go with I tried the
42. 1:48iPhone 17 for a week and this one thing
43. 1:51surprised me. This creator basically
44. 1:53took that idea and their video is going
45. 1:56viral. Essentially, what this allows you
46. 1:57to do is take existing video ideas that
47. 2:00are proven to work and reframe them with
48. 2:04your personal experiences. And this
49. 2:07allows you to put forward your thoughts
50. 2:08and personalities in the videos that you
51. 2:11make. But how do you find these ideas
52. 2:13that are proven to work? Well, that's
53. 2:15where Vid IQ's outlier tool comes in. It
54. 2:17instantly shows you which topics or
55. 2:19formats are spiking in performance. In
56. 2:22this example, the video is performing 12
57. 2:24times better than the average for the
58. 2:26channel, which is pretty damn
59. 2:28impressive. If you don't have it yet,
60. 2:30just sign up to Vid IQ for free and
61. 2:32install the browser extension. Once
62. 2:34you've installed it, you'll see this
63. 2:35outlier score, whether it be good or
64. 2:37bad, on pretty much every YouTube video.
65. 2:40And the higher the number is, the more
66. 2:42solid that proof of concept is. And you
67. 2:44can go really deep with this tool using
68. 2:46our web application. Type in the topic
69. 2:48you want to research, add filters such
70. 2:50as channels under 10,000 subscribers,
71. 2:53just like you, and then reveal hidden
72. 2:55gems that are making big outlier videos.
73. 2:59And would you know it, that same video
74. 3:01idea has come up again. But before you
75. 3:04get your camera and start filming, we
76. 3:06need to stop for a second. Something
77. 3:08that's very important that we need to do
78. 3:09at this point is to simplify everything.
79. 3:13So now that you have this idea, let's
80. 3:15run it through a simple checklist. First
81. 3:17of all, is it feasible? Do you actually
82. 3:19have the skills and the equipment to
83. 3:20film this video idea? And secondly, is
84. 3:23there demand? Does it solve a problem or
85. 3:26spark curiosity? Thirdly, can you add
86. 3:29something personal or different to the
87. 3:31idea? And finally, are you genuinely
88. 3:35excited to make it? Now, if you are
89. 3:37nodding yes to all of these questions,
90. 3:39then
91. 3:40congratulations.
92. 3:42That is a green light to proceed. But
93. 3:44this is where you're likely to encounter
94. 3:46your first dose of YouTube reality. Your
95. 3:49first video is very unlikely to go
96. 3:52viral. It's more likely it'll get
97. 3:54numbers like this. What if we're being
98. 3:56honest with ourselves as creators? The
99. 3:58goal of your first video isn't for it to
100. 4:01go viral. It's to get it done. Because
101. 4:03once you do press publish on your very
102. 4:06first YouTube video, then you do have at
103. 4:09the very least real data to work with.
104. 4:11And that real world data is far more
105. 4:14valuable than any perfect video idea
106. 4:17that's still sitting around in your
107. 4:18notes app on your phone. So, to get your
108. 4:20YouTube journey off the launchpad, don't
109. 4:23wait for the best idea to fall into your
110. 4:25lap. Start with a workable one. But that
111. 4:28is just the beginning. I did promise I'd
112. 4:30walk you through the entire process of
113. 4:33making your first YouTube video. So,
114. 4:35let's jump into thumbnails next. I know
115. 4:37that you've probably already heard this
116. 4:39a million times over in your YouTube
117. 4:42education, but the problem is millions
118. 4:45of creators still get this wrong every
119. 4:48single [music] day because they insist
120. 4:51on doing it backwards. They've spent
121. 4:54hours, maybe even days, filming and
122. 4:57editing their video, and now that it's
123. 4:58finally done, they can't wait to get it
124. 5:00on YouTube. So, they just throw together
125. 5:03a thumbnail in the five minutes before
126. 5:05they press publish.
