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[leapingtitan]

Nick Talks: Video Making

Alright. This is going to be a little different and a little long, but as you have probably figured, I was originally going to have this question in the AMA. It’s a very good question but there are certain things preventing me from including in, mainly for the slightly long description that I’m about to give in this post. Depending on what format you like to work with, posting something like this can work out good both in text and video/narrative form, but in that video specifically, I felt like it just wouldn’t fit in.

Now, first of all, I feel like it’s mandatory to state that I’m nowhere near professional at editing. In fact, I’ve only been doing this for a little less than two months. That amount of time is nothing compared to people who have done it for a year, maybe two years and not to mention people who do this as a full-time job, on a completely different level at that.

The thing is, if I were to give a full tutorial on how to make videos, it would be better if I just did it in video form. “But why didn’t you just include it in the AMA, then?” Yeah, two reasons. One, I don’t think anyone wants to sit in front of their screen watching me do something for 10 hours (AT LEAST). And two, like I said, I’m pretty amateur at this point.

However, since people are expressing genuine interest and it’s a completely logical question nonetheless, I’ve decided to at least try answering in a fashion that would appeal to people. Personally, I think doing this in text form is okay for now. Like I said, I can’t give a full class on video editing, but I can give you the step-by-step process as well as my two cents on each individual step.

If you are genuinely interested in the process and want to find out more (or just read what I’m writing in general... either is fine), I recommend reading carefully and slowly whilst paying attention because this is going to be slightly longer than my usual posts and I’ll try my best to explain. Let’s do this.

Step 1: The Idea

This may seem obvious to some of you, but this is, and I mean it, the most important part. The idea sets everything else into motion and determines what the final product will be and how it will be received by viewers. Even if your effects and cuts are Hollywood-quality, if the overall concept is bad, people aren’t gonna like it. And this applies to quite literally everything. It doesn’t matter if it’s art, fiction, meta, theories, videos, the idea is the seed of everything that has to do with creativity.

Now, where do ideas come from? From everywhere! For me, it’s mostly just being active in the fandom. As I’ve said in the past, I do a lot of read-through’s while waiting for new chapters, and I always get more and more ideas each time. Another important source is you guys! Tumblr and the people I follow really inspire me. This in it of itself has multiple sources including other theories and meta, and quite commonly answers to asks. Everything combined together becomes the foundation for the idea, before the idea itself actually booms into existence. Lastly, I watch other YouTubers and have seen people make similar content to this. though in different fandoms and different forms. However, this is a big inspiration to me and it’s what got me to make what I’m making right now. The lore of Attack on Titan has different things that one can talk about, and my fellow meta writers are well aware of this already. 

What makes a good idea? Well, this one has a lot of different factors. For me, 98% of the feedback that I’ve gotten these past 2 months has been positive. You can call this luck, but I’ve had a lot of people to look up to and a lot of references and examples to gather experience from. But I swear, I cannot make this more clear: YOU ARE GOING TO SUCK AT THE BEGINNING. This doesn’t always apply, but you need to gather experience from failure before you can achieve something that is remotely good. Past experience can come from anything and can then be adapted and used in different ways. For example, are you a meta writer? It’s possible that your first meta got over 200 notes and was very well received, okay! But you probably already have some kind of idea how to keep your readers entertained and express your thoughts in a beautiful and addicting fashion. Maybe you’re good at writing essays in English? See what I mean? If you’re starting from complete zero in a completely new aspect though... you can read what I wrote above again. Trial and error, experience and patience are the most important aspects. And I already said this, but I’ll say it again: This applies to everything.

Step 2: Time and Motivation

Well, the idea is the most important step. But the hardest step... is this. I swear... This is the reason why Part 2 of The Timeline and History of Attack on Titan came out. Let’s start with time. First of all, I kind of already said this, but I’m not doing this as a full-time job. This is a hobby. A way for me to display what you call meta in a more visual and acoustic format. And for the record, there is school... obviously. I have studies, classes, extra work as well as things which do not involve anything academic whatsoever, like my personal life. So, okay... but it’s not like I’m 24/7 studying... right? Nope, not even close. With that, this brings me to my next aspect.

Motivation. For the record, this applies to everything. Surprise! I could have a whole day all for myself free of any worries and disturbances whatsoever. I can just sit down... and not even edit 4 seconds of video. Motivation comes from a lot of different places, mainly you guys, the community here on Tumblr, as well as my own ideas and plans for the future as to what I like doing and what kind of person I am as a whole. Reflecting really does help, but it’s absolutely vital to say this: Motivation is temporary and can’t be forced. Even if I have all of those things I mentioned, there is absolutely no guarantee that it instantly boosts the chances of me making something good by 80% or above... and that’s even way too much to be completely honest. Then there is the mood I am in. Like everyone else, I have a personal life and there are many different things that affect me. This can be of various magnitudes, but let me tell you, it can definitely prevent me from doing anything even if I do have all of the positive things I just mentioned. You just can’t force it and it has to come naturally. Personal life plays a big part, and I’ll usually take care of whatever is bothering me before having the peace of mind to sit down and get to work... that’s how it is.

Step 3 (Optional): Writing a Script

Alright, we got all of the theoretical and psychological aspects all of the way. Now we get to the actual video... except not. The reason why this step is optional can probably already made out by some of you who are reading this. For The Timeline and History of Attack on Titan video series, I wrote an entire script of everything I wanted to say. Now, back up and let’s be real here: Nobody in their right mind can possibly recite the entire Shingeki no Kyojin lore and backstory off the top of their head without jinxing at least once. For informative videos where you are trying to get your point across in a mannered, organized and appealing fashion, writing a script is the ideal solution. You have time to organize your thoughts, not make mistakes and have the full freedom to correct them at the spot before you present them to the public.

Now, of course, if you’re doing a live reaction or just freestyle/improvising, writing a script is not necessary. I mean, it wouldn’t be called a Live reaction otherwise if you’re preparing it before that... As for thoughts and opinions, this is where you have to make the choice. Do you want to spend maybe an hour (for me at least) writing a script and clearing your thoughts one by one with each word so that it can be easier afterwards? Or do you want the freedom to speak exactly that which comes to your mind at the spot. For me, like I said, it depends on the type of video you are making. Something very lore-ish and very appeal-concentrated like the Timeline series is definitely better to write a script. However, this isn’t to say that it’s mandatory. Some people are good at speaking their thoughts and having an organized mind and get their point across, nice and clean on the spot. For me, it depends. In my case there are a lot of different factors (which most definitely include the first two steps of this guide by the way), but I can’t speak on behalf of everyone reading this, obviously. Do what you are comfortable with and whatever fits your style. And of course, trial and error counts here as well.

Step 4: Recording the Audio

It’s the for the transition in format. Before you begin, here are the things I recommend to everyone: 

If you’re sick, don’t do this. Period.

Get comfortable and clear your throat.

Have a glass of water nearby at all times. You’re gonna see exactly what I mean.

If you’ve written one, bring up your script and read the first few lines or paragraphs to get comfortable and prepared. If you haven’t, clear your thoughts for a few minutes and relax.

And lastly, sit down in/on that chair with the full knowledge and awareness of the fact that you’re probably going to be sitting there for a bit and potentially fuck up. A lot.

After you’ve done that, it’s time to hit record... and after you do... well... that’s pretty much it. Depending on the type of content you are making, the things you’ll be saying and recording will be different. 

This is something I still frequently do, so take my advice: Talk slowly, take deep breaths, don’t worry if you mess up. Stop talking, drink up that water, stand up, roll around in your chair (if your chair can roll that is) and then try again. Talking slow is very important and I never realized that my words were shooting out like a machine gun and no one could recognize them until one of my private viewers pointed it out at the beginning. And for that, I’m grateful. Usually in improvisation videos like my Reviews and Live Reactions I’ll talk like I usually do (still the advice remains helpful forever),though in informative videos where you HAVE to appeal, definitely consider the pace of your speech. 

