Quote from sicarius_19

Definitely kid friendly. To be honest, I don't like very young kids who think they are so cool to play minecraft. I'm a pretty old teen and I see how annoying kids these days can be. Ok, I think I went off topic

Quote from Collin1971

Half-Size means you're recording at half the size your source is. So if you're recording in 1920x1080, recording in half size will make that 1280x720. Stretching a half-size video may be blurry, but you can try.

Quote from Shawville

My Screen Resolution is 1920x1080, but how would I know if I'm recording it in that resolution?

My Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyI0MhoFM0QtPSCR1vzF3MQ

A quick Note from the Author (29-10-2013): Hey Guys Sorry this thread hasn't been updated in the last couple of months. I have been travelling. Will add some stuff now

Also as I was editing there was an error so there may be some mistakes and weird stuff throughout the post. I think i fixed most off it

Introduction:Hey everyone I am BearKind and this is my guide to YouTube. Now quickly, note that right now I do not have a YouTube Channel but I would if I could (Internet Data Limit...). But these are tips, tricks and general advice to what I think can help you achieve YouTube success. I hope it Helps! Million's of people each day are uploading videos to YouTube. In 1 Single Minute a total of 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube. That is 103,680 hours a Day. There are over 1 billion unique users per month.So lets be honest, the odds are against most of us. But it isn't all bad news, 4 billion hours of video's are watched every month, millions of subscriptions happen each day and since 2011 YouTube has over 1 trillion views or over 140 views per person in the entire world.So there is an huge audience as well as a huge amount of competition.

To Business:

1: Now Lets assume you are posting for these step Minecraft LetsPlays or any other Minecraft related content. There are 26,700 YouTube Channels that are doing Minecraft Exclusively and around 11,000 more doing it frequently! What you have to ask yourself is what makes my channel stand out against this flood of content? What can I do to set aside my channel from the rest? Try and think of new features to put into your LetsPlays, do something different! This is why originality is key. Don't try and copy anyone! But copy is a loose term. I'm not saying you shouldn't do Minecraft Letsplays just don't copy there personalities or Special Features. Special features being Jerry the slime (Captain Sparklez), BARRELS (Pewdiepie). Two things I have seen other channels copy and its horrible. Basically Be Inventive!

2: Bringing me to my second point! Be Yourself! No one wants to see a new channel and take time out of there day to watch 'SethBling 2.0'; or 'Pewds the Second'. Be inventive! Create your own characters and make your own personality become the YouTube personality that other channels will want to copy.Now lets be honest, there is no guide or book that can teach you this, just try to be confident in yourself, your own opinions and in what you are saying. But don't be a 'try hard'. Don't plan out your episodes. This is one of the reasons the Yogscast is loosing popularity. People feel everything is scripted!

2.5: Now when I say be yourself I'm not saying you can add some flare to it! I highly doubt YouTuber's like IIJERiiCHOII walks around his house talking exactly how he commentates. What I'm trying to say is add some personality and feel into it. Using Jericho as an example he is very outgoing in his videos. Etho make sure that he is very methodical about everything he does (which you can probably imagine is apart of his personality) but again with Pewdiepie, he makes in animate objects animated (remember to invent your own!)

3: Consistency is another important thing. Regular uploads and more importantly a schedule. A scheduled timetable of pre determined releases shows people you are organised and also lets people see what to expect. Pre record your videos a week or so before so you can stick to this schedule. Your audience will feel like they are watching a committed and professional YouTuber.

3.5: Consistency in what I just said is good. But another area would be in how you begin your commentaries and how you finish them. Perfect examples Yogscast and Pewdiepie (Intro: Hows it going bro's, my name is Pewdiepie's Outro, *Brofist*, Every time.

4: Just a quick one which probably should have been number 1. Make sure you are ENJOYING Posting content. YouTube can be a very tough game. You open yourself up to public scrutiny which on YouTube the are notoriously bad for (in some cases)

5: Professionalism is another key factor! The finer details of making a video is what sets the amateurs from the professionals. The finer details include things like recording in high quality, using voice editing software to get rid of the sharp s' and things like that, Intro's/Outro's, thumbnails and channel backgrounds. Get the best software and make sure the quality is high!

Professionals Have Standards:• Be Original• Be Professional• Be Your Own Audience

5.5: Thumbnails and Intro's are both important but they can be abused. Don't make them irrelevant. Try keep the Thumbnails stream line and Simple, explicitly giving a brief overview of the video and its contents. Now with intros, obviously introduce yourself but more importantly and I can't stress this keep it short sweet and relevant! For Minecraft LetsPlays don't play filthy Dubstep during the intro, play simple nice Minecrafty music, For the images perhaps use your character or a Minecraft landscape, Not a dark feel like that of the game 'Amnesia'. Short Simple and Relevant!

6: Networking is something that I believe is very very important for any sort off youtube success. People might have the best content around and only have 20 Subs, Simply because how is there deserved audience going to find them? Networking, that's how.Networking (In Short) is linking up with other YouTubers and playing with them (bigger or smaller). Post blogs and update regularly (perhaps in Minecraft forums). Maybe even play on a YouTube Minecraft server. All these things will increase your channels exposure and not only these show people that you are committed. Facebook, Twitter are just a few more things that spring to mind!

Quote from beastman3226

Do mod reviews of mods on the forums. Have the mod owners advertise those videos. You will gain subscribers as well as viewers for other videos.

A Great Suggestion ^
Also

Quote from Koumus

Hey Bear, perhaps you could add a small guide on how to add the subscribe button on Minecraft Forums?
For those who want to advertise their channels in their signatures, etc.
You just need to use the following code.

[youtubesubscribe] Youtube Username Here [/youtubesubscribe]

7: Personalize it: Use words like We and our. Remember those English class' were they taught persuasive language? (I do, Even though I'm terrible at English) and it is important to use this language. Inclusive language in particular. Also try and personalize it by telling your audience things about yourself, stories, facts or what's going on in your life.

Your Additions and Ideas!

Quote from Alzorath

---- A channel, especially when it is grown, is neither the creator's, nor the viewer's - it is an interesting interaction between the two - as the creator, you need the viewers for your content as much as they rely on you to create it. Don't ever forget that. It is not your place to lead them, to force them, or to control them, it is your place to create content that you enjoy creating, that they enjoy watching, and that is responsible and in context with your channel's goals and personality. Another note is that, no matter how open or private you are, people will learn things about you, that you didn't want them to know, but at the same time, they will generally only know a limited perspective of who you are - your public face, some private hints, but never the entirety of you - to assume otherwise, can be dangerous to the health of your channel.

Feel free to Suggest Something! (Credit will be given)

The Video Break Down [For A MineCraft LetsPlay]:

Early Introduction:
Now an introduction doesn't have to be a clip of any sort, but I would recommend being consistent. If you use a video intro or not you should always have an opening statement that stays the same. Pewdiepie, (I know I have used him as an example a lot but the stat's show that he is one of the best) he starts his videos off with 'How's It going bro's, my name is Pewdiepie'. Its not as simple as it sounds. As any of his fans may not he calls them his 'Bros'. This makes all his subscribers feel as if they are apart of something and anyone new to his videos want to be apart of something. So I would suggest trying to think of something similar. For example for my name, BearKind, I could say 'Welcome Cubs' or something along those lines.If you are going to use a video intro either make it the same simple intro through out your videos or make it relevant and video/series specific. Make sure whatever you do that it is interesting and that the audience doesn't get bored. Keep it to maximum 10 seconds.

Start:
Every video will have a start, middle and end (obviously!). The idea of any intro is to reel in your audience, interest and captivate so they continue watching your video. This is the second barrier (the first being the early intro) and once you get them here they will most likely watch the whole video.Now, at the start of each video try and outline a few goals of what you are thinking about doing through out the episode, make sure these are exiting or interesting, NOT 'today we are going to do terraforming...and that's it'. Perhaps outline something special to do with the channel as well.

