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96 P a r t I I Producing Your YouTube Videos

As you might suspect, these are not inexpensive camcorders. Expect to spend any-
where from $2,000 to $3,500 for one of these pricey puppies. This is probably
overkill for shooting YouTube videos; you’re better off sticking to a lower-priced
mid-level model.

Selecting Essential Accessories

One of the keys to shooting more professional videos is to take advantage of avail-
able accessories such as tripods, lighting kits, and the like. Let’s take a quick look at
what you need to make sure your videos don’t look like the majority of amateurish
YouTube videos out there today.

Tripod

Let’s talk stability first. Many amateur videos (and professional movies trying for an
artsy “shaky cam” effect) bounce around like a monkey on caffeine. That’s because
it’s hard to hold a camcorder steady in your hand; you end up shaking the cam-
corder and producing a shaky video.
What you need is a way to steady your camera when you shoot. The answer is to
mount your camcorder on a tripod (such as the one shown in Figure 9.4) or mono-
pod. Spend $40 or less and get a rock-solid picture; it’s an essential accessory.

Figure 9.4 The sturdy 515QF tripod from Slik.