How Do You YouTube?

[chysn]

I want to start a YouTube channel, except that I can't just upload music files; they need to be video files.

So how do you guys make video files for music pieces, given that you're not particularly interested in the video component?

Note that I'm on OSX, but I'd appreciate info for any platform.

[Paul Dither]

I want to start a YouTube channel, except that I can't just upload music files; they need to be video files.

So how do you guys make video files for music pieces, given that you're not particularly interested in the video component?

Note that I'm on OSX, but I'd appreciate info for any platform.

You could just use the included iMovie to do a movie file - that would be the most simple way to do it if your're not an Adobe Cloud user (in that case you could use Premiere). Just use your music as the audio track and add whatever visual content you like: videos or images. If you can operate a DAW, video software is not too difficult.

Here's a link about the requirements for iMovie: https://support.google.com/youtube/troubleshooter/2888402?hl=en#ts=2888407

I don't know about your planned file length, but also consider this step for videos longer than 15 minutes: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/71673?hl=en&ref_topic=2888648

Everything else can be found here: https://support.google.com/youtube/topic/16547?hl=en&ref_topic=4355169

And you'll also find loads of tutorials about more specific iMovie stuff on YouTube.

Hope that helps a little.

[Steven Morris]

Happy to hear that you're thinking of joining in on the synth-side of YouTube!

Just to answer your question as briefly as possible, you can open iMovie and drag & drop your sound file(s) into the timeline. Once that's done you can just export it as H.264. There are technically higher quality filetypes to export to, but to be honest I haven't noticed any differences on the audio or video sides of things. H.264 uploads to YouTube and gets processed much quicker, which is a huge bonus. iMovie/FCP are great for simple video editing, but they have some serious idiosyncrasies that make split-screen stuff have a harsh learning curve.

Now for my longer answer-- Ultimately, (or for the time being) YouTube is a video site. So as far as I can tell the video needs to be visually appealing to be successful (this is assuming it isn't some kind of 'viral' content). As a musician, I love to see other people play. So when I'm looking at YouTube videos, I'm mostly interested in seeing musical performances, even if they're spliced together like many of my own. However, I understand that the majority of non-musicians aren't really interested in seeing a bunch of flashing lights and fingers moving around. In that sense, some of the most successful YouTube music videos are the ones that are 'ambient' and have some kind of slideshow on the visual side of things. It can actually be a really cool way to show off any photos you might have acquired on trips and things like that! FWIW, my wife loves to study and read to those kinds of YouTube videos. Keep in mind that the YouTube synth community generally doesn't really seem to be interested in those kinds of videos though.

I hope that helps!

Those Google links that Paul provided are great! It's definitely a good idea to start there when you have questions because things change so frequently that a lot of tutorials end up being out of date.

[Sacred Synthesis]

In all things, simplicity.  Let me describe my method of producing YouTube "videos," which will make some of you laugh for its lack of sophistication.

First, all my music is performed live; no multi-tracking whatsoever is used.  I record the improvisations directly to a CD recorder, adding a little EQ.  I usually do 5-10 improvisations per session, and then pick the one that seems the best and upload it to my computer.  After this, I pick an image from out computer files, almost always from my wife's photographs of local nature scenes - places we go hiking.  Then, using Moviemaker, I combine the image and the music into a so-called video.  Then I upload it to YouTube, adding annotations, if necessary.

That's it.  Simple as can be.  if I can do it, anyone can do it.

Back on the old forum, several years ago we had a discussion about this.  The advice I was given about starting a YouTube channel was ridiculously complicated, and I remember some one suggesting that my method was too simple to work.  I couldn't start with a CD.  I would need more equipment and sophistication.  Heh, heh, heh.  Gosh, I love rejecting bad advice from experts.

In all things, simplicity.

[Shaw]

In all things, simplicity. ...

First, all my music is performed live; no multi-tracking whatsoever is used.  I record the improvisations directly to a CD recorder, adding a little EQ.  I usually do 5-10 improvisations per session, and then pick the one that seems the best and upload it to my computer.  After this, I pick an image from out computer files, almost always from my wife's photographs of local nature scenes - places we go hiking.  Then, using Moviemaker, I combine the image and the music into a so-called video.  Then I upload it to YouTube, adding annotations, if necessary.

That's it.  Simple as can be.  if I can do it, anyone can do it.

In all things, simplicity.

Sound advice. And if you're on a Mac, do the same thing (though you could record to GarageBand instead of CD and skip the step of re-importing -- simplicity).  Then open iMovie, pic a few photos and voila -- Ken Burns is your uncle. 
And you can upload to YouTube directly from iMovie -- no need to export, go to your browser, yada yada yada -- simplicity.


Cheers!

[Sacred Synthesis]

Except that a computer is not a part of my set up.

[SpaceVoice]

Greetings
  In the past I have made a few slide shows & combined with a wav file on a computer...any photos will suffice.
  Currently, I simply record the audio & video directly, using a Zoom Q3HD. Transfer the file to a computer & upload.
 I do have a high speed internet connection, however it tends to take about an hour or more to upload a 5 min video at 720p.
 I run a cable from the output of my mixer to the video recorder &  push record.

[Sacred Synthesis]

In summary, it's very easy to make decent "videos" on YouTube.  Just make sure your audio quality is worth listening to - meaning, don't bother using a camera microphone.