Behind the Scenes: On Filming + Editing Vlogs

This July, I'm kicking off a brand new Friday mini-series called Behind the Scenes. I've only been blogging for 3 (!!!) years, but I figured it might be fun to share a little bit with readers how I do things around here. This is, of course, in no way meant to be a post telling you the right or wrong way to do stuff! It's simply an attempt to share the blogging process that works best for me. 

Last week, I shared about how I write my blog posts.

This week, I'm letting you in on my vlogging process - how I film & edit!

(1) Gather all the books or notes you need.

I try to make sure I have all the books I want to mention in the video within an arm's reach and in the order I'd like to mention them. If I'm talking about something that doesn't require physical books (like the stuff I usually do for Lit Ladies), I usually just make sure to have my notes up on my laptop or on hand so I can read off them.

(2) Set up the camera.

Yep, I'm so not glamorous. No tripod so I use a stack of books!

I started out using my laptop to film my vlogs, which works well enough! But, since my sister Mel owns a DSLR, I figured I'd take advantage of that. I started using it to film after BEA, and I immediately appreciated the better quality. But whatever camera you use to film, the important thing, to me, is remembering to check the angle of your shot, the focus (make sure it's on you!) and the lighting.

(3) Film! (And, then film again!)

If I'm very lucky, I'll be able to just hit record and film the entire vlog in one go. I usually try to do that, unless I mess up on a name or title or even in my personal explanations. Instead of stopping the recording, I pause, then start over, so that I can just cut and paste as I like later on. Sometimes, however, things will go wrong, like the camera angle not being right, the natural lighting shifting or even the focus not working well, so I'll have to film it all over again.

(4) Edit, edit, edit.

Honestly, the longest part of the vlogging process, for me, is the editing. I am very basic about editing videos, as I use iMovie which is very simple. I just watch the whole recording first, cutting out the parts that are too long or irrelevant. Afterwards, I make sure to add captions or photos where/when it's necessary to do so. It takes a while, and plenty of rewinding and playing, for me to get through one video! But once I'm done, I'm done!

(5) Upload to YouTube.

I export the file onto my desktop, then upload it onto YouTube. I make sure that the title, description & tags are correct, and add it to the proper playlist (all for organization's sake). I usually keep my computer on until it's done processing so I can check the video online and make sure that it looks and sounds alright.

And there you have it, friends, my very simple vlogging process! I do put a bit more effort into it these days, but this is my current routine, and what works best for me. What about you? What's YOUR process like when/if you film vlogs? I'd love to hear more about it in the comments.

Hope you enjoyed taking a peek "behind the scenes"!

Come back next week to see how I organize my review books + blog posts!