127. 5:08Don't be that person. Your thumbnail,
128. 5:10and let's not forget the title, should
129. 5:12be the first thing you create right
130. 5:14after your video idea. We'll get to
131. 5:16titles later, but for now, let's fix the
132. 5:18thumbnail. A great YouTube thumbnail
133. 5:20tells you what's happening and why you
134. 5:22should care in 2 seconds or less,
135. 5:24because that's all the time you have
136. 5:26with a viewer before they move on. Take
137. 5:28this thumbnail from Yes Theory. Who's
138. 5:31they and what are they hiding? And
139. 5:34that's it. Curiosity triggered. Mission
140. 5:36accomplished. Video clicked. So, when
141. 5:38you're designing a thumbnail, remember
142. 5:39this important rule. It's not about
143. 5:41showing everything. It's about showing
144. 5:44just enough to make people ask a
145. 5:47question. Get them curious. And whatever
146. 5:50thumbnail you decide to make, yeah,
147. 5:52we're back to this again. Keep it
148. 5:54simple. One subject, one emotion, one
149. 5:57clear focus. If your thumbnail looks
150. 5:59like a family photo where you're trying
151. 6:01to squeeze absolutely everything into
152. 6:03it, you've already lost because you're
153. 6:05going to confuse a viewer. Use negative
154. 6:07space and clear fonts. Make sure the
155. 6:10subject of the thumbnail is big enough
156. 6:11so that viewers on mobile phones can see
157. 6:13it clearly. The majority of people use
158. 6:15YouTube in dark mode. And if you don't,
159. 6:18you've got some serious problems that I
160. 6:20just can't help you with. But in dark
161. 6:21mode, you can add some real punch to
162. 6:23your images. Boost the brightness,
163. 6:24increase the contrast, and pick colors
164. 6:26that really pop. Warm tones like red and
165. 6:29yellow really feel energetic and
166. 6:31exciting, whereas cooler tones such as
167. 6:34blue and green feel calm and smart. So,
168. 6:36pick the vibe that matches your story.
169. 6:39And yes, faces on thumbnails do still
170. 6:41work. Just look at our channel. We're
171. 6:43not just vain narcissists. Just be
172. 6:46careful not to go overboard with those
173. 6:48fake smiles. Instead, use authentic
174. 6:51emotion, curiosity, frustration, pride,
175. 6:53joy, those little micro moments that
176. 6:56make people connect instantly. And the
177. 6:58best news is, if you thought ahead of
178. 7:00time about the thumbnails you want, then
179. 7:02during the recording process, you can
180. 7:04take those perfect thumbnail images.
181. 7:09Smile, pose, exaggerate the moment,
182. 7:12whatever fits the need of your
183. 7:14thumbnail. The last thing you want to do
184. 7:15is rely on still frames during the
185. 7:18editing process. that just never work as
186. 7:20thumbnails. Those few extra seconds
187. 7:22during the filming process to take
188. 7:24thumbnails can be the difference between
189. 7:2610 clicks and 10,000 clicks on the video
190. 7:29when it's uploaded to YouTube. And once
191. 7:31your video is live on YouTube, you can
192. 7:33test and compare different thumbnails at
193. 7:35the same time right in the YouTube
194. 7:37studio. You can upload a second
195. 7:38thumbnail, even a third one, let YouTube
196. 7:41swap between them and see which one
197. 7:43wins. Just make sure to test and compare
198. 7:45thumbnails with significant changes so
199. 7:47you can really get an idea of what works
200. 7:49best on your channel. However,
201. 7:51thumbnails are only part of the
202. 7:52packaging process when it comes to
203. 7:54uploading those videos to YouTube. Let's
204. 7:56talk about the packaging marriage that's
205. 7:58supposed to be wrapped up in heaven, but
206. 7:59rarely is. Thumbnails and titles.
207. 8:03They're typically only 5 to 10 words
208. 8:05long, and yet they could make or break
209. 8:08your video. Many creators will spend
210. 8:10weeks perfecting their video and then
211. 8:12call it something like my first vlog.
