It’s been six weeks since I launched my new YouTube channel. I’ve uploaded over 30 videos, most of which are tips on Microsoft Word. I also added an Android tip, just to test the waters.
The whole project has been a test of sorts.
I had to ensure that I could do all those videos during a week. They’re not that simple, either: Each video includes some graphics. Many of the videos have custom animation, which I confess is crude, but I’m working on it.
Generally speaking, it takes about three days for me to produce the videos. That’s four one-minute tip videos and one longer “bonus” video. I write the scripts, then go into graphics and animation production. The dialog is recorded and the screen captured. The whole thing gets stitched together, then it waits on the hard drive until its designated day arrives when I upload it to YouTube.
I keep the production schedule in an Excel worksheet. It’s the channel’s programming guide. Each video title is specified, along with the topic and notes to myself. So far, I have over 95 items in the schedule: 36 videos have been published, another 15 wait in the queue, and the rest are awaiting production.
For software, I use Word (naturally) to write the scripts. Each script is a two-column table. The left column is the dialog and the right column describes the action on the screen, including required effects.
The scripts sit around for a while as I review and edit them. That’s when I think of ideas to add for some insane animations and cut-aways. Sometimes my mind imagines something more detailed than my skillset is capable of pulling off, so I scale back.
When the script is done, I use Adobe Creative Cloud to produce the graphics and animation. Illustrator does the graphics. Animator does some of the animations, though I do the complex animations in After Effects. Audio is recorded in Audition. All this action takes place on my Macintosh.
On the PC, I run Word and use Camtasia for screen capture. Camtasia serves the final editing software, which stitches together the various pieces into a final movie.
On the YouTube side, I’m still working on understanding the interface and how best to present the videos. I’ve increased my number of subscribers slightly and people are watching the videos, which is good.
Of course, I’m not doing any marketing other than the occasional announcement here, on Facebook, and Twitter. Also, my schedule is going to get tighter in the second half of the year, so I hope to maintain the pace.
Please check out my channel and peruse the videos. Let me know if you have suggestions for topics to cover in Word or other technology. I enjoy producing the videos, so I hope you enjoy watching them.
