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How to Vlog: From the Vlogbrothers

2011-05-20 · Hank · watch on YouTube · Internet & YouTube · advice recommendation

Lower-confidence wave

2011 videos did not pass the QA gate (17 %); their analysis is shown but less reliable.

Hank gives simple, equipment-free advice on vlogging: frame by the rule of thirds, find a stage voice aimed at one imagined viewer, don't forget to be interesting, avoid silence around jump cuts, and don't be afraid to try.

What is said

00:00:00 — A video about making videos; not about equipment: skill is honed by lack

  • ★★ Hank makes a video about making videos, something different that may not appeal to everyone, and says he will do his best to keep it entertaining for non-vloggers. — 00:00:01
  • ★★ Hank won't discuss cameras, computers or software: skill is honed by lack, and a learner needs no Valyrian steel sword to learn to wield a knife. — 00:00:08

00:00:26 — How to look: the rule of thirds and the eyes on the line

  • ★★ Hank recommends the rule of thirds; early vlogs put eyes and mouth on the lines, but with bigger screens now just the eyes, the most important element of the frame. — 00:00:26

00:00:45 — How to sound: the vlogging voice, a gigantic stage with one person in the audience, from John to all of Nerdfighteria

  • ★★★ Hank says his vlogging voice is not how he talks to his wife at home: he imagines himself on a gigantic stage talking to one person in the audience. — 00:00:45 · Katherine Green
  • ★★ Hank says the vlogging voice takes time to hone; early vlogbrothers videos show that the brothers sucked too when they started. — 00:01:01 · Vlogbrothers
  • ★★ Hank says his one imagined viewer started out as his brother, whom he knew how to please; now it is an amalgam of all of Nerdfighteria. — 00:01:07 · John Green, Nerdfighteria

00:01:22 — Don't Forget To Be Interesting: scripts, short attention spans, ways to keep things interesting, ideas vs making them interesting

  • ★★★ Besides Don't Forget To Be Awesome, Hank gives a vlogging rule: Don't Forget To Be Interesting; he sometimes writes scripts so what he says isn't dull. — 00:01:22 · DFTBA > «Don't Forget To Be Interesting»
  • ★★ Hank says he wrote a script for this video and will post it on his Tumblr so viewers can compare it with the finished video. — 00:01:31 · Tumblr
  • ★★ Hank says every audience has members with short attention spans who must be pandered to, and he believes pandering to them makes a video better. — 00:01:39
  • ★★ Hank lists ways to keep videos interesting: moving around, video over voice, props, funny hats, going outside, singing, speed changes, filters and puppets. — 00:01:47
  • ★★ Hank says getting ideas for videos is easy; his real work is figuring out how to make those ideas interesting. — 00:01:58

00:02:06 — Silence is powerful, so none around jump cuts; do not be afraid to try

  • ★★ Hank says silence is extremely powerful and should be used very sparingly; his videos have few silent moments, and any silence around a jump cut is bad. — 00:02:06
  • ★★ Hank advises not being afraid to try: failing stings less if you didn't try hard, but it is also much more likely. — 00:02:21

00:02:32 — Editing: a screen capture of editing this vlog on hankschannel; encouragement to vlog; sign-off

  • ★★ Instead of explaining editing, Hank will post a screen capture of himself editing this vlog on his second channel, hankschannel, linked in the end screen. — 00:02:32 · hankschannel
  • ★★★ Hank says people can vlog however they want, but he encourages all viewers to vlog, and to do it well. — 00:02:54

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