A friend recently asked me about live-streaming and videos. Specifically about making guitar videos. Here are my thoughts.
I think the first question that I would ask is, why do you want to make videos? For me, I just like the process and the creative side of it all. I tried the YouTuber thing. Now, I make videos from time to time because I like to. To make a form of art, instead of building a business, and hope to glorify God in all things. Here are some thoughts on making classical guitar videos:
Teaching or Demonstrating
If you are teaching or demonstrating something in a video, it might be advantageous to speak on the video, especially if you are doing a live stream. Have you ever seen those demo videos where there is music, but no voice-over? Okay, honestly, those drive me crazy. Consider a couple of good examples:
- Brandon Acker: https://www.youtube.com/user/brandonacker (his banner needs work)
- Nathan Mills: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwmDcE669N1GtYySDaKv_jg
Lighting on Live-Streaming and Videos
Lighting is extremely important in videos. If you’re on a budget, I would suggest natural sunlight bulbs in a desk lamp with some parchment page as being used to diffuse the light a bit (hey, it works). Here’s a video on some other ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flc5iP0KwTg
Premiere Your Videos
If you have the capability (from your video platform) you can premiere your videos. Let your viewer know ahead of time that you are about to release a video or do a live stream. This gives people the option to sign up to see the video (set themselves a reminder). It could lead to more streams of your video. Not all video platforms offer this option…. and yes, there are more video platforms out there than YouTube.
Other Live-Stream and Videos Options
I have to admit. I like YouTube. I like the platform. I’ve learned a lot of stuff from YouTube. However, YouTube’s direction is going downhill… FAST! Everything is being politized and commercialized. YouTube will eventually die off. It’s the way of things. That’s sad, but there is good news (and even better news). There are other video sites out there. I highly encourage you to branch out. There are other video sites out there. YouTube is not the only game in town. There’s Rumble, Bitchute, Odysee (I think Odysee is owned by Google, but don’t quote me on that), and a few others. The way things are going, these may be some sites you’ll want to check out.
Live Streaming
I don’t know of many people live streaming and playing their guitar on a regular basis. A downside to live-streaming is that, while you can add reverb (and I assume EQ), you can’t, to my knowledge, process your audio (normalizing the audio, etc). I’m sure there’s a way to make the guitar sound amazing without post-processing. I think that the quality of the video is number one when doing a video. If you can bump up your quality in your live streams, I’d do that. Check out this page for video & audio tips:
- Nick Nimmin: https://www.youtube.com/user/NickNimmin
Bonus Ideas
Banners and Avatars for Live-Streaming and Videos
Most of these video sites have banners and avatars on their profiles. My encouragement would be to make these good, high-quality images. Tell people what your page does and what you are promoting videos on. Be clear and concise. Be classical.
Thumbnails for Live-Streaming and Videos
Thumbnails are huge on YouTube. It’s the bait for people to click (and I don’t mean clickbait). The better, classier, and cleaner the thumbnail, the more likely you’ll get a click (and possibly a subscriber).
Fill Out All the Information on Your Page.
There can be a lot of information on your video page to fill out. The site’s name links to websites and social media, playlists, descriptions… etc. Look for videos that help you help you think about and use these options to the fullest.
These are just a couple of thoughts off the top of my head to start with. This rabbit hole goes pretty deep, but it’s not hard (could be time-consuming until you get a workflow down). I hope this helps.
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