Middle:
By now you should have your tasks under way. Be careful when doing things. If it is redecorating a room then then cut the tedious block changes out and leave in parts that can be used for discussion for example 'I like a fence here or perhaps we should do this...' Make sure to keep it interesting and if you start to struggle with things to say you should rap up the task your doing and move on to the next one, 'we can get back to this later'. Its super important to be detailed, alert and thorough through this section as missing obvious things ,like dying or missing a dungeon whilst mining.Keep them with you by cutting out the boring bits!

End:
When finish off the video quickly summarise what you achieved during that episode. Then pose a question to your viewers or like 'Etho' does answer some questions that your subscribers have (personal or private).These thing will spark conversation in the comments increasing your videos chance of being recommended.Then do your outro phrase (or action, *Brofist*), similar to the intro and finally finish with a closing screen leading to other videos. The videos should be the next episode and a recent upload or the first episode of another series.


Getting Partnership With Minecraft Videos!

Basically what the new youtube partnership is monetization of videos. To get the partnership features you must have 1 or more videos become partnered and get all the features that come with it. Now to get partnership you must either send youtube a message with your proof of ownership or simply put it in the description!Proof of ownership. Say something like 'I own all the content in this video. I have permission from the Minecraft developers as stated here in the 'Terms of Use' (https://minecraft.net/terms). It says 'Other than commercial use (unless specifically authorized by us in our 'brand and assets usage guidelines' - for instance you are allowed to put ads on your YouTube videos containing Minecraft footage), you're free to do whatever you want with screenshots and videos of the game, but don't just rip art resources and pass them around, that's no fun'. Post that as a 'Disclaimer'; in your video description and you should be right.

Partnership Features! Why you want them!
There are a number of features that only partners receive which greatly improve the overall look and quality of your channels. Here are a few!

Scheduled Uploads.

Scheduled publishing allows partners to schedule a private video to go public at a later time. The video will remain private until the specified scheduled publish time as shown below.

This allows you to plan out a week of videos if you are going away. Or simply be more organised!

Custom Thumbnails
To get custom thumbnails you must allow monetisation on your videos!As explained in the steps above it greatly improves the quality of your channel and makes it look much more professional. So Make sure you allow monetisation!

Merch Annotations
Merch annotations provide partners a way to promote their licensed merchandise directly in their videos. Merch annotations are only available to participants in the YouTube Partner Program. This is probably for when your channel grows big enough to warrant T-shirts. But you may have merchandise that you are trying to sell anyway as some sort of donation/competition.

Live Streaming
To get the ability to live stream you must be monitised. As well as have at least 1,000 subscribers, is in good standing, and you've set up SMS verification for your YouTube account, you can apply for YouTube Live access from within your Account Features page. Access to YouTube Live will be granted gradually.

Hangouts on Air
These are basically Google+ hangouts being live streamed. This feature is great for Networking with other YouTubers!

Starting a channel!
So how to start a channel. Well first you need to know what your in it for. If you want Internet Fame and money only then you should quit now. But if you find enjoyment in entertaining people then youtube is a perfect outlet.The reason I say this is that YouTube is NOT easy. Countless channels begin posting videos regularly and eventually within a couple of weeks begin stopping. This is because they either get bored or that they had unrealistic expectations of there channel growth.So make sure your in it for the right reasons!What are you going to need?
-A screen capture program like fraps-Sound Editing software-A capture card for your TV-A capable computer-Video Editing software-A large internet data plan.-Good upload speeds-What can you guys think of?

A massive thanks to Alzorath for supplying some much more detailed Information than what I had above!Here it is below!!

Quote from Alzorath

Just some notes on the what you need list

-A screen capture program



---- FRAPs and DxTory are the 'standard' that most major youtubers use, some other alternatives are things such as Bandicam, Playclaw, and there are even a handful of hardware-dependent options. Generally speaking: FRAPs is the most plug'n'play friendly, DxTory is the most flexible - the rest fall between these two extremes.



-Sound Editing software

---- Audacity, without any second thought, is going to be your best option starting out. You can upgrade to other options, but for Let's Plays and most things you'll encounter on a gaming channel - audacity will always be more than strong enough.