212. 8:15You know, I think it might be time to
213. 8:17use that phrase again. Yeah, don't be
214. 8:20that person. It would be the equivalent
215. 8:22of calling your new pet dog.
216. 8:25A great YouTube title doesn't simply
217. 8:27describe the video, the what and the
218. 8:29how. It tells you the why. It sells you
219. 8:33the curiosity behind the video. Take
220. 8:36this video by Ryan Tran. I traveled
221. 8:383,624
222. 8:40mi with 1 cent. Paired with the
223. 8:42thumbnail, you're thinking, how did he
224. 8:44end up with more money? What happened in
225. 8:46between? And why say 1 cent instead of
226. 8:50no money? You see, none of this is
227. 8:52random. It is very intentional. Your
228. 8:55brain hates open loops. It needs answers
229. 8:59to all of these questions. And the only
230. 9:01way to get them is, of course, to click.
231. 9:03That's how great titles work. They open
232. 9:06up loops that your mind as the viewer
233. 9:09needs to close. So this is how you can
234. 9:11write titles that do essentially the
235. 9:13same thing once again through the help
236. 9:16of my glorious arts and crafts
237. 9:19whiteboard.
238. 9:21Study what's working. Lead with the
239. 9:24hook. And perhaps most importantly,
240. 9:27choose your words carefully. But what
241. 9:30does all of that really mean? So when it
242. 9:31comes to studying what's working, search
243. 9:34your niche. Sort the videos by most
244. 9:36popular and look for patterns. You'll
245. 9:38start to notice that all of the viral
246. 9:39titles have two things in common.
247. 9:42They're clear and they're curious. Every
248. 9:44single one of them makes you ask how,
249. 9:46what, and why something happened. As for
250. 9:49leading with the hook, make sure that
251. 9:51you frontload your YouTube title with
252. 9:53the most important thing at the
253. 9:55beginning of it. Because on mobile
254. 9:57devices, titles can be cut off and you
255. 9:59don't really want that curiosity trigger
256. 10:01being hidden. A general rule is to keep
257. 10:03your titles under 60 characters in
258. 10:05length. Remember, you've only got 2
259. 10:07seconds with a viewer, and anything
260. 10:08longer than that, it's just getting too
261. 10:10wordy. And as for choosing your words
262. 10:12carefully, well, one word can change
263. 10:15everything. When Ryan Frean uses one
264. 10:17cent in the title, that makes a task
265. 10:20sound impossible. And yet, he still did
266. 10:22it. How? Unexpected, secret, proven.
267. 10:26These are all what you might call power
268. 10:28words in a YouTube title. They make
269. 10:30people curious, but there might be
270. 10:32specific power words that are related to
271. 10:34your niche. For example, here at Vid IQ,
272. 10:37we've been using the power word small
273. 10:39channels in our titles for years because
274. 10:42it's an absolute view magnet. And of
275. 10:45course, always be testing. Just like
276. 10:47thumbnails, you can test and compare
277. 10:49different titles at the same time when
278. 10:51you upload your video to YouTube. Trying
279. 10:53two versions of a title might be one is
280. 10:55emotional and one's factual or focusing
281. 10:58on a different topic. In this example,
282. 11:00one of the titles focused on it being a
283. 11:02monetization update and that won a lot
284. 11:05more clicks. And remember what we said
285. 11:06at the very beginning. The title and the
286. 11:09thumbnail are a team. The thumbnail
287. 11:12catches a viewer's attention. It sparks
288. 11:14curiosity and the title completes that
289. 11:17form. Together they form a question that
290. 11:19the viewer has to get answered. So, here
291. 11:22we are back to your first video uploaded
292. 11:23to YouTube. Before you press publish,
293. 11:26look at that title and ask yourself,
294. 11:29would I click on this video if I saw it
295. 11:31on the homepage? If you're having to
296. 11:33think about it, you need to rewrite it.