Now, I’m speaking from my perspective, but I know a lot of you out there don’t have English as a native language. There are accents, ways you pronounce words and overall different ways of talking. For me... I really don’t see it that much. English is like an extension of my senses and I barely think about it, though my hybrid accent definitely stands out at times, I believe it’s not as bad as it used to be a certain period of time ago. Also, for those of you who don’t know (and this is going to surprise a lot of people), English is not my first/native language. It’s my second, and I’ve been learning it since I was about 3 years old, purely out of fascination and interest and the fact that it’s around you everywhere ago. To be even more honest, I can probably speak it better than my native language at this point. This is why I apologize for the fact that I can’t relate with everyone reading this right now, but I am currently struggling with another language which is a completely different story, but trust me... I know what it’s like. Generally, I wouldn’t recommend doing this unless you are comfortable with your speech. This takes time and... overall practice and being surrounded by the language is the best advice I can give. I can’t say anymore though because like I said, it’s different for everyone and I also don’t want to make this a “How to Speak Foreign Languages” class... that’s not my goal here, but I felt like this was important to point out.

Something else to point out is hardware. You do not have to bankrupt yourself and buy the most expensive microphone you find on Amazon. Mine is anything but magic,and my advice is: Set up the microphone properly through your computer’s settings. Volume and microphone boost are important aspects. Too much boost means louder but lots of background noise which, even when removed, can tamper with the voice itself which is why I have mine set to 0 at all times. If it’s too quiet I’ll just amplify it/increase the volume manually. Now, if you do want a more advanced mic, then that’s okay too. I would recommend this for something that’s more professional, but really unless you’re doing something like studio quality music recording or voice acting, it’s not really that important. However, here are two vital things:

Do not use your phone for anything that’s not simple things... or you know, the snk voice meme.

When people watch your video, their ears will be affected a lot quicker than their eyes. Hearing takes subconscious priority to sight and has an even greater impact on whether or not you’re going to keep watching or not. For me, if the first two seconds is full of background noise and bad voice quality, I’ll click 3 minutes further to see if it’s still like that... if it is, immediate click on that “X”.

If your mic doesn’t have one by default, use a pop filter or wind screen. These remove any loud unnecessary pops and noises which you may get while recording, especially if you are close to the microphone. I have both for convenience sake, but just one is okay. (Though in my case, not using the microphone boost requires me to be pretty close to the mic, meaning I go for the wind screen most of the time)

Anyway, those are all of the things you should keep in mind. While recording, you are going to mess up. Again, again... and again. Did something make you laugh? Did you get interrupted by someone walking into the room or calling you on your phone? Did you just fail to say what you were trying to say even though it’s right in your head/right in front of you? All of that happens and it’s completely normal. You can’t get it on the first try flawlessly, even with a script in front of your eyes. Trial and error, like I said. I have a folder full of outtakes/bloopers which is like 100MB of shenanigans at this point which I’m thinking of posting when I get more of those... and oh yes, that’s going to happen. I’ve messed up a lot, and you probably will too. Just remember what I wrote in the first two steps. Trial and error, patience, and with time... experience. It’s not like Kaji Yuuki pulled off Eren’s screaming lines on the first time.

Step 5: Editing the Audio

The times you messed up in Step 4, the longer this is going to take. For me, there is a lot of cutting and fixing up to do. Most of the time the full track has outtakes (some of which I’ll just extract in the folder I mentioned for future keeping) and fails, which I cut out and put the pieces together to make a clean, constant track of speech. Even if I don’t necessarily “mess up”, a lot of the time I obviously have to catch my breath. My throat will get dry, I’ll have to stand up and do other things and so on. Also, my full raw tracks are like 40% “uhm” “aaaand” “but” “and yeah” “so yeah” or just constant silence with me forgetting my thoughts if I don’t have a script in front of me. Most of the time I’ll just cut that out if I see it as annoying and overall something that no one wants to hear. I’m usually satisfied with the results.

I rarely tamper with the original audio aside from cutting, though there are simple things like filters, noise removal and the chipmunk/high pitch voice I used for Flocke in the Chapter 90 review. Overall though, I prefer to keep the original audio as it is, at least for now.

Step 6: Editing the Video

After you are done with the audio... it’s time for the video. The Idea is the most important part. Time and Motivation is the hardest part. And this... is the long part. Depending on what type of video you’re making and how many different visuals and animations you are going to put in it, this can take a variety of different amounts of time.