---- A hard point people miss here is microphone - cheap microphones being 'good enough' is the exception, not the rule... expect to spend at least $45-60 on a good mic. Personally I use the Blue Snowball that I got on sale, there are better options (usually more expensive), and there are some equivalent cheaper options out there, but you'll be hard pressed to get a good audio rig for under $50 (even if you go the modmic route, you'll need headphones)-A capture card for your TV

---- Only necessary if you plan to do console gaming videos. (considering good ones will run in the $200 range, this is an expenditure that can be skipped or postponed)



-A capable computer

---- A powerful gaming computer, can be a terrible recording computer - the 2 places most computers fall short is in their processor and in their harddrives. Simply put, to build an economy recording rig, I would say look for these minimum specs:- "Multi-core processor, 2.5ghz+" (better to have a quad-core 2.5ghz, than a hexa-core 2.0ghz in this case - to give a rough example)- 8+gig ram- video card capable of running the game at a stable 50+ FPS. (I have recorded minecraft on a 5800 GT 512mb before, just fine... so yea)- 2 Internal HDDs - the most common being 2x 1TB drives. (an alternative if you're not buying a new rig - is connect an external HDD through an eSATA or USB3.0 port... USB 2.0 is too slow though)

-Video Editing software

---- Best balance of 'cost/power' is Vegas Movie Studio, which is Vegas Pro's little brother. (runs around $50 USD). There are free options (VirtualDub) and insanely powerful options (adobe suites, Vegas Pro, etc.)

.-A large internet data plan

-Good upload speeds

---- Depending on region, you may not have 'data plans' per se, but you will use a lot of bandwidth. Generally speaking, you need an upload speed of at least 0.25 mbps to make uploading even reasonable. at least 1mbps for streaming. You will definitely want to talk to your ISP about the AUP, they use, some service providers, even if they have no 'data limit', can throttle or cancel your service if you use an unreasonable amount of bandwidth per month. A basic youtube channel will usually push 50-100 GB per month in and of itself, not counting your other usage. I know currently, I use 200+ GB/month.

Much more insightful thank you Alzorath.

Thanks To Koumus for Supplying the Link to the The Free Software List and to Forbiden1 for compiling the list! Use this if your on a budget!

Make sure your First upload is as good as what any professionals is! A strong start sets the trend!Other notes: Try and have a back log of videos to upload. Make videos a week in advance at least so then if something comes up your set!

Any other Ideas let me know! (Credit will be Given)

Ultimately if you enjoy making videos you should keep going and maybe you will achieve what is one of the more difficult task on the internet!
Thanks Everyone for reading and good luck with your YouTube Endeavours!Anything you want me to add or think I should add let me know! Also let me know if I helped you out!Basically Suggestion/Feedback would be greatly appreciated!-BearKind
If you found this helpful please reply so this thread doesn't get lost!.

Quote from JohnnyReklaw

The "Idiot's Server" is looking for Let's Play Commentators. We're a small server looking for around 5ish people to grow our ranks. We have weekly OPTIONAL colabs on Friday nights, and the world is fairly new. We started in August, and only have 5 players now, so land is plentiful.

I have applications here:https://docs.google..../viewformWe are in 1.7.2 and have easy access to 1.7 land in the form of a nether tunnel (and a completed nether hub!)

How to make a (GOOD) Minecraft video

Here's a quick little guide on making not just a Minecraft video (lots of those) but...one that's good (not as many).

To preface, I've worked as a reporter (No, I'm not Tom Brokaw), cameraman, video editor and producer. My work has been featured nationally (in the USA) and internationally as well on major television networks. I've also dabbled on YouTube and have a few videos with over 100k views and one that's about to hit 250k so I think I know what I'm talking about.

I know a lot of you want to make the next cool YouTube channel and get millions of hits just like Yogscast but before you get ahead of yourselves, I've got a few pointers for everybody.

1. You need a good idea.

You don't need to enlist people into being in your video by filling out convoluted application requests. You don't need someone to make you a super awesome video intro. You don't need hot babes (couldn't hurt tho) and explosions.

You need an idea...a good one.

Your video should be original, creative, inventive, educational, humorous, exciting and entertaining. The more of those traits you can combine together, the better.

