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How do you film yourself shaving? or doing an instructional video?

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
I was shaving this evening, doing a quick 2 pass and I was thinking "hmmm I wonder how those people on YouTube film themselves doing this?".

Do they have a professional video camera? Cell phone?
A tripod?

What do you think I would need to do it? All I currently have is my cell phone.
I'm looking for the easiest set up to film myself shaving or instructional videos.

I have an iPhone 6 and an iPad Air.

is a professional video camera and tripod necessary?


thanks gents!
 
Trial and error would be the best place to start IMO. Just set up some different angles and try different things out, until you find something you like. You might find that the cell phone quality is good enough. If the quality isn't good enough, kiss all of your other ad's goodbye LOL.
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
Thanks everyone!

I guess the question now is what would you use to edit video on the cheap?
iMovie good enough?

Also how the heck am I going to mount my phone? do they make iphone tripods?
 
You'll need a chair that says toothpick on the back of it...I'm sure @Mantic has a tip or two:yesnod:
As a matter of fact I'm working on a post and Youtube video about 'how to make a shaving video' :001_smile Preview:

A "professional" setup isn't necessary (just look at some of my earlier vids! And I've seen several people successfully pull off a vid with a smartphone or tablet) but there are a few things that can help. I've used a tripod with one leg behind the faucet and the other two legs on each side of the sink, and I've installed a shelf in front of a mirror to set a camera on. The key is to get the camera to eye level or a little above. I've seen a lot of people set a camera so it looks up at them but to me it looks like the camera's looking up the shaver's nose.

Lighting is important (I've learned a few bitter lessons about this...). Most bathrooms have plenty of light but the camera may be placed that there are shadows where you don't want them. I add a light face-on to clear up those shadows. You don't need to get fancy with lights either: a $15 clamp task light from the hardware store will do. But make sure that all the lights used (bathroom, task, camera) are the same type (all incandescent, LED, Fluorescent, whatever). That way you don't get into weird color-balance issues (yes, there are ways to correct this later but it's more work).

Do not use a camera's on-board microphone unless you are really close to the camera. Invest in a $20 lapel mic from Radio Shack or a cheap "shotgun" mic you can add to a camcorder's "hat." Camera doesn't have an external mic input? Consider using a portable voice recorder. Again, it will make more work for you but the results are usually worth it.

Don't just take the raw video and upload it to Youtube, do some editing. There are free basic video editors for Windows (Movie Maker) and Mac (iMovie) and even some online editors (Youtube has one). Popular inexpensive consumer-oriented editors include Adobe Premier Elements, Sony Vegas Movie Studio, Corel Video Studio, and CyperLink Power Director--all under $100.

My full article and video should be later this month.
 
I've made a couple videos. I've just used my iPhone 4 and have been happy with the results. I just prop my phone up on a shelf to take the shot. Could they be done a lot better, sure. But I can set it up in 30 seconds if I get the urge to make a quick vid.
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
As a matter of fact I'm working on a post and Youtube video about 'how to make a shaving video' :001_smile Preview:

A "professional" setup isn't necessary (just look at some of my earlier vids! And I've seen several people successfully pull off a vid with a smartphone or tablet) but there are a few things that can help. I've used a tripod with one leg behind the faucet and the other two legs on each side of the sink, and I've installed a shelf in front of a mirror to set a camera on. The key is to get the camera to eye level or a little above. I've seen a lot of people set a camera so it looks up at them but to me it looks like the camera's looking up the shaver's nose.

Lighting is important (I've learned a few bitter lessons about this...). Most bathrooms have plenty of light but the camera may be placed that there are shadows where you don't want them. I add a light face-on to clear up those shadows. You don't need to get fancy with lights either: a $15 clamp task light from the hardware store will do. But make sure that all the lights used (bathroom, task, camera) are the same type (all incandescent, LED, Fluorescent, whatever). That way you don't get into weird color-balance issues (yes, there are ways to correct this later but it's more work).

Do not use a camera's on-board microphone unless you are really close to the camera. Invest in a $20 lapel mic from Radio Shack or a cheap "shotgun" mic you can add to a camcorder's "hat." Camera doesn't have an external mic input? Consider using a portable voice recorder. Again, it will make more work for you but the results are usually worth it.

Don't just take the raw video and upload it to Youtube, do some editing. There are free basic video editors for Windows (Movie Maker) and Mac (iMovie) and even some online editors (Youtube has one). Popular inexpensive consumer-oriented editors include Adobe Premier Elements, Sony Vegas Movie Studio, Corel Video Studio, and CyperLink Power Director--all under $100.

My full article and video should be later this month.

Nice! this is all great info and I'll have to read it a few times to take it all in.
Thank you!

I've made a couple videos. I've just used my iPhone 4 and have been happy with the results. I just prop my phone up on a shelf to take the shot. Could they be done a lot better, sure. But I can set it up in 30 seconds if I get the urge to make a quick vid.
I'd like to get started at a minimal cost. If I could find stuff that would make my iPhone more useful for videos I'd rather do that.

For the record....I don't foresee myself as a YouTube video man. I have an idea I'm tossing around. It just involves YouTube as a place to host the videos.
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
That would work I think, but I don't have any metal to stick it on, or a shelf at eye level.
I was checking out a tripod we got at work, but it doesn't hold iphones.

Do you think a basic Canon digital camera, around $100-150 would take better video than the iPhone 6?
 
obviously depends if you have a large enough mirror but a cheap car holder like this might work for a bit of bathroom filming as it will hold to the mirror with the suction cup.
$holder.jpg
 
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