Audio/Video For Beginners

This week I explored all the basics of the online audio/visual world! You really don't need much to get started on becoming a YouTube star or recording your own music/songs, etc. In reality it can all be done from a smartphone these days! That's not to say it will be the highest quality, but it is a start. And, hey, if you are just doing it for fun... it is definitely a ton of fun! Here's some tips to get you started... 

Music

Music matters - You must have music in the background of your videos to add excitement and emotion, unless of course your videos are of you making music! Soft beats or suspenseful instrumentals, music really makes a difference in what people feel when they watch a video. Here's some places to get free music:

• YouTube Audio Gallery (you can download music from here to use elsewhere!)

• Free Music Archive (large variety if you can't find what you want in the previous spot)

• Archive.org Audio (music, photos, videos and more for free download here - I found the website difficult to navigate, however)

Video

YouTube is "the place" to be. I easily set up my account using my Google log in, personalized it with a profile and timeline picture, description, etc. Now I have my own YouTube channel! Soon I'll be a star ;-)  Some perks of using Youtube:

• YouTube also has built in editing. You can upload your video, and then cut it, add music, change the coloring, alter the speed, you can even merge multiple videos together! 

• YouTube is a great place to upload personal videos for safekeeping. Videos can be set to either public, private, or unlisted (must have the link to view it). 

• You can go back and edit, organize or share videos at any time!

• You can make money by monetizing your account (in your settings). Basically this ensures that your videos will have tons of ads. You get paid each time someone clicks on one of those ads. 

• However, you might not want ads on your videos (who likes ads?!), so you can also go into your settings under "video manager" and turn ALL ads off. 

Audio Recording

In the event that you are a musician, or a poet, or want to record any type of sound, there are free online programs for that! 

Audacity is one that I've used for years. You can download for free onto your computer and mix tracks, record instrumentals or voice if you have a microphone, import MP3s and more. 

Sountrap is similar but I like it more! I was able to set up my account quickly and easily without any downloading to my computer! It comes with a comprehensive library of tracks to use for free! This was fun! It also has built in instruments like a keyboard and drums that you can use to make your own music (if you are musical... I am not!). I was able to mix a recording of myself reading a poem with some background music. Not cheesy sounding, either! Bonus! 

So, really there's no reason why everyone with a smartphone or more can't go have fun creating audio/visual web content! Enjoy :-)