Equipment & Set up | How to Start a Booktube Channel #1

[@ArielBissett]

This is a great series! I know so many people are going to find it super helpful! I kind of wish people didn't feel so stressed about it all, haha! I didn't know anything about filming or editing when I started and I was just like WHATEVS LET ME TALK ABOUT BOOOOKS

[@LaurenWade]

Right? Lots of people are so nervous about 'getting it right' when all anyone really does is get it 'wrong' for ages and just learn on the go haha

[@reeselansangan]

Thanks for being so informative and detailed about your equipment! I haven't really seen anything on KZbin that talked in depth about the details of their filming process. This is really helpful for me as a musician who's also trying to do a bit of Booktube! Thanks for being so generous with your knowledge!

[@JashanaC]

Omg so helpful! I legit JUST started posting... only two videos in... ! My current equipment consists of: my iPhone 7... a cart with books stacked on top... and natural light from the Arizona sunshine. Ha! Subbed!

[@tamara_anne]

Couldn't come at a better time!! I literally just now uploaded my first Booktube video :D Thank you so much for this!! ♥ I know I will need this series :)

[@LaurenWade]

Hooray! Welcome and good luck :D

[@tamara_anne]

Thank you! :)

[@PullDownTheMoon]

Oh this is so helpful! I've just started my booktube channel and just played around with angles, lights and stuff. And luckily I already had a tripod and a camera. I have a mic but don't have the stand but the hotshoe mount you've linked might just be my saving grace! I'll also consider the light

[@labeba]

thank you for the advises i just open my channel i learn new things every day and the audioe will be my priority

[@BrandonGuimond]

Fantastic series and video! I'm always interested in how other people set up their videos, how they get ideas, etc. Very handy to see how someone else does it. Makes me want to up the quality of my own :)

[@ABlackbirdsBooks]

Wonderful video, Lauren! I already have a channel for about a year, but still really enjoyed this video. I´m looking forward to the rest of the series, I´m sure I´ll get loads of tips out of it still! I remember being so incredible nervous about starting my own channel, but as my enthusiasm and the wish to be part of this great community was stronger, I luckily just started filming myself and uploading it! The editing took a while getting used too and I´m still learning so much each time, but it is also so much fun and rewarding when people comment on videos! :D

[@mementomoriadam]

Fantastic video ! I've had my channel just under a year and have finally just this week ordered a high quality camera and mic (been using webcam) -- Looking forward to the better quality but you are right - especially with something like booktube that is more conversational than visual, it's all about starting slow and working with what you have . Look forward to the series and seeing how you plan videos

[@wellsfiction711]

Awesome series. I never thought of using the lap top camera to create videos. My camera is a Canon powershot Elph135. I love your learn on the go attitude. The best way to learn is by starting. I've always been too nervous to start a channel, but I think i could get the hang of this. I'd love to start a booktube channel.

[@BooksAreMyHart]

I love this video. Even if someone already has a channel, you give AMAZING advice and thoughtful comments about the filming process and how to create quality content.

[@seannine]

Thank you so much for this series! I'm plucking up the courage to start my own channel and your videos and advice have been the most comforting and reassuring that I've come across. Thank you so, so much! x

[@LaurenWade]

You’re welcome, and good luck!! Xx

[@ImmaterialDigression]

+1 to audio quality being important. It's even more important than video quality!

[@lucyrutherford]

I film all my videos on my iphone 6 plus and I think the quality is fantastic for sitting down vlogs, though I would love to get a vlogging camera in the future if I ever vlog outside. I have a $20 tripod from Officeworks and I use the natural light from my window as living in Australia there is a lot of sunlight most of the time haha Thanks so much for making this series Lauren I'm really looking forward to the rest of the videos! :)

[@bookswithsteph3079]

Thank you so much for this series!! I'd been thinking about starting a Booktube channel for a bit, but it felt really daunting, so having your step-by-step instructions has been so so useful! :D

[@V-NessaArt]

I just posted my first two videos yesterday and today so thanks for the tips and for doing this series, you are one of my favorites to watch so I can't wait to see what you suggest next!

[@LaurenWade]

I'm so glad you found it helpful! And hooray for starting a channel - welcome! xx

[@HollyTheBookLover]

I've had my book tube channel for a while but this type of video is so useful! Great video, I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!

[@SeriouslyPlanning]

Thanks for this video! I have a tiny booktube channel about diverse books (and specifically books about Muslim characters) and this first video was great! Super helpful to see your set up and hear your thoughts.

[@ZakiyaDeliefde]

definitely looking forward to the colour grading video!

[@KatTheBooknerd]

same. lol

[@laure-annelatinier2971]

Lovely video as always! And even though I'm not interested in starting a KZbin channel, I found it fascinating how much work goes into it! Makes me appreciate your videos even more!

[@BooksWaffles]

I've never considered buying a microphone before, but the difference in sound is astonishing! I need to rethink it!

[@LaurenWade]

I'd really do research before getting one as they are pretty expensive, considering you won't know what audio quality you'll get before you buy one! But yeah, the difference is really clear xx

[@paperbackstacksss]

Thank you for the pointers, I'm really looking forward to the color grading video!