297. 11:35On the other hand, if you think your
298. 11:37packaging is going to convince the
299. 11:39viewer to click, nice job. Now, we got
300. 11:42to get down to writing the damn video.
301. 11:44After you hit publish and then check the
302. 11:46analytics in the YouTube studio, your
303. 11:48retention graph is probably going to
304. 11:50look something like this. That steep
305. 11:53decline at the start, that's where most
306. 11:55of your viewers leave, usually within
307. 11:57the first 30 seconds of a video. Now,
308. 11:59the key thing here is not to panic. This
309. 12:01hockey stick graph is very typical for
310. 12:04all creators. But a big mistake new
311. 12:07creators make is, "Hey guys, it's Rob
312. 12:10here. Welcome back to my channel. Hope
313. 12:12you're feeling grand today. Make sure to
314. 12:14like and subscribe. Oh, and there's one
315. 12:17more thing you can do today as well.
316. 12:19It's all of this wonderful hype stuff.
317. 12:21Get me hyped. No, your viewers haven't
318. 12:23got time for any of this nonsense. Plus,
319. 12:25you can't use a hype button yet. You
320. 12:27haven't got 500 subscribers in the
321. 12:28intro. What's commonly known as a hook,
322. 12:30you haven't really got time for chats.
323. 12:32This isn't a podcast. So, here is a
324. 12:35simple way to fix it. Start by matching
325. 12:38the promise of the packaging. The first
326. 12:40frame of your video should look similar
327. 12:42to your thumbnail. The first sentence
328. 12:44that you speak should be similar to your
329. 12:46title. That instant connection confirms
330. 12:49with the viewer that they've clicked on
331. 12:50the right thing and they're in the right
332. 12:52place. And once you've delivered on that
333. 12:53first promise, open up a brand new
334. 12:56curiosity loop that keeps the viewer
335. 12:58watching. Now, at first, I thought this
336. 13:00productivity hack would save me hours.
337. 13:03But in reality, everything took twice as
338. 13:05long. So, make sure you don't make this
339. 13:06mistake. then follow up with some quick
340. 13:08context, one or two lines explaining why
341. 13:10the video exists in the first place. I
342. 13:12have spent so much time editing in my
343. 13:14professional career that I wanted to see
344. 13:16if AI could help me out. That's enough.
345. 13:19No life story is required and
346. 13:21demonstrate effort early. People value
347. 13:24what looks like work. This took 17 hours
348. 13:27to edit and I just can't do anymore.
349. 13:30>> That type of little signal tells the
350. 13:31viewer this video is worth their time.
351. 13:34And one last thing, wherever possible,
352. 13:37show don't tell. If you're explaining
353. 13:39something, show visuals to reinforce it.
354. 13:41If you're building something, show the
355. 13:43build. And if you're reacting, show your
356. 13:45face. If you can keep more than 70% of
357. 13:49your audience watching your video after
358. 13:51the first 30 seconds, then you're ahead
359. 13:54of most creators in this YouTube world.
360. 13:56The flatter this graph is, the more
361. 13:58satisfied your viewer is and the more
362. 14:00positive signals that are going to be
363. 14:01sent back to YouTube. Now, to give this
364. 14:03video hook or intro the best possible
365. 14:05chance to succeed, you want to make it
366. 14:08impactful and concise, which means
367. 14:10breaking it down word for word,
368. 14:12essentially writing a script, which is
369. 14:13great. Having said that, the main body
370. 14:15of your video doesn't necessarily need a
371. 14:18script. It doesn't need to be that
372. 14:19detailed, but what it does need is
373. 14:22structure. Because if you don't have
374. 14:23one, you'll probably end up with a
375. 14:2545minute recording that you have to edit
376. 14:28that's full of rambling stream of
377. 14:30consciousness and you going
378. 14:36half the time. Now, given that we are
379. 14:37deep into this video, you should know by
380. 14:40now that we need a lovely little formula
381. 14:42to explain the structure of a video. And
382. 14:45no, that's not a dirty word. What we do
383. 14:48need is a setup followed by
384. 14:53progress. [snorts] And finally, the
385. 14:55video always needs a payoff.
