Musicians have taken advantage of video from the minute silent films gave way to “talkies” in the early 20th century. In fact, the first full-length movie to feature sound was about music: The Jazz Singer. From the Beatles’ appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show to the many bands whose careers were launched by MTV, video has played a major role in connecting musicians with fans, but until recently, video remained in the realm of professionals. In the past few years, a combination of inexpensive, easy-to-use video devices, broadband Internet, video-chat programs like Skype, and especially YouTube and other video-sharing websites have created opportunities for musicians that were unimaginable just a few years ago. Today, anyone can produce a video and publish it for the world to see!

Of course, the question is, what do you want the world to see? Video brings new tools, including lighting, backgrounds, camera angles, and scene changes that can add—or detract—from your performance. Video also brings new challenges and requires new gear and new skills. Here are some ways you can make your videos look more appealing and professional, along with some other ways you can take advantage of these new capabilities.

See and Be Seen

Whether you’re an amateur or professional, you’ll find that video is rapidly becoming an important part of a guitarist’s set of tools for promotion, collaboration, and education. YouTube has become a sort of global open mic, where everyone can perform and get feedback from peers, promote their music, or just share their talent with anyone who cares to watch. Wisconsin-based musician Neal Paisley, who publishes videos on his YouTube channel, says, “To an amateur musician who plays at home, there are no sweeter words than, ‘That was good, do more.’” For professionals or aspiring professionals, a hit YouTube video can help launch a career, as guitarists Andy McKee, Trace Bundy, and others have discovered. But videos can be a great addition to any performer’s press kit. A YouTube video makes it easy for potential employers—from coffeehouses to concert promoters—to see what you have to offer. Unlike a CD, where one can never be sure how many overdubs, edits, or other studio tricks were used, a video performance offers an unvarnished and more believable view of your music.

Both amateurs and professionals can also use video as a more personal way to share music with others. Whether you’re playing a tune for a distant friend or relative, sending a band mate a new song before rehearsal, or posting a tune to an online forum for a bit of constructive feedback, video provides more of the sense of “being there” than an audio-only recording.

Cameras: Webcams to HD

Kodak Zi8, Flip UltraHD, and Zoom Q3 video cameras.

Jumping into the world of video requires some basic equipment, but the gear can be surprisingly inexpensive and easy to set up. A simple webcam—often built into laptops and available separately for as little as $20—is an inexpensive way to shoot video for YouTube (and get you connected to Skype). A top-of-the-line high-definition (HD) webcam (around $100) may offer a better picture and more features, including lighting adjustments and zooming and even the ability to follow you as you move. Make sure whatever camera you choose is compatible with your computer hardware and software. Video technology evolves rapidly and you may encounter issues with hardware or software that is even just a few years old.

The next step beyond a webcam is a better, or at least more flexible, video camera. A new breed of small high-definition cameras, such as the Zoom Q3, Alesis VideoTrack, or ubiquitous Flip cameras, record to flash memory cards and allow files to be easily copied to a computer for editing. These cameras are often optimized for online video and provide an amazingly good picture at a relatively low cost ($100–$250). YouTube currently produces the best quality when video is uploaded in HD formats (720p or 1,080p), which gives these inexpensive HD cameras an edge over even nominally higher quality non-HD cameras. More expensive cameras usually provide better zooming, more control over lighting and focus, and other features that can be beneficial if you take the time to learn how to use them. In addition, many new cameras blend still-photo capabilities and video, so you might find that your still camera is capable of shooting video suitable for YouTube.

Light It Up

As with any public performance, you want to put your best foot forward, starting with the quality of your video. Good lighting is critical for video quality with both YouTube and Skype. Many cameras produce the best results with natural daylight, but, of course, the sun might not be available when you need it. Although you can use normal household lighting—lamps, ceiling lights, etc.—dedicated lights that can be moved and aimed are usually more effective and versatile. Professional photographic lighting can be expensive and bulky, but you can get good results using inexpensive utility work lights, which you can find at a hardware store. Paper Chinese lanterns work nicely as well, and they have some built-in diffusion that reduces glare. Energy-saving compact fluorescent lights (CFL) provide strong light but generate less heat than normal lights, which you’ll appreciate if you spend any amount of time in front of the camera.

You can use lighting to achieve dramatic effects, but aiming for a natural look is a good place to start. The standard basic lighting approach for portraits is three-point lighting, which places one strong light 45 degrees to the left of the subject, a weaker light 45 degrees to the right, and another light above and behind the subject. Three-point lighting is good for a natural-looking solo video, but don’t be afraid to exercise your creativity.

