I started making YouTube videos for my classes back in 2015, currently have around 3.3k subs and just crossed 1 million total views. Link in my profile and MAKE SURE TO SMASH- I'm not doing that...
Others have said it, but audio is 100% critical. Some of my earlier videos were using a dinky Samson Meteorite omnidirectional mic, and the results were subpar imo. I finally picked up a Yeti over COVID remote learning and I am very happy with the results. Side tip, ALWAYS CHECK THAT YOUR MICROPHONE IS ON! It really sucks to knock out a 10 minute video and find out there's no sound...
Play around with your "style" of video - floating head, voice over, literally standing in front of a giant white board, or go wild and use the 3brown1blue animation style. I personally like the floating head with Khan Academy style drawing.
Things that matter if you choose to do the "floating head" style - lighting and deciding if you want to use a green screen.
- Lighting is hit and miss, mostly because the room I currently record in has massive windows so light is always pouring in. I do use a standing lamp with 3 bulbs to help balance out my shadows.
- Green screens are a pain in the ass in my opinion. One of my most viewed videos (on the Luhn Check algorithm, thanks CS0) has me fading in and out. I ended up donating it to the school's visual arts lab when I moved.
If you're going with the Khan Academy / Slides approach, get familiar with OBS and all the little annoyances like making sure menus appear in the recordings (I think its some Windows 7 compatiblity thing?). If you have your head on the screen, try to frame things so your head isn't hiding the material (some of mine have that but always minor stuff).
In regards to tempo, I sort of disagree with the comments on speaking slowly. I do a slightly faster tempo with casual but VERY articulate and excited speech. Many of my comments from my lectures and videos point this out as a positive. Rather than users needing to 1.5x the video, remember that its a recording and if they don't get something, they can rewind. Again, I try to be very articulate with my speech (with no accent) because I know not everyone is from my state. I try to follow an "assume they no nothing but want to learn it" approach, so nothing is hand waved away.
In regards to "what to record" - it helps to have a general plan. There's a lot of intro CS material out there, but that's not always a bad thing. Try to think about what students trying to learn are looking for. Some of my more popular videos are about Microsoft Access.
Growth and Revenue - I can't offer much help. I get some ad revenue like once a year at most. However, the videos are supplemental for my students in my classrooms. I'm not trying to make it a career, just trying to offer people not in my class a chance to see my explanations.
Others have said it, but audio is 100% critical. Some of my earlier videos were using a dinky Samson Meteorite omnidirectional mic, and the results were subpar imo. I finally picked up a Yeti over COVID remote learning and I am very happy with the results. Side tip, ALWAYS CHECK THAT YOUR MICROPHONE IS ON! It really sucks to knock out a 10 minute video and find out there's no sound...
Play around with your "style" of video - floating head, voice over, literally standing in front of a giant white board, or go wild and use the 3brown1blue animation style. I personally like the floating head with Khan Academy style drawing.
Things that matter if you choose to do the "floating head" style - lighting and deciding if you want to use a green screen.
- Lighting is hit and miss, mostly because the room I currently record in has massive windows so light is always pouring in. I do use a standing lamp with 3 bulbs to help balance out my shadows.
- Green screens are a pain in the ass in my opinion. One of my most viewed videos (on the Luhn Check algorithm, thanks CS0) has me fading in and out. I ended up donating it to the school's visual arts lab when I moved.
If you're going with the Khan Academy / Slides approach, get familiar with OBS and all the little annoyances like making sure menus appear in the recordings (I think its some Windows 7 compatiblity thing?). If you have your head on the screen, try to frame things so your head isn't hiding the material (some of mine have that but always minor stuff).
In regards to tempo, I sort of disagree with the comments on speaking slowly. I do a slightly faster tempo with casual but VERY articulate and excited speech. Many of my comments from my lectures and videos point this out as a positive. Rather than users needing to 1.5x the video, remember that its a recording and if they don't get something, they can rewind. Again, I try to be very articulate with my speech (with no accent) because I know not everyone is from my state. I try to follow an "assume they no nothing but want to learn it" approach, so nothing is hand waved away.
In regards to "what to record" - it helps to have a general plan. There's a lot of intro CS material out there, but that's not always a bad thing. Try to think about what students trying to learn are looking for. Some of my more popular videos are about Microsoft Access.
Growth and Revenue - I can't offer much help. I get some ad revenue like once a year at most. However, the videos are supplemental for my students in my classrooms. I'm not trying to make it a career, just trying to offer people not in my class a chance to see my explanations.