386. 15:00You're going to need me to explain this,
387. 15:01aren't you? The setup is where you give
388. 15:03context. Essentially, the why behind the
389. 15:06video. So, the questions you need to ask
390. 15:08yourself as a creator are, what am I
391. 15:10trying to do or figure out? Why should
392. 15:13the viewer care? And what's the goal or
393. 15:15problem I'm sharing? and trying to
394. 15:18solve. A lot of this setup relates back
395. 15:20to your intro or hook. It gives a viewer
396. 15:22a reason to stay beyond those vital
397. 15:24first 30 seconds and then sets up part
398. 15:27two. This is the middle or the meat of a
399. 15:30video where most of your story happens.
400. 15:32What steps am I taking? What's going
401. 15:34right and what's going wrong? What is
402. 15:36the conflict, the tension, the obstacles
403. 15:38are coming up to stop me reaching my
404. 15:40goal? This is where you can include
405. 15:42those little aha moments or uh-oh
406. 15:44moments where you're closing and opening
407. 15:47new curiosity loops to keep the viewer
408. 15:49watching. And if something unexpected
409. 15:50happens, lean into it. That's where your
410. 15:53authenticity and personality can really
411. 15:55shine. And finally, we reach the payoff
412. 15:58where every story needs closure. And
413. 16:01even if that story didn't go in the way
414. 16:03you intended it to go, there still needs
415. 16:05to be a payoff. Structuring your videos
416. 16:07will help you get closer to these types
417. 16:09of metrics. YouTube released these
418. 16:11numbers a few years back to show you how
419. 16:13deep viewers get into videos. And even
420. 16:15the very best creators struggle to keep
421. 16:18half their audience after 15 minutes. So
422. 16:20whether you are an entertainment
423. 16:22channel, a vlogging channel, even an
424. 16:24educational channel, this simple formula
425. 16:27is designed to help you tell stories,
426. 16:29which you can do no matter what niche
427. 16:32they are, and keep them clear and
428. 16:35concise that match your video idea. And
429. 16:38now, you know what? It might actually
430. 16:41finally be time
431. 16:43to start recording something. Now,
432. 16:45unless you, as a creator, are in a few
433. 16:47very specific niches, your goal when
434. 16:49filming isn't to make everything look
435. 16:51cinematic. The number one goal of your
436. 16:54video, put plain and simple, is to make
437. 16:56it watchable. Anything beyond that is
438. 16:58just icing on the cake. And what I mean
439. 17:00by that is nobody cares how fancy your
440. 17:03setup is if they can't hear what you're
441. 17:07saying. So here is what truly truly
442. 17:10matters.
443. 17:12Yeah, I set up this entire scene just to
444. 17:15show you this and it basically means
445. 17:17audio is always far more important than
446. 17:20video. You can get away with dodgy
447. 17:22lighting and a slightly blurry camera,
448. 17:26but
449. 17:27bad audio is always an instant turnoff
450. 17:31for viewers. The good news is it's
451. 17:33easier and cheaper than ever to get
452. 17:35solid audio, even from your phone.
