So you’re getting started vlogging with your cell phone. Really, you have just about everything that you’re going to need, but you’re going to want to level up your game over time, so HERE IS A LIST of hardware items what we recommend adding over time, and in this article, we’ll be sharing some of the essential apps you’ll need to begin your journey.
Storage
You’re going to need a place to store all of your images and videos. Shooting in 4k is going to take up a lot of storage space, and you’re not going to be able to keep all of that on your device forever.
In this digital-age, I would imagine that you have learned by now that you need to have everything backed up. Dropbox, is our go-to storage. We can sync everything automatically, directly from our phones and other devices from anywhere and access our files on any of our devices from anywhere.
We started with 1 terabyte of storage–that’s a lot of storage, and we still have PLENTY of room!
CLICK THIS LINK TO GET GET 500MB FOR FREE
Video Editing
Start with what you have–we used iMovie for years, and there are lots of videos that you can watch to learn hacks on how to get the full-capability of all that iMovie can do. Until you have maxed out the full capacity of iMovie, I wouldn’t recommend beginning to pay for anything.
When you are ready to begin paying for something, then I recommend Rush from Adobe.
The most capable mobile editing app is Lumafusion from LumaTouch. It’s best to use this app on an iPad because of all the the options on the interface, but you absolutely can use it on a cell phone. It’s available for a one-time low fee. One draw back, for me, was that I had some issues with the app crashing at the time of export, which can be frustrating, so even though it is a highly capable, highly intuitive app, I moved on.
Thumbnail Design
Best app for thumbnail design is Canva–end of story! This design software is so easy to use, and we use it for all sorts of things up to and including our media kit, project proposals, rate sheets, and so much more! There’s a template for just about everything, and it has a video editor, which I have only used for short videos and that’s about all I’d recommend.
It is totally WORTH using the paid, pro plan. We pay the nominal fee every month without any regrets whatsoever.
Music and Sound Effects
Scouring the internet for copyright free and royalty free music is no fun! Especially when many of the so-called free websites frequently end up providing music that gets copyright claims. Totally not worth it! What a waste of time! We tried to avoid paying for a music service subscription for a long time, but we finally decided to just bite the bullet and pay for Epidemic Sound. It’s been totally worth it. It makes finding music so easy, and now there is a smart phone app, so you can video, edit, and search for sound all on your smart device.
USE THIS LINK TO START YOUR FREE TRIAL OF EPIDEMIC SOUND TODAY!
Video Stabilization
First of all, we highly recommend getting yourself a gimbal stabilizer. our favorite is the DJI OM 6.
The device utilizes a Bluetooth connection to connect to your phone through their app. Maybe it’s just us but it seems like that videos recorded through this app are more vibrant and beautiful than the ones which we record through the standard camera app, so that’s why we’ve included it on this list. GET THE APP HERE.
Even if you have a gimbal stabilizer, you’re still going to occasionally capture some shaky video, and sometimes capturing handheld video is the best you can do–Deshake is an app that I wish we had known about a long time ago. This app is very simple and easy to you and it can make your shaky, hand-held video look like buttery, smooth gimbal footage! CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO!
Analytics and Growth
VidIQ is our favorite app for analytics and growth. Use it for free to do research on search volume, track what other channels are doing within your niche and industry, and ideas for videos around trending topics. There is a free version, so you don’t even need to pay anything to use it, but there are also paid plans which give you an even wider range of capability. Probably one of the best features is the web browser plug in which allows you to see all of the data and info on YouTube videos, YouTube channels, and search results right in your browser window.
Conclusion
We hope this helps you get started!
For some helpful tips on simple equipment to buy CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE!
For more information about how you can make money traveling as a content creator, CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE!
For the best courses on getting started in content creation CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE!