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4 min

In the vast ocean of crowdfunding campaigns, a Kickstarter video serves as a beacon, capturing the attention of potential backers and guiding them toward supporting your project. Like a lighthouse cutting through the darkness, a well-crafted Kickstarter video has the power to captivate and inspire.

But what elements should this video include to stand out truly? This article explores the key components that make a Kickstarter video effective and persuasive. It delves into the importance of an attention-grabbing opening, showcasing the product or idea, sharing the creator’s story and passion, incorporating testimonials or success stories, and concluding with a compelling call to action.

By adhering to these guidelines, creators can increase their chances of attracting backers and conveying their message with clarity and conviction. Just as a skilled captain navigates through treacherous waters, this article will equip Kickstarter creators with the knowledge and tools to navigate the crowdfunding landscape and steer their projects toward success.

A Great Kickstarter Video:

●       Has an attention-grabbing opening

●       Showcases  the product or idea effectively

●       Shares the creator’s story and passion

●       Incorporates testimonials or success stories

Let us delve deeper into what each of these components entails and how one can utilize them to create a successful Kickstarter video campaign.

Grab Attention with an Engaging Opening

An impactful Kickstarter video is built upon a captivating opening that grabs the viewer’s attention and sparks curiosity and excitement. Visual storytelling emerges as a powerful tool for crafting such an engaging Kickstarter video opening. The video can immediately draw the viewer in and establish an emotional connection by utilizing compelling visuals, such as striking images and dynamic animations.

To enhance the opening’s impact, incorporating creative hooks becomes crucial. Intriguing questions or thought-provoking statements can be skillfully woven into the video, further captivating the audience and generating interest in the project.

This combination of visual storytelling and creative hooks sets the stage for a compelling Kickstarter video that entices viewers to continue watching. It can also help motivate them to delve deeper and learn more about the product or idea being showcased. By captivating the audience from the beginning, the video maximizes its potential to inspire and persuade, increasing the chances of a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Showcase Your Product or Idea

Showcasing the product or idea in a Kickstarter video has the potential to captivate viewers, igniting their curiosity and enthusiasm. Visual presentation is crucial in grabbing attention and conveying the product’s or idea’s unique features, which is the #1 thing for crowdfunding success.

A well-executed video can effectively demonstrate the product’s functionality, design, and benefits, ensuring viewers understand its value and potential. By incorporating captivating visuals and engaging storytelling, the Kickstarter video can connect emotionally with the audience, compelling them to support the project.

A visually appealing 2-column and 4-row table can enhance the presentation by clearly comparing the product’s features, making it easier for viewers to understand its distinctiveness.

Share Your Story and Passion

Captivating the audience with a compelling narrative that evokes powerful emotions, incorporating personal anecdotes and passionate storytelling in the Kickstarter video creates a sense of authenticity. It establishes a strong connection with potential backers.

Sharing your story and passion can inspire and motivate viewers to support your project. Here are four key reasons why including your journey can be impactful:

●       Inspiration: Sharing your story can inspire others facing similar challenges or seeking their creative outlet.

●       Motivation: Demonstrating your passion and dedication can motivate potential backers to believe in your project and contribute to its success.

●       Authenticity: Personal anecdotes lend credibility and authenticity to your campaign, helping potential backers trust your project.

●       Connection: By opening up and sharing your personal experiences, you can establish a genuine connection with viewers, making them more likely to support your campaign.

Include Testimonials or Success Stories

Testimonials and success stories are incredibly powerful tools for establishing trust and credibility. They can help evoke a profound emotional response from the audience and thus help engagement. When included in a Kickstarter video, impactful results and customer satisfaction can effectively demonstrate the value and potential of a project or product.

These stories provide tangible evidence of the positive impact that the project can have on people’s lives, making it easier for potential backers to connect with and believe in the campaign. By showcasing real-life experiences and the satisfaction of previous customers, the video helps build confidence and overcome any skepticism the audience may have.

Including these testimonials and success stories creates a sense of authenticity and reliability, encouraging viewers to take the next step and support the project or product being presented. Through the power of personal narratives and shared experiences, the video becomes a persuasive tool that motivates viewers to become backers or customers.

Call to Action and Next Steps

Inviting viewers to take action and outlining the steps to support the project, the call to action and next steps section prompts engagement and participation in bringing the campaign to life.

A compelling call to action is crucial to guide potential backers toward contributing. This section should clearly communicate what action the viewers should take and why it is essential. Providing a sense of urgency can help motivate individuals to act promptly.

The following steps should be outlined clearly and concisely, ensuring potential backers understand how to get involved. Including various engagement options, such as sharing the campaign on social media, signing up for updates, or pledging, can further encourage participation.

By incorporating a clear call to action and outlining the following steps, the Kickstarter campaign can maximize its potential for success.

●       Convey a sense of urgency to prompt immediate action

●       Clearly communicate the desired action and its importance

●       Provide easy-to-follow steps for getting involved

●       Offer a variety of engagement options to cater to different preferences

●       Emphasize the impact and benefits of supporting the project

Conclusion

To sum up, a Kickstarter video should encapsulate the essence of your project creatively and succinctly. It must include a captivating introduction, clear articulation of the project’s purpose, unique selling points, and explicit call-to-action.

Further, showcasing prototypes and intended use cases enhances credibility. Telling personal stories, expressing passion, and demonstrating transparency bolster trust.

Above all, the video must emotionally resonate with the viewers, stirring the desire to be a part of your journey. Remember, a well-crafted video can be your golden ticket to successful crowdfunding.

Article Written by Alton Velante, Guest Blogger

Tags:
Social Media, Tips and Tricks

7 min

While you may not look at YouTube as a typical social media platform, it is a widely spreading social space that allows people from around the world to connect through videos, likes, and comments. In fact, despite being around for more than fifteen years, YouTube is the second-most visited website in the world!

As a business in this day and age, having a viable presence on YouTube can be extremely beneficial for brand exposure. It helps you as a growing business to reach both your current customers as well as potential new ones, just through videos.

