Katie Schenkel, Just Plain Something Vlogger – Starting Your Own Vlog
Although Katie started writing for CliqueClack in 2010, before that she ran (and still runs) Just Plain Something, a film review vlog. While you can always check out her TV thoughts here, check out her site as well.
Read on for Katie’s video blogging advice:
As far as camera goes, I started with my shitty 2005 point-and-click camera that happened to have video recording (which only lasted about 15 minutes at most). When you’re starting off, use whatever you can. If you have a high quality, industry-grade camera at your disposal, then great! But the important thing is to get the webseries or vlog started. Once you get it rolling you can buy better equipment (which is what I did in the fall through a few good deals on Amazon), but if you wait to get the right equipment you’ll never get started.
However, once you get to the point where you are getting serious about the tech, definitely get some decent lighting equipment (I found some photography lighting with umbrella and stand on clearance), a decent pro or semi-pro camera (I have a Canon something or other — I can check the number when I get home, but it’s essentially somewhere in the middle between an industry camera and a amateur one) and do your absolute best to find a good USB-based microphone AND a camera that will actually let you use the microphone with it. If you can use the same mic for both your camera and VO work, the sound quality will be consistent (which is an issue I have because my camera doesn’t support my VO microphone). It’s also really important to get either Adobe Premiere or any other high quality editing software because the video editing software that comes with PCs and Macs now is dumbed down for the grandmas who want to make a video of their grandchildren in under an hour. If you don’t know how to use Adobe or the other programs there are a ton of how-to videos on youtube that can help.
Again, this is more for the do-it-yourself webseries maker. The most important things are as followed:
1. Get it started, even if you know it’s not going to be perfect because like any project it’s never perfect when you start.
2. Learn as you go what works and what doesn’t.
3. Do it for the fun of it. If you’re doing it to make money only then you’re going to give up before you get to the point where you can even break even.
For advice on starting your own public access\campus TV show, click to the last page!
Clacked by An Nicholson 
on Jul 16, 2012 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