Lighting also affects the color of your video. People are attuned to skin tones and will notice quickly if they look wrong, but guitarists may also want to make sure guitar woods look correct. Most cameras have a “white balance” control, which attempts to make sure that white objects look white, with the idea that other colors will follow. If you are using multiple cameras, all your cameras’ color responses should match, so viewers don’t see different colors when scenes change. You may need to experiment with camera settings as well as light placement to achieve the best results. Some video-editing programs will allow you to make color adjustments after the video is recorded, as well.

When choosing lights, pay attention to the bulb’s color temperature, which is measured in Kelvins and often marked on CFL bulbs. Although most cameras can adapt to different colors, all light sources should be consistent to allow your camera to adjust correctly. Slack-key guitarist Fran Guidry, an Acoustic Guitar contributor who has been creating YouTube videos regularly for years, recommends using 2,700 Kelvin CFL bulbs for consistency with the incandescent lights you probably already have, although higher values (5,000–5,500 K) are more like daylight.

Audio Improvements

An on-screen handclap helps align video and audio tracks.

Of course, you don’t want to ignore the importance of audio quality in your videos. The microphones built into webcams and camcorders are usually not studio quality, and it’s unlikely that the best camera location for video will also be optimal for audio. Some cameras include external microphone inputs, allowing you to place a microphone wherever it sounds best, but this feature is rare in the current small flash cameras—the Kodak Zi8 has been a hit with musicians largely due to its microphone input. However, even with microphone inputs, cameras are usually not intended for high-quality audio and may record at lower sampling rates or bit depths, and they may not be compatible with the mics or preamps you already have.

Another approach is to record the audio on a separate device. Portable audio recorders like the popular Zoom H2 offer the same portability as video cameras, allowing you to record quality audio in any location, but you can use any digital recording setup—a computer with recording software, for example. A simple clap at the beginning of the video will provide a synchronization point to tie the audio and video together. To use this approach, you need a video editor that supports separately movable audio tracks. Load the video and audio into the editor, and move the audio track until the clap is aligned. Some simple video editors bundled with computers and aimed at the home movie market, such as Windows Movie Maker or Apple’s iMovie, do not support this ability, but others, like Adobe’s Premiere Elements or Apple’s Final Cut Express offer multiple audio tracks that can be manipulated separately and aligned with video tracks. Synchronizing multiple tracks takes some practice, but an external recorder can produce far better results than simply using the camera’s built-in microphone. You can also use the same technique to synchronize multiple audio tracks, or even multiple video cameras. Just make sure the clap is visible on all cameras, if you’re using more than one, and make sure to begin with a clap every time you restart the video and audio recorders.

Set the Scene

Once you’ve got the gear figured out, it’s time to think about what your video will look like. Although YouTube videos are often fairly casual, you can rise above the pack with a bit of attention to your surroundings. For solo performers who want a clean studio-like look, consider a bare wall or a backdrop of some kind. You can find professional backdrops at photography stores or online, but you can also use a sheet or plain tablecloth. Or you might prefer a more visually interesting setting for your video. With multiple performers, you might record on a stage that mimics a live performance environment, or you could choose a location that relates to your song. Maybe you prefer the casual, cozy look of playing in your living room. The key is to think about the image you’re presenting.

In addition to your environment, consider your personal appearance. You may be recording all alone, with just you and your camera, but you should dress as you would if you were performing at an important venue, playing for thousands of people—because once your video appears on YouTube, you will be!

If you are recording yourself, getting the camera, lights, and sound all adjusted will involve a bit of time and trial and error. With a webcam, positioning the camera is fairly easy, since the options are limited. Some camcorders have screens that flip around so you can see yourself from the front, but most Flip-style cameras do not, so if you are recording yourself, experiment to find the best camera position. Check for obvious things: make sure you are in the picture and that nothing is visible in the background that you don’t want your audience to see. If you move around a lot while performing, make sure you know how far you can move without walking out of the picture! You should also check for unexpected visual distractions, like excessive glare from lights on the guitar, or a microphone that gets in the way at the wrong moment.

As you would with an audio recording, record a few seconds of video and play it back. Repeat as needed, making adjustments to the camera position, lights, etc., each time. Once you get the camera positioned, try to find a reference point in the background, without you in the picture, to make it easier to repeat your position in the future. Of course, enlisting a friend to run your camera will make the whole process much easier.

