Posts by Caleb Wojcik
How to Make a Compelling Event Video ft. Paul Searle (DVG 025)
How to Make a Compelling Event Video ft. Paul Searle (DVG 025)

I love attending conferences. 

I've shared many times before why, so I won't do that here, but to someone trying to decide whether or not to attend a conference for the first time, there are only two real ways to decide.

Either ask someone that has been there before or watch the event video, and your only option is usually the latter.

In today's episode I chat with Paul Searle, a freelance videographer who focuses almost exclusively on making videos for events. We chat about what makes a great event video, how to best record the talks, how he is livestreaming events to the web, and all the gear he uses to do so. 

If you ever need to record something that takes place live (weddings, sporting events, conferences, documentaries, etc.), this episode is for you.

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Filming, My Podcast, FreelancingCaleb WojcikIntermediate / Amateur
Getting White Balance Right (Video)
Getting White Balance Right (Video)

When you leave the camera in the auto white balance mode while shooting, the colors of your video can change while recording, which is a huge nightmare. 

And setting it incorrectly can immediately make your videos look awful too. 

In this video I'm going to show you how white balance works and how to stop just setting it to auto when you shoot videos.

Watch the video above, on YouTube, or through iTunes.

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Filming, Lighting, My YouTube VideosCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist
How to Use YouTube Ads to Grow Your Channel ft. Ryan Masters (DVG 024)
How to Use YouTube Ads to Grow Your Channel ft. Ryan Masters (DVG 024)

Paying for ads and not knowing whether or not you're getting anything out of them can be extremely frustrating. Especially ones that take a lot of work to produce like YouTube ads.

And getting more views isn't the only thing you can do with YouTube ads either. Channel subscribers, building your email list, and gaining actual customers are all possible from running YouTube ads.

In this episode I chat with Ryan Masters all about how to get started with ads on YouTube, how to properly track them so you know which ads have a positive return on investment, and what tools you can use to do so. We also talk at the beginning about how and why he changed his broad fitness channel to a more specific niche and what the results have been since.

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YouTube, My PodcastCaleb WojcikIntermediate / Amateur, Advanced / Professional
How to Edit Videos Twice as Fast (Video)
How to Edit Videos Twice as Fast (Video)

As if shooting videos didn't already take enough time, editing can take even longer.

But there is a little trick I picked up that helps me get through the first draft while editing a video in less than half the time.

Once you know it, you won't have to watch through all the footage you shot to pull out the best takes and delete the bad ones.

You can learn this trick in less than two minutes by watching the video in this post, on YouTube, or using iTunes.

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Editing, My YouTube VideosCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist, Intermediate / Amateur
10 Video Mistakes I've Made and How to Avoid Them (DVG 023)
10 Video Mistakes I've Made and How to Avoid Them (DVG 023)

Even if you're a professional and you've done something tens of thousands of times, you're still going to mess up occasionally. (Just think of how often NFL receivers drop easy catches.)

When you make enough videos, you're bound to make plenty of mistakes. 

The two most important things to recover from mistakes are to fix them as soon as possible and to put processes in place to never let them happen again.

In today's episode I talk with Tim Krupa, my editor, production assistant, and brother-in-law. In it we discuss ten mistakes we've made while making videos for ourselves or clients and how you can avoid them. 

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Filming, My Podcast, FreelancingCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist, Intermediate / Amateur
4 Ways to Focus a DSLR on Yourself (Video)
4 Ways to Focus a DSLR on Yourself (Video)

On a typical afternoon and you set up your camera, your lights, the microphone, and get ready to record. You record for a hour, take everything down, put it away and the put the SD card in your computer.

"Wait a minute. I'm out of focus?? Are you kidding me!?"

This only needs to happen once for you to never let it happen again.

Which is why one the most common questions I get asked from people starting to shoot videos of themselves is, "what is the best way to focus my camera on myself?"

In this first episode of DIY Video Guy TV I detail four different ways you can make sure you're in focus every time you shoot a video. 

