- Download Free Software
If you want to record your screen you will need to download some software. Assuming you don’t already have video software you want to use I would recommend:
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- For most people I would recommend starting with VSDC video editor, which is what I’m using right now. It provides you with a fairly powerful editor and screen/webcam recorder for free without annoying limitations like watermarks or size limits. The main downside of this software is that it is not the most intuitive interface, but it is still pretty easy to learn basic editing.
- Flashback Recorder Express. If you want a program that is simple and works well to record a video, but you don’t need video editing software, then Flashback Express is a good choice. Flashback Express is free to use for life, it lets you record an unlimited amount of video, and it doesn’t put any watermarks on them. It also allows you to do VERY basic video editing, but you have to upgrade to the pro version ($49) to do simple things like cutting and pasting sections of video. The other drawback is that the free version only exports to wmv format (which Youtube does support).
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2. Make your video
If you made a video with your phone, just connect the phone to your computer and upload the files(s).
If you’re using Flashback Express, just open Flashback Express Recorder, choose whether you want to record your screen or from your webcam, then hit ‘record’. When you’re done recording, save, open Flashback Recorder Player and then go to File -> Export. Unless you have the pro version, your only option is to export as .wmv, which is fine. You may have to wait a little for the export to complete depending on how big the movie is.
If you’re using VSDC, open VSDC Free Screen Recorder (to record your screen) or VSDC Free Video Capture (to use your webcam).
- Click ‘Browse…’ to set the folder you want your videos saved to.
- Click the ‘Settings’ tab if you want to view or change the output settings. By default it will output to mpeg4 file at 15 fps.
- Click ‘Start Recording’. A red box should appear which you can adjust to set what part of the screen will be recorded. Then click the red button to start and stop your recording.
- If you want to do some editing, open VSDC Video Editor. Here is a good video tutorial on doing some basic cutting and splitting:
- <iframe width=”640″ height=”360″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/17HWAasvVVs” frameborder=”0″ gesture=”media” allowfullscreen></iframe>
3. Upload to Youtube
According to Google, Youtube supports the following file formats:
- mov
mpeg4
mp4
avi
wmv
mpegps
flv
3gpp
webm
- The recommended upload format is mp4 because of the small file size and good quality.To upload, just go to youtube.com and make sure you’re logged in. Click your profile and then click ‘Creator Studio’. If you haven’t created a channel yet there should be a link to click that says ‘Create a channel’. Once you do that, there should be an an arrow with a line under it in the upper right of your screen. Click the upload button, select your file to upload, and then add a description and tags for your video.
To see a tutorial on how to make an easy Youtube thumbnail, go here.