Tell the Story

Creating a video that showcases your playing effectively may require you to think about your musical presentation in new ways. Even if you have developed a good stage presence, the same techniques may not translate to video. “You can’t make a video without being an actor,” Guidry says. “When we see someone on screen, we judge them as an actor. So accept it, and have fun with it!” Guidry also observes that, like a good song, a video is a chance to tell a story. The need to tell a story is obvious to filmmakers, of course, but for a guitarist sitting in front of a camera for the first time, that may be a new way of thinking.

Framing yourself in the camera, as well as choosing camera angles carefully, can contribute to a more interesting video. Instructional videos often benefit from a close-up of the guitar or an angle that clearly shows both hands, while performance videos are more appealing if the performer can be seen clearly. Don’t be shy—there are already too many YouTube videos of headless guitarists. Looking natural in an unnatural setting—just you and a video camera—can be challenging. Looking away from the camera comes across as detached, while staring directly into the camera produces a deer-in-the-headlights look. Try looking toward the camera, but moving your head a bit as you speak or play. It may help to visualize an audience that you can mentally relate to.

If you are teaching, creating a product demo, or doing anything else that involves speaking, it helps to have a written script to follow. It’s far too easy to get tongue-tied or ramble once the camera is running. Deciding ahead of time exactly what you want to say makes it easier to be clear and concise and will ensure you include everything you want to cover. If you need to read the script while recording, try placing the script just below the camera, and practice until you can make it look like you’re talking to the viewer instead of reading. You could also try one of the inexpensive or free computer-based teleprompter programs. It may help to break your video into individual scenes that can be edited and tightened up afterward. However, it is difficult to edit musical performances; in most cases any edit will be noticeable visually even if the audio edit is seamless.

If you have more sophisticated video-editing software, using multiple cameras allows you to change camera angles to add interest and keep the video moving along. Switching between cameras at key points—like the transition from a verse to a chorus—can complement and enhance your music. Although changing cameras too often or too arbitrarily can be distracting, consider that few TV or movie scenes last more than a few seconds with a single camera angle. A full MTV-style production might be a bit ambitious for a self-made video, but watching professionally produced videos of performers whose style is similar to yours may prompt ideas about how to deliver your performance more effectively on video.

Edit and Publish Your Video

The ability to edit your videos is important and is one advantage over recording directly to YouTube. Just trimming the beginning and end of your video can be a big improvement over many amateur videos—viewers don’t need to see you turning on the camera or strapping on your guitar! Windows Movie Maker (PC) and iMovie (Mac) can perform basic edits, and more-powerful programs like Premiere or Final Cut provide more features, including support for multiple cameras, multiple audio tracks, and special effects. Of course, like most software, the more powerful the editing program, the steeper the learning curve.

If you’re using a webcam, publishing a basic video to YouTube is easy. Once you sign up for a free account you can go to youtube.com/my_webcam and record directly to YouTube with just a few mouse clicks. Posting non-webcam video to YouTube is also simple, but a little more time-consuming. After logging in to your YouTube account, you will find a link to a page that allows you to upload a video file, provide a title, and add other information about your video.

Depending on the length and quality of your video (which determines the size of the file) and the speed of your Internet connection, uploading can take awhile—often many hours—and YouTube will take even more time to encode the video into its format. YouTube recommends leaving your video in its original resolution (image size) and currently produces the best quality if your camera is set to 1,080p (1920 x 1,080 pixels) or 720p (1,280 x 780 pixels). YouTube also recommends the H.264 video format, which many newer cameras use by default.

Some video-editing programs have presets that are intended to produce good results with YouTube, and many can post directly to YouTube. These are worth trying, but be aware that software often lags behind the rapidly changing online world. Check YouTube’s help section for the latest suggested formats. In general, you will get the best results by uploading the highest quality video you can, while staying below YouTube’s 2 GB file-size limit.

One thing to keep in mind is that you cannot replace a video on YouTube. You can delete a video and upload it again, but you will lose any comments, ratings, and viewer counts for the original video. However, you can easily upload as many test videos as you like. You can also mark videos as private or share them only with a list of friends—this is a great way to test or share videos with friends and family without the rest of the world tuning in before you’re ready to be seen.

New Opportunities

There was a time when sharing your music online meant posting an MP3. Today, it’s all about video. Although there is a bit of a learning curve, video can be an exciting addition to your set of promotional tools and a new creative avenue for your music. With a bit of effort and thought, video offers a chance to present your music in a more effective way than audio recordings alone.