One question which I get somewhat frequently is what program I use. The answer is: You can use whatever you want and whatever you feel comfortable with. Personally, I use Sony Vegas 13. There is also Adobe Premiere which the “professional” standard I guess and if you’re using a Mac there is Final Cut. (I haven’t heard too many good things about the newer versions of Final Cut but I know Pro is regarded as a very good editing program. Though I don’t use a Mac myself so I can’t really give a perspective on that). Now, again, you don’t have to bankrupt yourself and buy Adobe Premiere or anything like that... there are different programs out there. Though, if you are looking to make something at least a bit more advanced, you may want to consider something that’s not Windows Movie Maker. I mean, it’s good for general editing but anything else does require a more advanced software. I started with Windows Movie Maker on XP like 11 years ago, now? And that’s basically my foundation for getting the hang of editing software in general.

Back to the editing itself. There are way too many things to mention here, but one that is important is using panels from the manga. In order to avoid copyright, any panel from the manga that I take (usually the official Crunchyroll version) has its dialogue whited out and removed. I literally do this in like 20 seconds in MS Paint by the way, but if you take all of the manga panels that I use in one video, especially The Timeline and History of Attack on Titan and add up the time it takes to remove the text from it, it does stack up to about 15-20 minutes which is like the length of the whole video itself... so... yeah.

For editing you need to be visual and well.. visualize how you want everything to look in your head. I wish I could explain this in more detail but... just like anything else creativity-related, you have to figure it out on your own and learn what you are comfortable with, as well as learn from mistakes and improve over time, of course.

Also, this step includes custom graphics and backgrounds which I make myself. These vary from video to video in both time and overall design.

Step 7: Rendering

I recently found a preset and messed around with it so that the file size of my videos is smaller, though the render time itself is slightly longer which is interesting. Anyways, after you’re done editing and the video is good to go, you render it. Basically exporting it and... yeah, you know what rendering is. With the AMA video it took around half an an hour and the video was 26 minutes long so... I think I like this new preset. Anyways, that’s all about this. While rendering, I also do the next step.

Step 8: Making the Thumbnail

This is probably my favorite and the most fun part in general. I always considered my strong side to be the graphic/photo-manipulative side where I can make something as colorful and eye-candy-ish as I can and place the text in the most convenient places and make it the most convenient size as possible. Personally this is a way for me to relax after finally finishing editing.

In case I need the thumbnail before that, for instance in the end screen in the video, I’ll usually just make it after I’m done editing the audio, so Step 5.5 is appropriate, I guess.

Step 9: Uploading and Finalization

Uploading the video to YouTube is another time consuming part, and knowing my schedule, I usually let this happen at the latest hours of the day because I’ve been trying to get the editing done beforehand. Depending on the size and length of the video, this can take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours. With my old rendering template it took about 2 and a half hours for a ~12 minute video. Now it takes the same time for a 26-minute video, so I’m saving a lot of time with the new template.

Then there is the misc. work like promoting it on here, getting the description and annotations out (I don’t like using End Cards... the 20 second limitation hinders Sawano’s music which I use at the end of my videos) and overall making sure people can watch it as comfortably as possible.

There is also a processing time after uploading (around 10 minutes) before the video can be viewed, and there is around a 5 minute period after that which limits the quality to 240p or 480p for whatever reason... Waiting for a little bit fixes it though.

Step 10: Repeat from Step 1

Conclusion

Well... this is really all I can say and the best advice that I can give you. I find it really interesting to know that people themselves take interest in what actually goes into making these things, though like I said, there are a lot of tutorials out there but from most of the things that I’ve taken interest in, I’ve picked up on them and learned the skill on my own. Again, there are many sources out there that can help you, and I just hope that you are now more informed after reading (if you did) this. I’ll try to answer any other questions as usual, though this pretty much sums up most of the things.

I know I didn’t answer some things like how long it takes to get a video out, but it really varies. On average, counting the whole process, I’d say maybe 8 or 9 hours. Step 1 and Step 2 are the biggest factor in this, as well as the editing step, but... yes, that’s all.

Thank you for reading!