YouTube is going big on mobile content creation

YouTube creator studio ()

YouTube Creator Academy

The YouTube Creator Academy is a great reference point for all publishers and producers looking to ramp up their online video output. It highlights ways to increase shareability, incorporate branding, and turn ideas into videos. One particularly interesting aspect of its approach is the importance it places on mobile. And that stands to reason right? If you’re going to produce mobile content, for a mobile platform, to receives mobile shares, then having a mobile camera is not a bad starting point.

Mobile Production Strategies

One of the Academy’s most popular instructional videos advises viewers on how to create high-quality productions that audiences will love, using a mobile device. These tips are pretty strong, so I’ve broken out the top three here:

1.     Choose the right lighting

Phones like light – a lot of it! Soft, even lighting will help your camera’s image sensor maintain detail in the brightest and darkest parts of the image.

2.     Record good sound

This is vital. We shoot using lavalier or occasionally boom mics. Much of the bulky old fashioned camera technology was created with optimised sound, rather than the visual, in mind. So if you can get this right you’ve cracked it. 

3.     Edit easily

Phones are small! Which means you can get shots you may never be able to achieve with a bulkier DSLR or camcorder. Having advanced computers inside of them also means you’re not just limited to production on your phone — you can now edit and upload videos from them too.

Grow with mobile

As the growth in mobile internet usage continues it’s important to bear your audience in mind. Publishing and broadcast are getting closer together in the digital world, and the line between the two is blurring. No longer is it necessary to focus on heavy, expensive, and time consuming Hollywood production values and indeed, as the world’s premier online video platform itself testifies, mobile filming is often the way to go.

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