453. 17:37Wireless microphones are very affordable
454. 17:40these days and will sound way better
455. 17:43than your phone's microphone, which is
456. 17:45usually 2 or 3 feet away from your
457. 17:46voice. And if you can record in a room
458. 17:48with curtains and carpets, that's going
459. 17:51to absorb a lot of the echo. Now then,
460. 17:53if you're filming on your phone rather
461. 17:56than a camera, make sure to use the
462. 17:59rearfacing camera when you can because
463. 18:01the image is just going to be a lot
464. 18:02sharper. Now, you can shoot in 1080p,
465. 18:054K, 24 frames a second, 30 frames a
466. 18:08second, 60 frames a second. Ideally,
467. 18:10what you want to do is match the quality
468. 18:12of a camera to any B-roll you might be
469. 18:14using. You can lock exposure and focus
470. 18:17on both Android and iPhone cameras to
471. 18:20maintain a certain level of consistency
472. 18:22in the videos that you're recording. And
473. 18:24please, before you do any recording on
474. 18:26your [music] phone, make sure to clean
475. 18:28that lens because this thing is doing
476. 18:31nothing but gathering dust and debris
477. 18:34when it's in your pocket. Good lighting
478. 18:36doesn't have to be expensive lighting.
479. 18:39More often than not, natural light from
480. 18:42a window will be more than sufficient.
481. 18:43But if you are going to use artificial
482. 18:45light, then you want it around about a
483. 18:4845° angle to your head just so that it's
484. 18:51not blasting your face, especially if
485. 18:53you're wearing glasses. And you probably
486. 18:55don't want to put them up to full power
487. 18:56because the light will just bounce off
488. 18:58everything and you look like a ghost.
489. 19:00Just to give you an idea of how the shot
490. 19:02normally looks. The light now is set at
491. 19:04just 40% brightness, but I've also got
492. 19:07two lights behind me at a very low power
493. 19:10reflecting off the wall, which separates
494. 19:12me from the background. Your eyes should
495. 19:14sit above the middle of the frame with a
496. 19:17little bit of headroom as well. And your
497. 19:19shoulders should always be visible.
498. 19:21That's your anchor point. This will give
499. 19:22you the greatest range of flexibility if
500. 19:24you want to cut into the shot when
501. 19:26you're saying something serious.
502. 19:29I have literally nothing serious to say
503. 19:31at this point. Now, as for your
504. 19:32background, it doesn't have to look like
505. 19:34this, which is one hell of a weird flex,
506. 19:38but try and slice up your frame into
507. 19:40three pieces. You will typically occupy
508. 19:43at least one column of that frame, so
509. 19:45the other sections can be left to window
510. 19:48dressing, whatever you want that to be.
511. 19:50I'm not going to say that your viewers
512. 19:51are going to judge what's in your
513. 19:52background, but if you can have some
514. 19:55subtle, even subconscious references to
515. 19:58the topic that you're talking about, it
516. 20:00creates an authentic connection with the
517. 20:03viewer. And then once you've built up a
518. 20:05little bit of experience, then you can
519. 20:07really start to experiment and have some
520. 20:09fun with not only the lighting, but the
521. 20:11backgrounds as well. But if we're being
522. 20:15deadly serious for a moment, the
523. 20:18aesthetics,
524. 20:19the visuals, the audio of the video
525. 20:23should match the tone and mood of the
526. 20:26video.
527. 20:29I'm sorry I can't keep a serious
528. 20:30straight face. Let's move on. Now, there
529. 20:32are all sorts of interesting tricks you
530. 20:34can use to keep the viewer engaged and
531. 20:36watching for longer. For example, if
532. 20:37you're doing some sort of challenge, you
533. 20:39can set up a timer. I have no idea what
534. 20:41this is counting down to. Or you can use
535. 20:43props to communicate things in
536. 20:45interesting ways, such as the whiteboard
537. 20:47I've been using throughout this video.
538. 20:50Yeah, I didn't finish this for. Or you
539. 20:53can just leave things to fate. Heads you
540. 20:55subscribe, tails you don't.
541. 21:00Nah. And of course, if all else fails,
542. 21:02if you have a cute pet, perfect. Except
543. 21:06for cats. Remember, cats are stupid.