Research also tells us that 81% of internet users around the world have used YouTube. At a time when social media consumes us more than we consume it, YouTube is the place for your business to be – it’s hit and it’s happening. 

What are the benefits of YouTube for your business?

Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of having a Youtube presence for your business.

  1. Exposure to a larger audience

As we already mentioned, YouTube will take your current reach to a whole new level as your channel continues to mature. Unlike most other social media platforms, YouTube has an audience that is quite diverse in age. One will find people from all age groups – both young and old constantly engaging with videos across the platform.

Creating a space on such a large platform that is unique to your business and content will greatly help to reach larger audiences and bring in many more potential customers. Even if you have a few dedicated subscribers, you can rest assured that the content your business is putting out is impacting them at some level, and that’s never a bad thing.

  1. Video is more effective than the written word

Most people today would agree to that statement without a doubt, but if you want statistics then 98% of marketers are in agreement that video content converts as well as or better than other forms of content.

Videos can play a crucial role in purchasing decisions for many customers. 73% of consumers say that they are more likely to buy a product/service after watching the brand video on it. Videos will also drive more traffic to your website and help in brand recall. The human brain is more attracted to moving images rather than static ones, and therefore your video will engage viewers more effectively than the written word.

  1. More people will discover you on Google

Since YouTube is owned by Google, it is only obvious that constantly using YouTube to post videos will not only increase engagement but also get you noticed on Google through rankings.

A must-have for a business in this day and age is a strong online presence, and posting videos on YouTube is one way to go about it.

Now that you know the importance of YouTube for your business, here’s a short guide on how to go about it.

How to start a YouTube channel?

The very first step to having an online presence is to create your YouTube channel. This process is quite easy and doesn’t need any expert knowledge to go through.

Here’s a super simple 5-step guide on how to start a YouTube channel:

Step 1 – Sign in to YouTube.

Step 2 – Go to settings on the top right corner, and click on ‘Create a new channel’.

Step 3 – Pick the ‘Use a business or other name’.

Step 4 – Type in your brand name and add a profile picture.

Step 5 – Click ‘Create Channel’.

And that’s about it!

10 Beginner friendly tips and tricks for your YouTube channel

Now that your YouTube channel is ready to go, simply focus on a few things to grow a successful channel.

  1. Identify your niche and target audience 

Before getting started with YouTube, it would help to have a strategic layout of the list of content you desire to put out for your audience. Identify the area that you will be posting most about, and who exactly it is that you’re putting out content for. And plan your video content accordingly.

If you have a product that you would like to explain in detail for your customers to learn more about, then tutorial videos are the way to go. Businesses can leverage tutorials to discuss or demonstrate their products and/or services in depth. Another possibility is the infamous ‘Ask me Anything’ video, wherein customers and audiences can put in questions or doubts about the services you offer, and subject matter experts in your business answer them.

Product reviews are videos that analyze the usefulness and quality of your products. Other types of videos that you can put out on your channel include educational videos, challenge videos – either putting out a challenge for your audience or presenting your team with one, behind-the-scenes videos, video podcasts, and even product launch videos.

  1. Optimize videos for search

If you are creating content that is not only well-crafted but also resonates with your audience, you have a high chance of actually taking flight on YouTube.

Similar to SEO for your website, YouTube has a few requirements to get your video content noticed. A few things to keep in mind while crafting your content include:

– Tag your videos in order for them to show up in relevant search results

– Put relevant keywords in your titles and descriptions

– Remember to make your titles and descriptions rich but not heavy in keywords

– Adding the transcript of your video to the video description will help you rank for certain related terms

– Remember to mention your target keyword in your video

– Include closed captions as often as possible. This not only helps with understanding your content better but also for search engines to pick up relevant keywords

Unique intros and eye-catching thumbnails

Your first video on YouTube is going to be paramount in setting the tone for the kind of content that will follow. Uploading your first official video will be a huge step in your YouTube journey and it’s important that you pay attention to how you go about it.

Customizing your own thumbnails for YouTube videos and adding interesting and fun intros can go a long way in building consistency and brand awareness. Instead of allowing YouTube to grab a random shot from your video for the thumbnail, spend some extra time creating a custom one for each video.

  1. Upload consistently

If you’re looking to actually grow a successful YouTube channel, keep in mind that consistency is key. It is not possible to gain a tonne of subscribers, views, or likes if you only post one or two videos and end up neglecting your channel after that.

It takes effort and more importantly time to build a YouTube channel for business, and one of the secrets to bringing in a consistent audience is to be consistent with posting your content. Always make sure that you have a host of ideas and video content planned and ready ahead of time.

It may not always be possible to take time out to shoot a video every day or even every week. Therefore, make it a point to decide a day when you shoot more than one video and keep it ready to post on any given day.

  1. Engage with your audience

As humans, putting in effort with other human beings has always helped us in building stronger, healthier relationships. Similarly, YouTube also takes any sort of interaction with your audience and viewers as a positive sign. Youtube is not very different from other social media platforms and engaging with users who view your content is always a good idea. 

Liking comments, replying to comments, and even pinning favored comments to the top will only take anywhere from a few seconds to minutes but will serve your purpose of getting noticed.

Also, increase engagement with calls to action – ask your viewers to like, subscribe, comment, and share if they find your videos interesting and useful.

  1. Analyze and adapt 

As you continue to work on your channel, remember that no one is ever perfect, and while it’s okay to make mistakes, it’s even more important to constantly review and analyze the data relating to your content.

YouTube Analytics is a good place to analyze how your current videos are performing and how to better optimize them for the future.

Pay attention to things like how viewers found your content, which part of your videos held their attention the most, the kinds of content and channels that your audience also engages with apart from yours, and so on.

It is never too late to change things up and adapt to new trends and transformations coming your way.