Wait, lemme guess...you have an idea already? Is it..."Surviving the first night" by any chance? If so, stop there. Unless, you're going somewhere different with this we've all seen the ole' make a wood/dirt hut and then maybe start a mineshaft thing. Also, with the addition of beds and being able to sleep through the night, it's all but pointless.

Original, Creative & Inventive:
If you can come up with an idea for something that hasn't been done before. This may be hard at this point but do your best to come up with at least some original twist. Just don't go all "Shyamalan" on us.

It doesn't hurt to get inspiration from others but remember, plagiarizing is usually frowned upon. On the other hand, don't think that everyone who makes a log cabin or a lamp post is stealing your totally original ideas.

Think outside the square! Do something that hasn't been done before or do it in a new way. Showcase a new/original mod or come up with novel solutions to problems in Minecraft using simple or complex means.

Also, remember you're not limited to the Minecraft game world. You can make your own animation, cartoons, artwork or 3D models too!

Educational:
Teach people how to do stuff! You can probably skip things like surviving the night, making sticks, etc. unless you have a novel way to do it in mind.
Things like redstone creations, making complex buildings, traps, elaborate minecart systems are all things that fall into that category and more likely to get views than something like "Dirt Huts 101".

Humorous:
Walking into a creeper to get hugs and blowing things up with so much TNT it crashes Minecraft has been done. Doing something that has been done before but with a funny twist can sometimes work. Humor is great but again, try to be novel and original with it. Also, try to appeal to a broad audience and age group with your jokes.

Exciting & Entertaining:
I've seen way too many videos where the player spends two minutes talking about looking for coal, finally finds coal then spends two minutes mining coal. Don't just wander aimlessly and bore the audience to tears with your mundane observations of the game world.

Your video needs to have a goal or objective, a point or a message. Before you begin making your video you need to ask yourself what's the point of this video? What message do I want to convey to the audience? For instance, a common (but cliche') message in many Minecraft videos might be "Creepers are prone to ruining all your hard work."

2. Prepare!

Ensure that before you start making a video you have all the proper hardware and software needed to make your video. You should have a half-decent video editing program, a screen-capturing program and if you're narrating or talking you may want to at least "splurge" on a $10 microphone. Avoid using internal laptop microphones if at all possible.

For roughly $30 you can pick up a copy of Sony's Imagination Studio 2 which comes with audio and video editing software. Windows Movie Maker or IMovie just don't cut it. Avoid software with "Easy" in the title. Also, avoid programs like Pinnacle that have a limit on how many audio and video tracks (layers) you can edit.

If you're wondering how people get Steve or Creepers to do novel things like an animated dance and stuff you can't currently do in-game it's likely they're either using 2D animation software, Garry's Mod (a game popular for making machinima) or 3D modelling software like Blender, 3D Studio Max or Maya. Of the three, Blender is the only one that's free. The others will run you thousands of dollars for a license.

If you plan to make in-game machinima you'll also need to prepare a game map and install any mods or other stuff you'll need to make everything work how you want it to.

If you still find you need to recruit other players for your video production when you post about it, give as much information as possible.

If you post something like "Ima make a video!" then "Ima" gonna ignore it along with most other people as well likely.

3. Produce!

Once you've got a great idea and you've prepared you're ready to shoot/create your video, produce it and then publish it!

Don't rely on a team of people to do all the work for you. If you put out a request for people to do sound, graphics and video editing then ask yourself...what do they need you for?

The Minecraft forums are littered with video application threads where someone wants a team people to do everything for them so can they can slap their name on it and no one has ever even heard of them.

Start small and start simple. Try making a few good videos on your own to prove to people you're someone they would want to collaborate with and not just some kid who wants to make another "awesome" survive the first night video.

You don't need fancy graphics or 3d logos flying through the air. You just need...a good idea.

Once you product is finished, you can publish it and promote it. It's okay to post your video on a few forums but it will be better received if:

-It's not your first post. Spend a little time on the forum first before blasting everyone with your must see YouTube video.

-You post your video on the proper board and you DON'T DOUBLE/CROSS-POST!

-Don't over-inflate how awesome and life-changing your video is. Be realistic and don't write a check your video can't cash.