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Filming, My YouTube VideosCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist
DIY Video Guy TV is Launching Next Week
DIY Video Guy TV is Launching Next Week

I'm super excited to announce the beginnning of my new weekly video show: DIY Video Guy TV.

Every week I'll be sharing tips on how to make better videos for the web.

Everything from what camera, audio, and lighting equipment you should buy, how to use it to make your videos look and sound better, figuring out what kinds of videos to make, how to convert your viewers into subscribers and customers, and I'll even go behind the scenes on videos I make for clients and break down exactly what gear I use and how I set it up.

Every Tuesday starting next week there will be a new episode of the show and there are three ways you can find out when they go live.

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My YouTube VideosCaleb Wojcik
How to Start Getting Paid to Make Videos for Others (DVG 022)
How to Start Getting Paid to Make Videos for Others (DVG 022)

If you're making videos for yourself, there is a good chance that you might be interested in earning some money on the side or full-time by making videos for other people. 

I've been making videos part-time for a couple years, and full-time for the past few months, so I have some decent experience doing so, but in this episode I chat with Chad Owen, who has been freelancing as a video maker for the past 6 years. 

We talk about how to feel comfortable charging what you're worth, how to properly sell your services, creating properly through budgeting and proposals, how to position video as a solution with an ROI for your clients, and when to invest in gear versus renting your equipment.

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My Podcast, FreelancingCaleb Wojcik
How to Make 200 Videos in 200 Days ft. Antonio Centeno (DVG 021)
How to Make 200 Videos in 200 Days ft. Antonio Centeno (DVG 021)

What if you released a video every single day? How long do you think you could keep that up? What do you think the results of that would be?

Today’s guest on the podcast, Antonio Centeno, created 200 videos in 200 days and racked up over a half million views on them a few years ago. Fast forward to today and he has a YouTube channel about men’s fashion that has over 400 videos on it, with almost 15 million views, and over 227,000 subscribers.

In this episode I chat with Antonio about why he got started making videos on YouTube after seeing a competitor do so, his tips for batching the creation of his videos together, how to make your thumbnails more clickable, how he grows his email list directly from his YouTube videos, and why he embraced the DIY mindset when he first started making videos online.

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YouTube, My Podcast, FilmingCaleb WojcikAdvanced / Professional, Beginner / Hobbyist, Intermediate / Amateur
2014 Year in Review
2014 Year in Review

Each of the past three years I've written an annual review and I encourage you to do the same.

Sometimes it is easier just to keep thinking about today, tomorrow, and the future, but looking back at what went well and what didn't go well can help you see just how far you've come and determine what to do or focus on in the upcoming year.

  • In 2011, I started blogging, quit my day job, got married, and traveled for three months straight.
  • In 2012, I co-launched Fizzle.co, started my first podcast, shot my first real video of myself, and started a mastermind group with Barrett Brooks & Nathan Barry (that's still going strong).
  • In 2013, I lived in Italy for 6 weeks with my wife Jen, helped grow Fizzle to over 1,100 members, started doing video client work, Jen was diagnosed with cancer, and we got a puppy.

At the beginning of 2014, Jen and I picked a single word for the year: simplify. I'm pretty sure we failed at that.

We moved into a bigger place, traveled a lot, Jen's cancer returned, I left my job at Fizzle to go solo, and did all of the below.

Let's first take a look at all of the things I helped create or did this year.

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Caleb WojcikAnnual Review
How to Build a Video Production Studio (DVG 020)
How to Build a Video Production Studio (DVG 020)

Having a dedicated space to shoot videos in is really helpful for increasing the amount of videos you can produce.

It can be hard to figure out the best place to set one up though and sometimes you need to use a space that has another purpose too (like an office, bedroom, living room, etc.).

In this episode Thomas Frank asks me questions again, but this time we chat all about creating a video studio in both a shared space and in a completely dedicated space (like a garage or studio).