  1. Get involved with the latest trends

Keep an eye out for what sells on YouTube, and keep going back to it. Just like any other social media platform, YouTube is under constant change and there will always be a new trend or two coming in like a wave.

It’s important to keep in touch with the latest happenings and make sure your channel is evolving with the rest of the YouTube world. For instance, YouTube Shorts is the new “in” thing, with creators getting the opportunity to post extremely short videos (similar to Instagram reels) unlike YouTube’s usual long-form video format.

  1. Incorporate your YouTube videos into your website and on social media

A good idea to grow your channel is to incorporate your YouTube videos into your website and other social media sites. Keeping your Youtube channel separate from the rest of your online platforms will not do it.

So, make sure that you constantly update your website to add new YouTube videos that are created for the business. You can either place your videos front and center of your website by showing them off on your homepage. Another way is to blog about your videos and send regular emails or notifications to update your customers on new videos.

Lastly, always share links of your YouTube videos to other social media platforms of your business for more reach.

  1. Create a channel trailer

As the name suggests, a channel trailer is a short video (maybe less than a minute)that lets new viewers know about the kind of content your business channel is all about. It will outline what your business is about, the kind of content you put out, and what viewers can expect to find on your channel.This is a great way to keep your viewers – especially new ones updated about your business and video content.

  1. Be patient and have fun along the way!

Growing a YouTube channel is almost like growing a plant. Constant attention and patience are super important to get meaningful and long-term results. Although it can get stressful to dive into the world of YouTube without any prior knowledge or expertise, it is always worth it if you wish to create a strong online presence for your business. Continuous research is something that will be extremely essential in order to keep growing your YouTube channel. Check out our other blog to know how to grow a successful YouTube channel. However, what’s more, important is that you have fun along the way, as you see the fruits of your labor over weeks, months, and even years to come.

How does illusto help you?

Illusto is a free video editor online that will take your YouTube videos to the next level. When it comes to creating valuable content and editing videos for YouTube, here are a few ways that illusto can help you: Illusto will help you to create professional videos easily and fast since its user interface is extremely easy to use and navigate through.

– Illusto is a DIY platform that will allow you to be the master of your own videos – no more outsourcing extra hands to create your videos for you.

Illusto is completely free and requires no downloads or expensive upgrades. Being only a simple browser search away, illusto is an expense-free but great place to get started with your YouTube videos.

With music, hundreds of stickers, GIFs, and one of the biggest libraries of transitions, effects, and filters, illusto will help you to create extra fun videos for your extraordinary audience!

Tags:
Social Media, Tips and Tricks

4 min

If you’re looking for a reliable platform to not only build your online presence but also sustain it long-term, YouTube might just be the answer calling out to you. Why? Research says that YouTube has about 1.7 billion unique monthly visitors! Being one of the most effective social media platforms and a powerful marketing tool used by various businesses, YouTube is pretty much an unstoppable force today.

If you are looking to grow your business through video marketing, YouTube is the best place to achieve that. YouTube provides really great opportunities for companies to promote their businesses to both local and global audiences.

However, there is an art to leveraging YouTube for your business, and it starts with having a good YouTube marketing strategy.

10 youtube marketing strategies to follow

We’ve covered the basics of starting a YouTube channel and how to go about it, check it out here if you haven’t yet! 

There are a number of effective Youtube marketing strategies that businesses and individuals can use to promote their brands, products, or services. Here is a list of 10 YouTube Marketing Tips to follow in order to build an effective YouTube presence that will last:

  1. Conduct competitive analysis

YouTube is an extremely popular platform with a host of businesses working around the clock to push out content. It’s always a good idea to study not only your target audience but also analyze who your potential business competitors and rivals are. This is a good way to understand the kind of competition out there, to get an idea of how you should be working, and the possibilities for your channel.

Shortlist about 4-5 of your most successful competitors and pay close attention to their video titles, descriptions, and even comments for better insight. Maybe even go the distance to determine their weaknesses and strengths.

  1. Youtube shorts

YouTube’s latest feature – YouTube Shorts – is something that you don’t want to miss out on. Unlike YouTube’s standard template, these are short-form vertical videos – similar to the reels of Instagram – that one can make and share on the platform. However, unlike other platforms, these shorts don’t disappear but stay on the platform. 

YouTube shorts are an extremely new feature, but it’s something to get used to and leverage for your channel. You can use these 60-second or fewer videos as a funnel to your main content on the platform. Since they’re short, it’s easier to spend more time watching more of them. Use YouTube shorts to increase viewership, interest in your channel, and ultimately subscribers.

  1. Use closed captions and subtitles

Subtitles greatly contribute to your SEO ranking since every bit of text that is put out along with your video contributes to your rankings. Additionally, closed captions and subtitles always help users to comprehend your content much more effectively. It’s also a really helpful tool for viewers who may have hearing disabilities. Subtitles also help to increase the engagement and viewership of your videos. You will find greater watch time stats on videos that have subtitles as compared to those that do not.

  1. Organize your content into series and playlists

YouTube playlists are collections of videos that are meant to be played in order and are typically based on a certain common topic. YouTube playlists are a great way to organize your video content. They also make it easier for your audience to sort through your content and engage with it longer. Additionally, if users watch any video from your playlist, there are higher chances of them watching more videos from the same playlist. When your audience and subscribers watch multiple videos from the same playlist in a row, it will help you to better your search results.

  1. Youtube Ads

If your marketing team has a budget for YouTube, YouTube ads are a great place to put that to use. YouTube advertising is something that will reach audiences even beyond your own channel and subscribers. A smart idea would be to target a particular audience that you think might be interested in your brand, product, or service. Due to their huge audience, YouTube ads get a lot of attention and make a huge impact.

  1. Closely work with the Youtube algorithm

Working closely with the YouTube algorithm will bring you long-term results. Optimizing your videos by adding appropriate titles, descriptions, and tags, using the right keywords, creating custom and recognizable thumbnails, using calls to action, and so on will surely help your rankings in the YouTube world. Constantly analyze and revert back to your data and statistics and keep adapting to the changing needs and trends floating around.

  1. Create a consistent brand image

Making sure that your YouTube video has a consistent brand image will go a long way in actually further growing your brand. Create a consistent look through colors, logos, and other visual elements that match your brand image. This will help audiences to remember your brand and recognize it wherever they go. It will also help your videos and your channel to stand out as a whole. When it comes to creating a volatile brand image, illusto is the best video editing software for YouTube.

  1. Using clickable time stamps

Clickable time stamps in your description will make it easier for viewers to simply jump to specific sections of your video that they’re interested in. This not only helps to keep viewers engaged but also increases the watch time for your YouTube videos. Additionally, you can help in audience retention as they are directed to the most relevant portions of your video.

  1. Youtube Live

YouTube Live is a good way to connect with your audience in real time. Every brand can only grow on the basis of strong relationships. YouTube Live is a good place to build bonds with your audience/subscribers and reassure them that they matter. Since live streams are direct interactions with audiences, it helps to grow the reach and trust of your brand.

  1. Repurpose your YouTube content

Repurpose your video content on YouTube for other social media platforms or your website to reach a wider audience. You can turn your videos into blog posts, create Instagram stories with short snippets from your YouTube videos, and even share them on Twitter and Facebook.

Conclusion 

The best tip that we can offer to grow your channel through YouTube marketing is to be consistent with your ideas and content being put out. Slacking off midway through your YouTube journey will not help you retain your audience for a very long time. Accountability is key when it comes to growing your brand presence on platforms like YouTube.

Tags:
Social Media, Tips and Tricks

4 min

Video is the future, and everyone loves them. But, many budding creators and newbies struggle to create video content since they either can’t shoot videos or don’t have the necessary resources. But there is a solution to this problem: stock videos. So, even if you don’t have the resources to shoot your videos, you can still create engaging content using these stock footage and assets. 

All you need is a decent device, an internet connection, and a free online video editor like illusto. By the end of this article, you will know how you can use this free tool to create unlimited video content for your channels, accounts, or business by simply using stock videos. 

What are stock videos?

Stock videos, also known as stock footage and B-roll, are high-resolution pre-filmed videos with a 16:9 aspect ratio, ideal for landscape videos and sites like YouTube. In addition, stock films from illusto are royalty-free, making them a perfect asset to any video project. Browse our extensive stock library with one million+ videos to get the best video, photos, and audio for any industry.

Why should you use illusto’s stock library?

In illusto, you can use free stock videos, photos, and audio. Apart from that, there is no restriction on how many stock videos you can include in your video. If you want more than one video, we recommend adding a transition between each one so they merge seamlessly. There are no watermarks on free stock videos. As a result, you can effortlessly include them in your content.

How to create videos using stock videos on illusto?

Step 1: Sign up to get started

Create your account by signing up on illusto.com

Step 2: Select the stock video tab.

To view stock videos, click on the stock video tab. Then, scroll through the stock footage until you find the perfect fit. You can also use keywords to find the relevant video.

Step 3: Add your video

Click on the plus (+) sign on any stock video. It gets added to the ‘Media’ section. You can add one or multiple videos to the media section. Once you add these videos to the Media section, it should look like this.

Step 4: Drag and Drop

Drag and drop your videos from the ‘Media’ section to the timeline. Place them in the order of your choice before you start editing the clips. You can crop them, adjust their speed, overlap them, and do much more. Explore the possibilities and play around with the videos on the timeline.

Step 5: Perk up with additions

You can edit your videos using different options from the menu bar on the left.

Add stunning transitions to merge video clips seamlessly. You can even add text to these clips to explain your videos. Use filters and effects to make your video pop. With illusto, you can add animated stickers to up the video engagement quotient.

Whichever kind of video you want to make, we have plenty of royalty-free stock videos to choose from. With our green screen stock movies, you can add fantastic moving backgrounds to YouTube opening videos and never DIY your own green screen video footage again. You can also incorporate professional sports and fitness videos, vacation videos, real-life people, gourmet food, monuments, and animals in your videos.

Browse our high-quality stock video, audio, image, and graphic element categories for creators and businesses. Simply add text, logos, special effects, and other elements to turn stock videos into engaging and entertaining videos suitable for any platform.

How to get started on illusto?

Go to illusto.com and sign up using your details. After you’ve signed up, simply navigate to the stock library within the editor. Browse our collections to pick the right video for your social ad or background music for your vlog and start editing.

Using illusto’s free stock videos, you can bring your video ideas to life. There’s no need to spend a fortune to make professional-looking videos. So whether you’re creating a video about burgers or the galaxy, illusto offers the best stock footage for you.

Save time by searching our one million+ stock assets with worry-free licensing using keywords. Since our designers handpick the content and continuously add it to the collection, you can confidently find something to suit your aesthetic, genre, and industry.

Over to you

Our licensed stock videos are free to use, simple to edit, and perfect for your video. You can create professional videos for any industry in a few simple steps. So try it out right now and even make your video.
illusto allows you to create stunning videos with minimal effort. Sign up now!

Tags:
Social Media, Tips and Tricks

3 min

For your videos to break through the clutter, you need to make them more engaging. Be it just youtube videos, marketing videos, or ad films, the engagement factor is crucial. Now that sounds like a challenge in itself! Resorting to animation might indeed solve this problem, but the process can be extensive and time-consuming. There, however, is another way of amping up the engagement factor on your videos. And that is to use stickers to make people stop their thumbs from scrolling to the next piece of content on their feed. Here are 5 ways in which stickers make your videos stand out. Read on to find out how:

Catches The Eye Right There
Social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, stand witness to millions of new videos being uploaded every second of every day from all corners of the world. Therefore, for your video to stand out from this crowd, it needs to have a quirk that hooks the viewers’ interest, which is where the stickers come in. Stickers act as magnets in a video that makes them hit pause or sometimes even scroll back. Depending on the type of video content, the appropriate sticker is bound to wow your audience.

Brings Out The Creator’s Personality
They say every individual is unique. It is especially true when it comes to creative projects like videos. Videos have the power to convey the creator’s message effectively. One easy way to strengthen it is to add the appropriate stickers to your video content. Not only does it make your video unique, but it also adds charm to it.

It Excites The Viewer
As already mentioned, stickers draw people’s attention. A static image becomes more intriguing with the addition of a sticker. When video and sticker media are combined, they create an element of surprise and excitement. Such excites the viewer’s curiosity and garners their interest. It might even amuse them. Remember, good content brings a significant following.

Stirs Up Your Video In No Time
Sometimes, using a DIY sticker, you have made yourself can work wonders for your video. It may add depth to your content, be one-of-a-kind, and it also helps you personalize your video content and retain originality. Using out-of-the-box stickers has its perks.

Makes Your Video Relatable
Face it; not everyone off the face of the planet has a knack for video editing. Not everyone can be Picasso, either. But what everyone can do is make a GIF sticker on illusto. And use it to their advantage. It’s fast and easy, and you don’t have to be a pro. 


Add Stickers To Your Videos Using illusto

You can add cool animated stickers to your videos using illusto’s free online video editor. Simply sign up on illusto.com and upload your video to get started. Then, drag your video to the timeline to start editing.

The video maker comes with a built-in sticker collection. So, you can upload your videos and then just search for the sticker you want in the menu. Stickers can be added to videos of all aspect ratios, be it 9:16 or 4:3. This comes in handy since it offers you the freedom to choose from the sizes that are permitted by all social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Once you’ve added relevant stickers to your video, click on Export and save the video to your device.

Your videos become more personalized, relatable, and all-encompassing when you use GIFs and stickers. So start right away! Create an account on illusto to enjoy video editing for free. What is your favorite way of using stickers in videos? 

Your videos become more personalized, relatable, and all-encompassing when you use GIFs and stickers. So start right away! Create an account on illusto to enjoy video editing for free. What is your favorite way of using stickers in videos? Comment below with your thoughts!

Tags:
Social Media, Tips and Tricks

4 min

Are you a newbie gamer trying to amp up the engagement factor in your gaming videos for YouTube? Now is the perfect time to start if you’re relatively new to YouTube or want to up your content game. The gaming industry is booming and has become a popular niche, with almost 64% of Americans over 13 playing video games daily!

But what exactly is so exciting about watching someone play an online game? 48% of YouTube gamers claim they spend more time watching gaming videos than playing them themselves. Gamers have a highly engaged audience because they enjoy learning new gaming techniques while becoming part of a community.  

Gaming has been one of the fastest-growing YouTube niches since 2020. This detailed guide has all the information you need to make your gaming videos more engaging and cut through the clutter. This blog will teach you about hot gaming genres that hook your audience. You will also learn excellent video editing tips to make your gaming channel stand out using illusto’s easy-to-use online video editor. 

What videos can you make for your gaming channel?

Gaming Walkthrough

Walkthrough video tutorials are your best choice if you want to show your viewers how to complete a specific video game or explain how to win it.

Breaking Records

If playing online video games is one of your fortes, you can dedicate your channel to record-breaking videos. Screen record your record-breaking performance and make videos that engage your community.

Gaming reviews

Many people watch gaming review videos on YouTube to decide whether a game is fun to play, worth buying, or too challenging for them.

Live streams

A popular gaming category on YouTube today is live streaming. Stream your next gaming session live to show off your skills and engage your audience with those jaw-dropping actions.

Gaming humor

Instead of making fun gaming videos, post your epic fails on YouTube if you’re not the best online gamer. You can influence your audience in the most fantastic way possible with humor videos as it quickly grabs attention.

The length of a gaming video might range from five minutes to an hour. Depending on the gaming video you’re making, your videos may have a time limit. For example, the highlights of winning games and epic fails might be shorter than an entire gameplay video. What kind of video you want to make is entirely your call.

How to create engaging gaming videos?

Select a gaming console.

You can make pro videos using any device. First, select a system you are already comfortable using, such as a Mac, PC, Xbox One, PS5, or PC.

Choose the perfect lighting.

Lack of light can make gaming unpleasant, especially for viewers. Use a tiny webcam ring light to add more light if you’re filming at night or in a dimly lit space. Then, all you need to do to start recording is attach an artificial light to your webcam.

Use good-quality microphones and headphones.

For any game video, using crystal-clear, high-quality mics is critical. You are welcome to use the built-in microphone on your computer or microphone-equipped headphones. However, ensure you can hear the gameplay and that your audience can listen to you.

Use free video editing software to edit

After you have recorded your gaming video, bring your video to life with illusto’s free video editor. It is simple to use, quick, and convenient for downloading videos. You may embellish your gameplay videos with filters, stickers, and transitions. You can also add voiceovers to your gameplay footage to provide commentary. These small details will help make your gaming videos more engaging, and as a result, your channel is bound to stand out.

How to edit your gaming videos for Youtube using illusto?

Step 1: Getting Started

Sign up on illusto.com and click on ‘Create Project.’ Then, Name your project, select the desired ratio, and click on ‘Create’.

Step 2: Adding Your Gaming Video

From the top toolbar, select ‘Upload’> Choose File and select your recorded gameplay video from your system. 

Step 3: Editing Your Video

Once you add your video in the media section, go to the ‘Media’ section and drag and drop your video on the timeline you see below the menubar. Your video will get added to the timeline.

Step 4: Adding the Spice

Add filters, transitions, stickers, and even effects from the left side menubar to make your gameplay videos come alive.

Step 5: Take it to the next level.

You can skip it if you don’t want to include your webcam or voice recording in your YouTube gaming video. 

Include voiceovers in various tones, languages, accents, and speeds. With distinctive voices, you can even make enjoyable game highlights and simple gaming tutorials. Add final finishing touches with royalty-free music and sound effects. Use royalty-free stock music to create tension or fill the void. Drag and drop background music from the media library onto the timeline, then lower the level. It is easier than you can imagine. All you need is a couple of clicks.

Step 6: Save your video

Click on ‘Export’ in the top right corner. You will be brought back to your editing screen. Your video is now saved in the ‘My Exports’ section. Go back to illusto home. Select ‘My Exports’ and click the ‘Download symbol’ on the video. Your video will automatically get downloaded to your system.

Over to you,

illusto’s free features let you edit and enhance your gameplay videos and bring back life to them. With these tips, you’re all set to make fantastic gameplay videos for your channel and keep your audience glued to your videos for hours. So, hurry! Sign up on illusto.com today!

Tags:
Social Media, Tips and Tricks

5 min

The best part about video editing these days is that you don’t need to be a professional with an expensive piece of software to do it. Look around you – anyone with a phone is editing their videos for social media; which then poses another question: Why should one bother with editing videos on the laptop anymore? 

Spoiler alert: unless you’re set on completely changing your career to become a professional video editor (in which case, you’ll probably require a desktop), each of these two devices has its pros and cons. Read on to find out what will work for you better at different stages in your editing career. 

Editing on A Smartphone 

Using a smartphone means you are relying on one device for shooting your content and editing it as well as storing files and doing other things like capturing audio. While this is a perfectly acceptable means to produce content, it can result in certain disadvantages such as 

Lesser storage

Video editing requires a lot of storage – something that smartphones cannot really provide. Storing a bunch of files on the phone is not only difficult but frankly quite annoying. You are left with little to no storage space for other important documents and applications.

Video quality

Although editing on your smartphone will prove cheaper, you will be limited in different spheres including the amount of exploration possible as well as the quality of your final videos.

The heartbreak of deleting videos

If you are someone who gets emotionally attached to everything you create (which definitely includes your digital creations), you will hate having to go through the heartbreak of deleting videos and extra media once you are done editing and creating.

Smaller screen

The downside to editing on a smaller screen is the lack of space to host features that can impact your video if you’re looking for more intricate editing. There is a larger chance of missing things as well. 

Lack of Formatting options 

Smartphones also have a limited number of formatting options which can also hinder creativity and narrow the kinds of videos that one can create.

Pros:

Cost-effective

Video editors are not exactly wallet-friendly to the average person. Smartphones come with a wide range of applications to help you edit and create innovative videos without having to spend a penny. While you are also required to pay for many smartphone applications, it is still much cheaper. Of course, online video editors are contributing to solving this issue, but more often than not, you still have to shell out a lot. 

Ideal when you’re on the go

Smartphones are the easiest device to edit videos on when you’re on the go. You just whip it out at a train station or on a bus and continue where you left off. You needn’t carry anything extra so the phone is an ideal editor when you’re on the go.

Hands-on

Smartphones are much more convenient to use than desktops. Trying various effects, features, and tools with your fingers makes you feel more involved with the process and feel more connected to your video.

Beginner-friendly 

For many who are just starting out, trying to edit and create videos on a desktop can be quite daunting. Smartphone applications tend to be easier to use and ease a beginner into the video editing process without much trouble.

Faster

Video editing on phones is much faster, as apps are placed within easy reach of a smaller screen. It doesn’t take much to tap on an app and continue your editing process. In fact, you can edit multiple videos on the smartphone at a much faster pace saving you a lot of time and energy.

If you’re feeling discouraged, consider these (pros) reasons to start editing videos on your laptop

Better features

Using your laptop to edit allows you to explore many more aspects, features, and effects that may not be available on simple mobile devices. Laptops allow you the freedom and the necessary tools to go crazy with your videos.

Desktop software may be tricky to get familiar with, but once you know your way around you will definitely reap big rewards.

Bigger screen

Laptops obviously have bigger screens than mobile phones and can therefore fit in much more at one go. Having a larger landscape to work on gives you the benefit of being able to keep an eye on every little detail.

Export quality

One of the reasons many people prefer using laptops to edit and create videos is the high-quality resolution and export quality that they offer. While your smartphone might give you an easier experience, laptops will completely enhance your edits to a whole new level.

Cons:

Compressing videos

The downside to creating high-quality videos on the laptop is the hassle of having to compress them in order to upload them anywhere. This will inevitably reduce the quality and the resolution of your video which defeats the purpose of creating a good video.

– More expensive

While you reap the benefits of using a laptop to edit videos, the problem is that it will cost you more than editing on the phone.

The choice of device for editing can ultimately only be determined by you – the kind of editor you imagine yourself to be and the type of videos you’re looking to edit.

Here are some things that you should consider before spending a packet on heavy editing equipment. 

What sort of video editor are you looking to become?

Are you looking to edit videos for fun reels or become a content creator that engages audiences? 

Do you want to edit fun videos for family and friends or professional videos for your company website?

If you’re not looking to go pro, but are genuinely interested in the fine art of video editing, a laptop is an ideal choice for you. 

Not only does laptop software give you more space to explore, but they also provide you with the best possible version of your content.

Why can’t you consider using both devices? You can! For instance, if you own an Android phone and regularly use a Microsoft or Windows PC, it is possible to sync both these devices to edit and create the best possible videos. You could start an edit on the phone and always continue it later on your laptop. There are several apps that you can download on your smartphone to link your work to the laptop.

Here’s why illusto can become your go-to video editor

Editing, even on the phone or the laptop, can prove overwhelming and is often a tedious task when you are trying to locate and piece together images, videos, and music.

illusto features an intuitive, easy-to-use platform that is made to be used by people of all ages and is beginner-friendly. 

It provides a series of features that do not require extensive searching and are placed together for easy access. 

With access to the world’s largest stock media library and 1GB of cloud storage data, start saying no to the heartbreak of deleting important documents and storage to accommodate video creation.

illusto does not have expensive upgrades and does not need to be downloaded. Plus, it won’t slow down your laptop either!

With unlimited video duration, the largest library of effects, and the space to record voice-overs, you needn’t look elsewhere.

It also allows you to easily create meme-worthy GIFS — click here to know how!

Head to illusto’s Instagram page to uncover the latest tips and insights, and don’t hesitate to DM us for any queries.

Sign up at illusto.com/signup and begin creating!

Tags:
Social Media, Tips and Tricks

4 min

Green screen editing, also known as chroma key, is a visual effect technique that allows you to replace one background with another. Two photos or films can be layered or combined on top of one another by video editors. As a result, actors are transported from a green screen to various cities, planets, or worlds. 

Green screen editing is a technique that takes time and practice to master. So if you’re having trouble creating realistic visual effects, we’re here to help. With Illusto’s green screen video editor, you can easily change the background of your videos or add special effects for no cost. So whether you’re making a corporate video, tutorial, Instagram ad, or gaming video, you can do it on illusto. Our step-by-step tutorial will teach you how to edit green-screen videos in no time. 

What is Green Screen Editing?

Green screen is a special effects method that allows you to remove a specific color from video recordings and replace it with another video or image. As a result, creators can simply create everything from YouTube, gaming, tutorials, and corporate films to green screen memes, GIFs, social media, and real estate videos.

What kinds of videos can I make using the green screen video editing?

YouTube, gaming, tutorials, business videos, video lessons, e-learning videos, as well as green screen memes, GIFs, social media, and real estate videos, can be created.

Can you edit Green Screen Videos even if you are a beginner?

When it comes to green screen editing, it can be a little intimidating. But don’t worry! With Illusto, you can easily edit green screen videos even if you are just starting to edit videos or are a complete beginner. You can edit unlimited videos seamlessly with a user-friendly interface and easy-to-use tools. And you can also edit green-screen videos with this free video editor. We will show you how.

How To Edit Green Screen Videos Using Illusto?

Step 1

Upload your Green Screen Video.

Sign up on illusto.com – a free online video editor.

Create a project and Upload your green-screen video from your PC by clicking on ‘Upload’. Your video will be added to ‘My Media’ in Media Library. Drag and drop it on the timeline.

Green screen step 1

Step 2

Add your video footage below the green screen clip.

Click on upload to add a clip that you wish to use as your background for the green-screen clip. You can also add it from the available stock footage. Drag and drop the video clip to the timeline underneath the green screen video. Never forget to layer the green screen footage and the background clip in the same timeline. 

Green screen step 2

Step 3

Apply the Green Screen Filter.

Now, this is the most critical part. 

1. Double-click the green screen video on the timeline. An effect menu gets opened.

2. Select the ‘Master Keyer’ option in this menu

3. Click on the pen tool and select the green screen area from the video.

4. The desired video gets applied in place of your green screen.

5. Save your video.

By following these steps, you can easily edit any green-screen videos and add cool backgrounds to them.

Green screen step 3

Step 4

Save your video in 1080p or 4K

Click the Export button in the upper right corner of your screen to save your movie after you’ve eliminated the backdrop. You can download your green screen film as a 15-second GIF or in one of three different video resolutions: 480p, 720p, or 1080p. For all YouTube uploads, we advise using 1080p. Then, save your video to your PC to upload to various channels.

Green Screen step 4

Is a green screen required to integrate a background into a video?

Yes. If you’re creating your own green screen footage, make sure the background is red, blue, or green; otherwise, the master keyer tool won’t work.

 Useful Green Screen Features

1. You can use various other settings in the Effects Menu and tweak these settings as per your need. Make use of Master Keyer – With a few clicks, remove unwanted areas and green backgrounds.

2. Add a watermark or your logo. By adding your channel name, social media handle, or logo to the editor, you can create brand coherence. Our free video editor lets you export your videos without any illusto watermark and there are no premium charges for watermark-free videos.

3. Simple to resize – Free aspect ratio resizing is available for 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:5, 2:3, and 21:9 aspect ratios.

Beyond the Green Screen

1. Access a complete editor with a variety of user-friendly and effective editing tools.

2. Add final touches like audio and transitions, or use trimming tools to tidy up your clip.

3. To get started, choose a ready-to-use template or start with an existing video and add to it.

4. Use endless transitions, filters, effects, stock images, and videos to create quick videos.

5. Using Illusto also requires no pre-requisite editing knowledge.

Is illusto green screen video editor available for free?

Yes. Our free premium beta features are available to all users. To have free access to all features, you must first sign up. illusto is a free online video editor that lets you create videos easily with its amazing features.

Over to You

 Unleash your inner creativity and create endless green-screen videos with illusto. It’s fast, It’s easy, and it’s free. 

Sign up today!

Tags:
Social Media, Tips and Tricks

4 min

Excess of anything will decrease the quality of the original, let us see where to draw a line.

American actress Diana Lane once said, “A lot can change in the editing room.” Which is very accurate. Good editing skills are worth their weight in gold. However, how much is too much? 

A good editor is a game changer in film, photography, and written copy editing. Nonetheless, an editor who does excessive cuts may kill the soul of the original. 

When it comes to video editing, we have got you covered with illusto. The best online video editor will guide you through and let you master the art of editing. But it won’t tell when to stop editing, and since it is too easy to use. It’s too much fun editing on illusto. So let us find out when you have done much.

It just looks too much

Yes! The easiest way to find out you have done too much editing is when people can make out glaring edits you have made. Look at the first version of the photo or video and compare it to the ones after the improvements are made. Congratulations, you have unsettled the copy.

It’s like adding salt to a curry; it will make it taste better. But, when you put in more and more, it ruins the taste of your curry.

Regarding photo editing, it is lightning, and the darkening of photos must be taken care of. This has to be done so that the viewer doesn’t lose sight of the actual object that you want them to focus on.

Maintaining Visual Clarity

Editing is done to enhance storytelling, which is the foundation of editing. However,  to achieve perfection, you may mess up your story’s sequence.