[@kaya5377]

Thank you so much this was very helpful and gave me enough courage to start my own channel!

[@stephsee]

Really great video, and I can't wait to see the others in this series! It's so interesting to hear how your set-up and everything works. Thanks for linking Jean's iPhone tutorial too - I didn't realise the quality could be that good on iPhone!

[@LaurenWade]

So glad you found it helpful! Jean doesn't film on her iPhone anymore, she uses a Canon 700D, but even if you look back at her earlier videos the quality is still really good from a phone

[@katiacraig7758]

Thank you so much for your generosity in sharing all this information! You are wonderful!

[@TheBookishBadger]

Really comprehensive for this topic, nice job!

[@BohoBookworm]

LOVE this. I am really trying to focus on my booktube channel this year. I just bought a stunning camera, the Olympus Pen 7. I haven't filmed with it yet but am so excited to. Also very keen to check out Jean's iMovie tutorial!! Hahaha sound is something a lot of people don't think about... on that note, I had a 'nightmare' last night that I filmed one of my best videos yet and the sound was so awful hahahaha - I was completely devastated. Oh the sad life of youtubers :P

[@LeDavidMorris]

Thank you. I discovered Booktube yesterday. I did a serch on You Tube on How to Use booktube, This vedio was in the top ten. I am retired, I appreciate your suggestions,

[@paradiselostinbooks5076]

Thank you for this! Super helpful!

[@OliviaReadinglikeamadwomanPope]

So interesting to see someone else's set up! I'm still on the iphone with a pile of books to hold it up. :P This has inspired me to try something a little better!

[@magicalvelcro]

Olivia Pope Primark has a great little phone tripod for £4. It has been a godsend, lemme tell you.

[@OliviaReadinglikeamadwomanPope]

Ooo I shall have to get one! Thank you for the heads up. It will be nice to have something proper for once! And for £4? Bargain!

[@magicalvelcro]

Olivia Pope it's only small (flexible, sort of like a Gorilla tripod), but it's given me a lot more control over where I'm focusing. And it helps that it's a bargain, like you said :')

[@Robert.Sheard]

Hi Lauren, wonderful tutorial. I've just started thinking about starting a channel and this is extremely helpful.

[@lindaw8958]

Love this video. Thanks so much. I'm getting caught up with the rest.

[@georginareads3969]

This was so helpful, thank you! I recently started a booktube channel & am really looking forward to talking about books! 😊

[@georginareads3969]

Does anyone have any tips on how to let people find your channel? I'm working on improving my confidence & video quality but have no idea how to let more people find my videos 🙈😅

[@LaurenWade]

+Georgina Reads I'll be doing a video on this later on in the series, but generally, commenting on other people's videos and making friends in the community is a good place to start 👍🏻😊 good luck! Xx

[@georginareads3969]

Reads and Daydreams Thank you for answering and for the advice! I'm looking forward to the video 😊

[@SavidgeReads]

I'm 10 months in and I still needed some of these basics 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I'm also nowhere near as professional as you, it's all done on my phone with a sprinkling of hoping for the best. Really looking forward to the rest of this series, new guru alert.

[@LaurenWade]

That's the best way to start! Just use whatever you have and hope for the best :)

[@RovingReader]

Thanks so much for these tips!

[@NoelleMar]

These really are helpful!

[@Letprado]

Excellent video!!

[@KatTheBooknerd]

I'm new to your channel (I subscribed!) but yes this video was so helpful! I mean, I'm not exactly a new booktuber, but even so, I always like to see what others use in terms of equipment to film. I really really want a camera with a viewfinder that flips up but ugh, I'm so broke! :/

[@kookykasiareads2587]

What a great video

[@robotnic]

Fabulous!

[@tessah6287]

Thank you so much! This is really helpful :).

[@SilviaKay]

I'm so sorry I hadn't watched this before buying my Rode Pro microphone haha! xD I also thought the volume was a bit low after I filmed my first video using this mic, but I told myself it was because I hadn't set it up properly. The thing is that for me this microphone was SUPER expensive (I live in the Czech republic and our salaries are way lower than in Western Europe), but I wanted to give my viewers good audio because I'm a perfectionist in everything I do (this is basically the bane of my existence xD). For this reason, it saddens me to hear that the microphone I bought isn't that great after all, but oh well... It's still way better than my previous in-built microphone! Anyway, great advice, I'm looking forward to your other videos in this series! :)

[@LaurenWade]

+Silvia Kay it is still a good microphone! I'm not an audio expert, so don't 100% take my word for it. I do just find it frustrating having to increase the volume in editing, but as long as you can do that it wasn't a bad investment 😊

[@EmmaRosenBooks]

So useful xx

[@tonibudden6783]

This is so helpful, thank you :)

[@sykoelf]

OMG YES IVE BEEN NEEDING THIS

[@vjvj85]

What do you set your camera settings to? Auto? Manual?

[@LaurenWade]

Auto

[@JessicaGeorge9674]

Thanks :)

[@phoebeknights2426]

Thank you so much this is really helpful 💙