544. 21:10It's also worth mentioning that just
545. 21:12like with thumbnails that you should be
546. 21:13capturing the image while you're
547. 21:15recording to also film some B-roll
548. 21:18footage that might go over any voiceover
549. 21:21moments in your content. And finally,
550. 21:23this is a pretty simple rule. Where
551. 21:25possible, if you say it, also try to
552. 21:29show it. What an effort that was. But
553. 21:32you finally finished filming your first
554. 21:34video. But in some ways, this is where
555. 21:38the real work begins. The edit. Here's
556. 21:41the raw and simple truth about video
557. 21:43editing. It's not really about all of
558. 21:46the fancy effects, transitions, or even
559. 21:49the new AI tools that you have at your
560. 21:52disposal. Editing at its fundamental
561. 21:55roots is all about keeping the viewer
562. 21:58engaged, keeping them watching.
563. 21:59Retention is your number one goal, and
564. 22:02that is done through editing. Now, most
565. 22:04new creators tend to overreedit to
566. 22:07perfection or what they think is
567. 22:09perfection and they spend months doing
568. 22:11it before they even publish their first
569. 22:13video or they underedit to the point
570. 22:15where they film something and literally
571. 22:17upload that to YouTube. You want to find
572. 22:19yourself somewhere in the middle. Tight
573. 22:22editing but human editing. So, I'm going
574. 22:24to try and break this all down with the
575. 22:26help of our editor. So, step one is to
576. 22:29build your editing timeline like a
577. 22:31story. Before you get close to any of
578. 22:33the fancy stuff like visual effects,
579. 22:35first drag all of your clips into the
580. 22:37editing timeline and build up that
581. 22:40setup, progress, payoff order that we
582. 22:43talked about earlier in the video. That
583. 22:45is going to be your essential road map
584. 22:47for the entire video. You essentially
585. 22:48want to cut out anything that doesn't
586. 22:51serve the story. If a clip doesn't move
587. 22:53the video forward or it lacks
588. 22:55personality, it's just clutter. It's not
589. 22:57needed. Yep. As hard as this is, it's
590. 22:59what's called killing your darlings. No
591. 23:02matter how long you took to prepare a
592. 23:06certain clip, if it doesn't serve a
593. 23:08purpose, then it's not going in the
594. 23:10final edit. Step two is to make your
595. 23:12pacing invisible. There's a bit of a
596. 23:14misconception that speed makes a video
597. 23:17interesting. It doesn't. It's flow that
598. 23:21does the work. Of course, if a moment in
599. 23:23a video does drag, then absolutely you
600. 23:25should trim it. But if it feels rushed,
601. 23:27you want to let this moment breathe. A
602. 23:30quick trick you can try here is to
603. 23:31exclusively edit the audio of a video.
604. 23:35What I mean by that is close your eyes
605. 23:37and just listen to the video. If it
606. 23:40sounds too rushed or too slow, it
607. 23:42probably is. Now, what you should be
608. 23:44ruthlessly cutting is the video
609. 23:47friction. And what I mean by that is
610. 23:49dead air, awkward moments that weren't
611. 23:51supposed to be in the video, filler
612. 23:53words, and
613. 23:56uh
614. 23:58yeah, all of that stuff. And jump cuts
615. 24:00are absolutely fine. The best way to
616. 24:03hide it is to have maybe a little zoom
617. 24:06in or zoom out so it hides that moment
618. 24:08between the transitions of the two
619. 24:10clips. Step three is to keep the viewer
620. 24:13visually stimulated if your video allows
621. 24:16it. Every 10 seconds or so, something
622. 24:19visually in the video should change.
623. 24:22Now, that doesn't mean chaos. It simply
624. 24:24means motion, clarity, payoff. This
625. 24:28might be adding in some B-roll to show
626. 24:30what you're talking about. It could be
627. 24:32some text or numbers to indicate key
628. 24:34points or facts. Or it could simply be a
629. 24:38cut to reset the viewers's attention.