If changes are made to the frame, ensure that the frame isn’t getting blurry and halos are not forming behind the focused object, which can disturb the entire frame and ruin the scene.

Similarly, in the case of photo editing, similar to video frames, it may cause halos and create weird lines on the photos, which affects their quality.

Using colors the right way

Make your frame or video colorful in the way you want to tell your story but without making the colors off-putting.

For instance, in Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad, the maker had a subtle way of telling a story in the scenes; through costume color and background shades in the scenes. Many critics came up with a theory that the darkening of that Walter’s darkened shirt color and dark backgrounds throughout the series, where an indication that he evolves into Heisenberg, shows how his personality has changed. The darker his shirt color became, the more negative shades were introduced into his character, and the darker the series became with the tone.

Spike Zone’s “Her” is a movie where editing of color has been done brilliantly.

That is how colors can be used if used well. Similarly, a color edited unnecessarily can have an off-putting effect on the screen. 

And again, when it comes to photo editing, the frame loses its originality when too many edits are done. The color can become so vibrant if not saturated carefully that the photo may lose its actual soul.

Losing details in the frame

In films or videos, the makers often try to put elements in scenes that are hard to find at first glance. But having watched a movie a few times, you will appreciate the quality and vision of a maker. This generally happens to all the Nolan fans. He is a master of deception. “The Prestige” is one of the classic examples of such mastery.

However, getting back to the point, the moment the editor tries to make the frame perfect, he is likely to lose the details that the director or filmmaker has cleverly put out there for the audience.

As far as photos go, similar to frames in films, the photographer’s intention of capturing certain things cleverly may just get lost, ruining the art.

Editing written pieces

Editing is not limited to just photos and videos. Editing is an essential part of writing too. The reader is the top priority in written editing. The expectation of what the reader wants. 

Then comes the client. The first question to ask is what are the client’s preferences? Do they need a blog for online editing software like illusto or does The New York Times needs an article about Harry Styles?

Anyway, imagine your client is illusto. What will you write? You have got to understand what the software is about. illusto is an online video editing software that professional spheres and newbies can use.

The video editor does not need newbies to pursue editing courses. Just drag the videos on the timeline and edit them. Then, export them up to 4K resolution.

The video editor is easy to use and provides premium features for free. One of the greatest strengths of illusto is that it is cloud-based and doesn’t demand your desktop or laptop to use High RAM or heavy graphic card.

let’s go back to the vital factor of editing. The other essential thing to consider is the writer’s train of thought. As an editor, it is crucial to understand the writer and the work they have put in and their perspective and make edits accordingly.

However, there is no hard and fast rule of what to do and not do in written editing but always work on keeping the copy should be clear, complete, compelling, and concise.

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Social Media, Tips and Tricks

3 min

Here’s How To Make Filters Your Friends While Editing Videos

Ever wonder what went behind the 2020s craze for VSCO filters? Filters not only create a tonality of the time period but can enhance the content of your images or videos depending on which ones you use. If you need time to understand color saturations, here’s a guide on which filter to make your film, oh, so fine! 

Ask any 90’s kid and they will agree the maximum options they chose from about 10-20 years ago was only between sepia or black & white. While we are spoilt for options now, how does one really choose the filter that can better spotlight our video? Why do Buzzfeed’s Tasty dishes look so good but ours does not? Choosing the right filter for your video need not be as complicated as choosing to swipe right or left on that Tinder profile. We show you how: 

Stick To Negatives Once In A While

Once you log on to illusto’s online video editing platform, cruise the options available in the Filters section. While we love the look of Negative Film, the filter itself is restricted in usage to only emphasizing dramatic scenes, maybe a flashback introduction. 

Embrace Summer

Meanwhile, the absolutely gorgeous filter of Summer gives the video a warm, breezy look that is ideal for emotional scenes, maybe a wedding video or a video with nature as the key subject. Winter is well suited for videos that show a lot more movement. 

Polish It Up

The Clear and Bright is a standard filter that can polish up your video especially if you did not adjust the camera settings before taking the footage; it also works when you have a dull color tone to your video from the lack of sunlight. 

The Green Tea works the reverse way, offering to dilute the lighter parts of the video while bringing down the sharpness of colors in brighter hues. It works best for colorful videos if you have serious messaging, for example, a Public Service Announcement would go great with this filter. 

Get ‘Funky’

We love the ‘Funky’ filter because it enhances the hues already present to create a more vibrant look for your edited video. This filter fits well on food and dance videos, especially if your publishing platform of choice is Instagram. 

illusto’s Favourite Is…

Our in-house editor’s personal favorite is the SkyBlue filter that gives a light bluesy look to your video, paired best with music videos, musical performances, and travel videos, specifically treks, and beaches. This filter attempts to give a blue lens-covering kind of look to your videos to create an unnatural but soothing effect. 

Create Some Intensity!

The FreshWarm filter works almost the same as the sepia tone we used when we were kids. It’s best used when showing timelines or emotional scenes of a short film. It also creates an intensity that grows great with suspenseful videos, for example, if a protagonist is on the search for something in your short film. Pair it well with music! 

Add That ‘Quality’

The final filter that you just cannot go wrong with is Quality as the name suggests, goes well with any video if you didn’t know which one to choose from. This filter can also enhance any videos from the past if you have footage that is older than made after the 90s! Bonus tip: The Black&White and DarkGold work well to recreate newer footage to give an older retro look! 

LUT Guide: 

This common industry acronym, a boon for some, is basically, “Lookup Table”; a table that samples the color gradations available via the filter section for your usage. With over a dozen filters available, you can now play with the colors to see which enhances your video best. 

It’s important to experiment with every filter before making a selection. illusto’s filters are pretty easy to use: Simply select the one you want, then drag and drop it down to your footage to check how it looks. You can add multiple filters to the same frame by controlling the time each filter lasts. This helps compare every filter and assess what works best for your edited video. Easy right?

Now get going! 

Tags:
Social Media, Tips and Tricks