-Be prepared to receive either harsh criticism or such total lack of interest that you get no feedback at all. When you post it, ask for constructive criticism if possible and be prepared to get non-constructive criticism in return. The internet is a harsh place my friend. It's not safe to go alone...

3. Finally...

Finally, I'd like to take a quick look at some Minecraft videos on YouTube that have gotten a bejillion views and how they did it.

"TNT" - A Minecraft Parody of Taio Cruz's Dynamite (10 million+ views)


This is a musical parody of the popular "I throw my hands up in the air sometime..." song, geared towards a Minecraft audience.

If you watch the video there's a lot of cool stuff in this video like a creepers dancing, which was done with Blender, like I mentioned previously.

More to the point though, it's got a basic and simple idea, a Minecraft parody of a popular song. The video is timed to the music and also makes inventive use of note blocks for the song.

This is Minecraft (8M+ views)


The video is a simple non-narrative overview of Minecraft, featuring music from C418. The video was featured on the homepage of Minecraft.net which no doubt is one factor in how many views it got but what makes it stand out is it's creative use of camera angles and panning.

The creator probably (I'm guessing) used 2 players (an actor and a cameraman) and a mod like Single Player Commands to allow flying or possibly a mod that gives you access to a free camera mode.

You will find in order to make most videos like this that until Notch makes Minecraft more machinima friendly you'll probably need two players to pull stuff like this off. It wouldn't hurt to get a second account.


Minecraft: The Last Minecart (8M+ views)


It's Minecraft...in real life! Two lone players stage a breakout against the zombie horde!
These guys went all out with this video, costumes, graphics, video effects, actors and cameras.

They used two cameras and multiple cameramen to shoot this with post-production done in After Effects and 3D Studio Max as well as other software.

They may have begged, borrowed or stolen to get all the equipment to produce this video but don't expect to be able to top a production like this in your Mom's basement.

These guys had the resources and the people to pull this off. You probably don't. Remember, keep it simple and realistic. Maybe start off by trying to make your own cardboard costumes and staging a sword fight and if you're ambitious adding some effects later.

Honorable Mentions:

An Honorable mention goes to the scale replica of the (7M+ views). Even though it was imported into Minecraft through a script/program it's still insanely incredible and massively complex. The creator used a partial model he himself created in Google Sketchup working from blueprints and then imported it into Minecraft.

And another honorable mention goes to the simple but fun and educational . (6M+ views)

So to sum up one more time, get a good idea, keep it simple and don't forget to have fun! If you're not having fun, we're not either! Remember these tips and you could be well on your way to getting a million views too but...let's try to break 100 first! :tongue.gif:

Cheers,
NeedsFoodBadly

P.S. Please tell Red Warrior to stop shooting my food. :/

Questions, Comments, Props, Comical insults? Reply!

...DECENT? Do you play with 10 FPS? Then it might not be a problem, but when people get 50-100+ FPS in 1.7 then it proves that 1.8 has lagging issues. If you do play with 10 FPS you won't notice anything different in the updates because that's always what you had. Me and my brother used to have 10 FPS on our old computer with lowest settings, and it was terrible. It was NOT tolerable.

Quote from Mustang83»

I predict that this will be the most downloaded PS Vita game to surpass Killzone: Mercenary.

Quote from PolarFluid

Way to be a douce about it... Sorry.

Quote from PolarFluid
Before when Markus Persson ( Creator of Minecraft / Mojang ) new items and blocks would come out not very often. This says that he took more time thinking and creating the things to improve the game.

Quote from PolarFluid
Now jeb_ has control of the game and is the new owner. New items and blocks have been coming out very often, on average every couple days to 1-2 weeks. This of course means that he is not putting a lot of thought into the game.

Quote from PolarFluid
jeb_ has now added rabbits! I mean come on, Minecraft did not need this. As in the latest snapshot, he added different types of doors. It has sort of messed up how Minecraft is, Minecraft is a simple game. It should not have different types of doors and rabbits! jeb_ has added many more thing that were unnecessary to add to the game.

Quote from PolarFluid »Basically what I am trying to say / ask, do you think since jeb_ has been in control the game Minecraft has got worse? What do you think made it worse?