630. 24:40Basically, motion matters. Even a subtle
631. 24:44zoom in or a pan makes the video feel
632. 24:48more alive, and you've seen plenty of
633. 24:49them in this video. All right, we're on
634. 24:51to step four now. And remember, we said
635. 24:53audio is really important. So, let's
636. 24:55balance your sound. Good audio mixing
637. 24:58simply makes your videos far more
638. 25:00enjoyable to listen to. So, here's a
639. 25:02pretty simple checklist to follow.
640. 25:03Throughout all of your clips, keep your
641. 25:05voice at a really steady level, and
642. 25:07music should always sit [music]
643. 25:09under your voice. Far too many creators
644. 25:12push the volume of their music up to
645. 25:15[music] make it sound interesting. And
646. 25:16the problem is I can't hear you. And if
647. 25:19you're going to use music, add soft
648. 25:21fades so it doesn't jarly come in and
649. 25:24disappear at moments in your videos
650. 25:27unless you're being really intentional
651. 25:28with it. And something that's really
652. 25:30worth doing is listening back to a video
653. 25:32on a mobile phone because those speakers
654. 25:36are the worst and that's how most of
655. 25:38your audience is likely to watch your
656. 25:40content. Now, step five is somewhat
657. 25:42optional, but add emotion through music
658. 25:45and pauses. Music should serve a
659. 25:47purpose. It shouldn't just be used for
660. 25:49the sake of using music. So, pick one
661. 25:51main track that fits your vibe and then
662. 25:53when the tone of the video shifts,
663. 25:56change the music. And don't forget this,
664. 26:00silence is just as powerful. And the
665. 26:03final step is to stop being an editor
666. 26:05and transform yourself into a viewer.
667. 26:07This is where you detach yourself from
668. 26:09the effort and the emotion that went
669. 26:11into the video. Because I'm going to be
670. 26:13honest with you, the viewer does not
671. 26:15care how much you put into the video.
672. 26:18They only care about how much value they
673. 26:20can extract out of it. So if you can
674. 26:23leave a video for 48 72 hours, try to
675. 26:27forget about it and then watch it again
676. 26:29as a viewer. Ask yourself these type of
677. 26:32questions. Did I get bored at any point
678. 26:34in the video? Did I understand
679. 26:35everything in the video? Did I smile or
680. 26:38learn or feel something about the video.
681. 26:40If it does have a transformative effect
682. 26:43on you and you know who you're talking
683. 26:45to with your target audience, then that
684. 26:48video is onto a winner. Unsurprisingly,
685. 26:50your first video edit will take a lot
686. 26:52longer than what you think. And that's
687. 26:54absolutely normal. Every creator learns
688. 26:57pacing, rhythm, and storytelling by
689. 26:59actually doing it over and over again.
690. 27:02So, don't rush to make your first edit
691. 27:04perfect. Simply make it clear. Make it
692. 27:08watchable. Make it yours. And that is
693. 27:12your first YouTube video done and
694. 27:15dusted. I don't know about you, but I'm
695. 27:18feeling pretty exhausted right now. But
696. 27:20I also feel fulfilled, excited, fueled
697. 27:24by passion, and by this time tomorrow,
698. 27:27I'll be ready to tackle this YouTube
699. 27:28adventure all over again. And I
700. 27:31sincerely hope you feel exactly the same
701. 27:33way when you finish your first YouTube
702. 27:36video. So yeah, congratulations.
703. 27:40Seriously, take a moment to appreciate
704. 27:43that because 90% of people who [music]
705. 27:46say they're going to start a YouTube
706. 27:48channel never do. You just have you're
707. 27:52ahead of the game. And now comes the fun
708. 27:54part,
709. 27:56actually pressing this button. And I've
710. 27:58got you covered for that. Because if you
711. 28:00thought making your first video is
712. 28:01tricky enough, wait until that video
713. 28:04hits the YouTube algorithm. So before
714. 28:06you press publish on your first YouTube
715. 28:08video, I'll guide you through how to
716. 28:10upload it properly to the platform so it
717. 28:13has the best possible chance to succeed.