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Filming, My PodcastCaleb WojcikAdvanced / Professional, Beginner / Hobbyist, Intermediate / Amateur
4 Things Every YouTuber Should Know About Mobile ft. Greg Hickman (DVG 019)
4 Things Every YouTuber Should Know About Mobile ft. Greg Hickman (DVG 019)

YouTube says that 40% of their worldwide watch time comes from mobile devices. 

And if you’re using annotations in your videos, such as telling people to click to subscribe or follow a link on screen, that is 40% of people that can’t click on them.

In this episode I chat with Greg Hickman of Mobile Mixed about what you need to consider about mobile viewers when making videos for YouTube or the web. 

We discuss annotations, calls to action, how to convert viewers via SMS, and how videos made with your phone can be less produced and scripted than with a regular camera.

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Filming, My Podcast, YouTubeCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist
How Fizzle Makes Videos (DVG 018)
How Fizzle Makes Videos (DVG 018)

While at Fizzle.co I made a ton of videos. Complete courses, founder story interviews, and more. 

At the time of leaving Fizzle the three of us had created nearly 100 hours of finished video in a couple years.

Instead of me just sharing what I learned there and how we made videos, I asked Thomas Frank, who was the guest on episode six of the podcast, to interview me about what he wanted to know about how we made videos at Fizzle.

In this episode I share what processes we used at Fizzle to create a full video courses, how to do motion tracking, how to create templates in FCPX or Premiere for using similar effects in all your videos, what to do when you get embarrassed while recording when other people are home, and we get really technical about jump cuts and slide transitions.

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Filming, My PodcastCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist
Professionals Show Up (DVG 017)
Professionals Show Up (DVG 017)

You know how some albums are "unplugged", without the professional editor going through and taking out the mistakes the musicians make? That's what this episode is like. No edits, just raw speech.

I woke up today with my rant pants on (patent pending) and I wanted to share my thoughts on the trouble with consistently releasing videos and podcasts, week after week.

In this episode I talk about what you need to do to make sure you keep showing up, how to take a sabbatical when you're overwhelmed, and what kind of systems you should build to make sure you don't miss a scheduled publishing date.

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My PodcastCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist, Intermediate / Amateur
How Asana Makes Videos ft. Joey Dello Russo (DVG 016)
How Asana Makes Videos ft. Joey Dello Russo (DVG 016)

Making a team-based productivity app interesting in videos isn't easy to do, but Asana has done an amazing job of making high quality and engaging videos not only to market their app, but to teach and inspire people to use it as well.

Once I saw some of their videos I immediately wanted to find out who was behind them. Specifically, I wanted to know how they made the screen recorded sections of their videos look so good.

In today's episode I talk with Joey Dello Russo, an NYU film school grad that formerly worked at Asana and was the major creative force behind Asana's use of video. 

In it, he shares a ton of detail about the process for how he made each of the videos, how he got other employees at the company involved in them, and the steps he takes for making screen recordings look amazing. 

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Editing, My PodcastCaleb WojcikAdvanced / Professional
iKan Elite iPad Teleprompter Review
iKan Elite iPad Teleprompter Review

If you're making a lot of scripted talking head videos, a teleprompter may be a solid investment to save you time during both production and editing.

I'd used one in the past while shooting a video course for a client, where some of the videos were nearly a half hour long and fully written out, but I just recently bought an iPad teleprompter myself and wanted to show how it works by unboxing it and showing you some of the features.

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Gear / Equipment, My YouTube Videos, FilmingCaleb WojcikAdvanced / Professional
Which Video Editing Software Should You Use? (DVG 015)
Which Video Editing Software Should You Use? (DVG 015)

Commenters on YouTube love to ask what camera, microphone, and editing software are used to make the videos. Since I already covered the first two, today I'm answering the third.

I've used many different video editing programs over the past decade, but now I only use a couple. 

In this episode I talk through six different video editing programs (from free to pro) and help you figure out which one is best for you and your budget. I also share one bonus app that saves me a ton of time and frustration when I'm syncing video for multiple cameras with my external audio recordings.

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Editing, My PodcastCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist