From Idea to Screen: Smartphone Video Creation Tips

How To Make YouTube Videos on Your Smartphone

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

It is fun to be able to record a vlog entry whenever inspiration strikes you, and your smartphone is a great choice for recording on the go. Smartphones have really great cameras, and you probably always have your phone with you. You can even post directly from your phone to YouTube!

How To Make YouTube Videos on Your Smartphone

Making a video on your smartphone is similar to making a video with any other camera in a lot of ways. There are also a lot of ways in which it is different. You always have to watch out for camera shake, for example, but it can be even harder to control when you’re walking around shooting on your mobile device. Here are three things to keep in mind when vlogging with your smartphone.

Part 1. Keep It Steady

For a nice, smooth, shot consider resting your hand up on a railing, table, or anything else that will keep it steady while you film. Camera shake is always distracting to viewers, and smartphone videos are notoriously unstable because you are almost always holding your phone in your hand.

There is equipment you can use to cut out camera shake. You can get a smartphone mount for your tripod, or you can even stabilize your phone using a selfie stick. Many of the very newest smartphones have built in hardware called ‘OIS’ – optical image stabilization – that helps reduce shakiness.

Part 2. Be Heard

You have a lot to say, so make sure people can hear you say it! Smartphones do not tend to have very good microphones built in (neither do most cameras), so try to vlog from somewhere without a lot of background noise. It will help a lot if your voice has nothing to compete with.

Ideally, you should get an external mic to record your voice while you vlog on your phone. There are shotgun mics you can plug directly into the audio jack on your phone which will record great audio, or you can get a high quality MP3 recorder and carry it around in your pocket.

Part 3. Tilt Your Phone

When recording on the spur of the moment with your smartphone it is easy to automatically hold it the same way you would while texting or taking a selfie. If you record a video with your phone held so that it is tall – a ‘portrait’ shot – then your video will have thick black bars on either side when you post it to YouTube. If you tilt your phone so that it is wide you will record a ‘landscape’ shot, which will match the dimensions YouTube plays videos in.

The exception to this is videos you plan to post on Instagram. On Instagram everything is cropped into a square, and it is easier to imagine what your footage will look like as a square when you hold your phone strait up. Simply focus on the top of your screen and treat a portion of the bottom of your screen as if it is not there. When you hold your phone horizontally you need to try and estimate how much of the middle of your screen will make it in to your Instagram video, which can be awkward.

Those are the three main things to keep in mind, but if you are planning on posting directly to YouTube from your phone then you should also make sure you have a mobile app you can use to edit it first.

Filmora is a full-feature video editing app available for both Android and iPhone operating systems. With Filmora you can make awesome YouTube videos quickly using Filmora’s one-touch themes, or take a little bit more time personalizing your creation. One-touch themes are sets of related features, like filters and animated titles, which you can apply to your videos all at once. Filmora’s simple interface also makes it easy to apply filters, titles, overlays, transitions, and even royalty free music to your project one at a time.

After you’ve edited your video in Filmora you can post it directly to YouTube or other social media sites right from the app.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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Comparing the Costs and Advantages of Various YouTube Plans

Create High-Quality Video - Wondershare Filmora

An easy and powerful YouTube video editor

Numerous video and audio effects to choose from

Detailed tutorials provided by the official channel

Try It Free Try It Free

It was formerly known as YouTube Red three years ago when it first launched. It brings to your screen tones of perks for better viewing. However, the service isn’t still widely known, and most people are on the verge of understanding what is entailed in the subscription. Most YouTube premium subscribers attest that the service is of value and are even relieved of the constant ads in the Free version. Dive into the article for more insights.

What is YouTube Premium?

This streaming service was initially launched in 2014 and was later rebranded in 2018 as YouTube Premium. It includes YouTube music and other features that Google added to it. You can download content, perform background playback and even get access to YouTube original content. Note that this came at a cost as its price was raised. But what remains is that you get value for your money.

1. What service is included in the Premium subscription?

The Premium subscription is an after-sought service that includes these services.

Background play: It allows one to play your videos in the background, enabling you to use the app as a music player.

Offline playback: Easily view your videos on your phone or tablet. It means you can download a video or music and play them while not on the internet.

Ad-free videos: Say goodbye to popular ads with YouTube Free subscription. You already catered for your freedom in the subscription.

YouTube Music Premium: YouTube music is available for free even though you won’t download it for offline playback on this tier.

Flip between apps swiftly: Your videos will continue playing even if you switch to another app. You can flip apps on your device, like check emails, read Twitter, scroll to texts and still play your videos.

2. The price of a YouTube Premium subscription

YouTube Premium isn’t different from other services. Like most streaming services, you get family and student plans. YouTube Premium costs your $6.99 monthly subscription for students’ plans. You, however, need to verify that you are a student. A family plan comes at $17.99 per month, where you can add up to five members. Single YouTube Premium will cost you $11.99 a month

3. Does YouTube Premium provide an annual plan?

No. YouTube Premium does not provide an annual plan. You can only pay your subscription per month.

4. What is the difference between YouTube TV and YouTube Premium

Even though they sound similar, YouTube TV and YouTube Premium are different in many aspects. While YouTube Premium is a paid subscription, YouTube TV is a live streaming service. Let’s explore more differences.

What is included

If you subscribe to YouTube Premium, then you unlock other streaming features. These include watching YouTube without ads on its apps, managing offline viewing, playing your videos in the background, and getting YouTube Music, among others.

You can watch various channels over the internet with YouTube TV, live. It offers you close to 90 channels cutting across lifestyle, news, entertainment, sports, etc. Likewise, you can stream live broadcasts from top networks like NBC, FOX, ABC, etc. It will also splash your screen with news channels from BBC America, CNN, FOX News, etc.

Cost

When it comes to pricing, YouTube Premium costs $11.00 per month with a free, one-month trial for new subscribers. It also has different plans for students and families. On the other hand, YouTube TV starts at $64.99 per month. However, first-time subscribers can get a free offer of up to one week at no cost. This rate may seem high, but it is competitive with other live TV streaming services.

Accessibility

YouTube TV is readily available on the web, mobile platforms, and media streaming devices like Fire TV and Chromecast. You can also download the YouTube TV app to enjoy it on players like game consoles and PlayStations. For YouTube Premium, you’ll easily access it by subscription.

However, there are areas where both YouTube TV and YouTube Premium overlap. Both will let you watch YouTube Originals.

You will also enjoy your videos without adverts interruption. Additionally, it would be best to have an internet connection to stream your videos before downloading. And after downloading and saving your files, you can stream them offline on YouTube Premium.

So, which is better?

YouTube Premium subscribers think it’s the better choice. For one, if you like entertainment from services like Hulu, Netflix, Disney, and much more, then YouTube Premium has you covered than YouTube TV.

Q&A: Is YouTube Premium subscription available in all countries?

● YouTube Premium is not available in some countries. The likely reason is that those countries’ laws prevent it from being offered.

● But worry less, you can still access YouTube Premium even if it’s not available in your country. You can switch to an alternative county and stream videos.

Make a quick switch by first clicking the “Country” button on the bottom of the YouTube homepage. Here, you’ll view various available countries where YouTube Premium is accessible.
Then click any country of choice to switch to. It will give you that country’s YouTube version.
You can also change your language if it presents a foreign language video and description. Just click on the “Language” button on the page.
Finally, access and play any YouTube premium video virtually from the country you switched to.

Is YouTube Premium worth subscribing to?

Even with the lack of YouTube Premium annual subscription, it still beats all odds to subscribe to this streaming service.

1) Offline playback

Office playback is one reason why YouTube lovers opt for the Premium subscription. Saving your videos for offline listening gives you more advantages than needing to be online to stream your videos. You can do it by simply checking for the “Download” icon below the video you wish to save on your device for later watching. You are then free to stream your files at any time, on the go!

2) Free of ads at last

YouTube streaming is much better without ever interacting with adverts. There are no pop-ups with the Premium version, letting you enjoy every bit of your video streaming. Again, such interruptions aren’t healthy for a tutorial session. Without ads, you can fully concentrate on video playing, letting you get quality value for your time.

3) Get original content

By fact, it is clear that this platform lets you interact with high-end artists who dwell on giving original content to their viewers. You’ll get a perfect chance to subscribe to artists who offer content, i.e., exclusive to the paid tier.

4) Included Google Play Music for free

It’s a double party for YouTube Premium subscribers. You have the advantage of getting Google Play Music when you subscribe to YouTube Music Premium. More so, the Google Play library gives you tones of music from their library. Combined with YouTube Premium offers, you won’t have any reason not to feel entertained from any genre of choice.

Some improvements will go a long way

Despite all the reasons to subscribe to YouTube Premium, it still needs a minor improvement to perfection.

The YouTube Premium service’s availability is limited compared to the initial YouTube version. Therefore, some countries prohibit its usage and are only accessible in about 70 countries. Hopefully, it will be available worldwide so that no user is limited.
YouTube Premium subscription does not give any discounts on any of the subscriptions. And being that it has no yearly subscriptions, the amount remains the same whether you opt for one month or pay it times 12 for the year. There should be some considerations for offers, primarily when you cover the one-year payments.
Some users feel the price is higher than other streaming services. However, YouTube claims to offer free Google Play music. Perhaps this is the reason for the slight rise.
This streaming service lacks some extras like rentals and charged station subscriptions. Other features like “lyrics” to the songs have also not been catered for. Likewise, some extra information like the title or genre of the video you watch is not included. These small extras could go a long way if they were to be added.
YouTube Premium also seems to pay attention to celebrities other than YouTubers. Most originals are not exclusive to Premium subscribers, while you can watch them with ads on a free account.

Conclusion

● Amidst the many YouTube subscriptions, YouTube Premium has come a long way. Additionally, it hasn’t covered all the countries just yet. However, it has eliminated the presence of annoying ads that are prominent with the free YouTube service. More so, you get free access to Google Play Music, among other added values. Despite those, the app still needs some improvements in its services to incorporate YouTube Premium subscribers in its walk fully.