Backdrop for my YouTube videos

I bought something from Amazon that I thought would help me with my YouTube videos.

I make box cards for my Etsy shop, and last year I made a few videos showing what the box cards looked like and someone suggested instead of showing the box cards, show how I make them. So I started making box card assembly videos for YouTube.

This year I made a couple assembly videos that showed me making the box cards from start to finish and they’re about 30 to 45 minutes or longer. I’m not sure who wants to see these, but, I’m doing it and I figured for the part of the video where I’m going to be on camera, I thought it would be easier to show me with a backdrop rather than show me with my bedroom wall with a window above the bed where the mini blinds don’t go all the way down and you end up having to see my bed and my bedside tables.

So I bought a Neewer Photo Studio Backdrop Support System from Amazon. It had a 25% coupon attached to it and I also bought the Halloween backdrop that you see at the top of this post and it’s coming this weekend.

My bedroom is pretty much crammed with a lot of boxes from my Etsy shop. So I really don’t have much room to add a backdrop support system to film in front of, so I’m going to take these things to the patio and do it out there. There’s a lot more space out there and I can do the videos when the sun is out and of course use my ring light tripod that my phone sits on. The backdrop support system is 10 ft wide by 7 ft high.

The backdrop that you see at the top of this post is only 7 ft wide by 5 ft high, so I definitely will have to sit on a chair, which is what I was planning on doing anyway.

I will be getting another backdrop for Thanksgiving for my Thanksgiving box cards and another one for Christmas for my Christmas box cards and then I’m going to get one that has like a rainbow pattern for when I just do regular videos or other box card patterns like birthday box cards or whatever.

So, I can’t wait to get the backdrop support system and the backdrops and see how filming looks with that behind me and see how it all works out. I will most likely leave the support system up all the time in the patio because I don’t really want to set it up every time I use it and then take it down when I’m finished. I will remove the backdrop though so it doesn’t get dusty out there. Other than that, I don’t think it will hurt anything to keep it up out in the patio which is our covered patio. We’ll see how it goes.

Edit: The support system came this morning and I can use it in my bedroom. I was thinking that sometimes it’s loud outside and I’d rather do it in my bedroom if I can. I opened one side to see if it’ll go on the right side of my bed and it fits between the wall and the bed. I can just put it on the sides of my bed and sit on the edge of the foot of my bed. I think that would be easier. And I can leave the one side there all the time and just bring out the other side when I need to make a video.

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My YouTube Channel

I posted a video from a TV show onto YouTube on my original channel called Xanapus several years ago and it went a little viral. When I say viral, I don’t mean it had millions of views, I mean it got about 20k views or so. Since then it has around 45k views. Anyway, when it had reached a certain number of views, YouTube handed me monetization on a silver platter. Wonderful, right? Well, today they took it away from me.

So here’s the new rule. In order for me to be monetized, I need 1000 subscribers and I  need to have 4,000+ watch time minutes per month. Well, I have the minute views, I just need the subscribers. I currently have 548 subscribers (as of right this very second) and I am sure that number will grow, eventually, but I don’t think it will go up if I don’t beg people to subscribe to my YouTube channel, so here I am, on bended knee, but not really because I have bad knees lol, but you know what I mean.

By the way, I am not relying on monetization for an income, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to receive a check for $100 every now and then. I’m on a very limited income with Disability, and I was getting $100 every few years from YouTube, and it did help when I was getting them because then I could actually afford to buy groceries. I am not dying of hunger though, so don’t feel obligated, I’m just saying everything helps, you know what I mean?

I cannot make good quality videos with the equipment I have because all I have is my phone, which apparently takes horrible grainy video in my bedroom. I have acceptable lighting with my desk light and my craft light and I have a cell phone mount that attaches to my desk. I don’t have an acceptable space to film since the only place I can record is my bedroom on the edge of my bed. My life partner of almost 24 years doesn’t take my vlogging seriously. In fact, he looks at me like he’s about to 5150 me every time he sees me talking to the phone lol. He thinks it’s OK for other people, but not me, so I literally have to wait for him to get on the phone with someone, sleep, or leave to be able to film. We have a good relationship, he just doesn’t take anything I do seriously. He didn’t even want me to write or publish my book. Besides all that, I have a brand new computer, so editing video doesn’t take forever like it used to, but I am terrible at editing and the video is still grainy from the phone, so my bad editing is another reason I have terrible videos.

All that said, I still ask that people subscribe to my boring bad quality, no good editing and no effects channel lol.

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE LOL.

Here’s my channel. www.YouTube.com/DiaryofaGayNerd. Thank you for your time and thank you for subscribing.

UPDATE: I have to make an update here because I do believe I have misunderstood the terms of monetization. Here is an email I received from YouTube explaining to me what criteria I must meet to be eligible.

As of today, your channel, Diary of a Gay Nerd will no longer have access to monetization tools associated with YPP because it doesn’t meet the new threshold of 4,000 hours of watch time within the past 12 months and 1,000 subscribers. If you meet the new threshold at some point in the future, you’ll be automatically re-evaluated for YPP. The reviews typically take 1-2 weeks.

So when I originally read the requirements, I wasn’t paying attention to the word hours, I thought it said minutes, and I assumed that because when I looked at the stats (screenshot from above) it shows minutes. When I saw the email today, I saw that it said hours and it gave me a little more of an understanding.

Here is a screenshot of the last years worth of views, and again, it only shows minutes, it doesn’t show hours.

I Googled how many hours is 54,894 minutes and the answer is 914.9 hours. So… I do not in fact meet the hours requirements. I bet if I had more videos (I currently have 97) and if I had more followers, those yearly watch time hours will rise to meet the requirement.

Again, not in any hurry. I’m not desperate, so no big deal.

Video Editing

So this vlogging thing has been quite the experience, and I am learning so much from the editing perspective.

Let me just say that I absolutely hate my face lol. I know that’s a horrible thing to say, but it’s true. I hate the way I look because the right side of my face near my ear is sunken in and the left side of my face near my ear is bulging out. The reason is, as I’ve mentioned a couple times in my videos is that I had a calcium deposit stone in my Parotid gland, aka the saliva gland, and they had to do a Parotidectomy surgery to remove the entire gland to be able to get rid of the stone. The left side is bulging out because there is a stone in the left one now. I mention this because when I have to edit my video, I obviously have to look at my own face for the length of the video and I cringe lol.

Ok, now getting back to the editing part. I am learning so much about the editing process. First I was using Windows movie maker to edit my videos, and then I discovered Wondershare Video Editor, which is a great program with one huge downside. My computer is so old and so slow that when I watch the video to do the edit, the video plays at half the speed and it sounds horrible. For me to edit the words I say, I have to use Windows Movie Maker, then I import the videos into Wondershare to add the transitions and to add the outro image with my like and subscribe icons as well as the social media icons.

Up until now, the videos have looked pixelated because I was letting it shrink the video down to 1280×720. The videos looked horrible, so because I wanted a better looking video, I was editing them with Windows Movie Maker for awhile, and then I stopped making videos because it was hot, but also because I’m terrible at editing.

So I just decided to start using a different method when editing video because I want the video to have better quality, so I changed it from the way I’ve been doing it which was a recommended way for YouTube to “video for PS3.” They don’t have video for PS4 for some reason, but these are the new specs for my most recent video.

I think I remember why I was using the video for YouTube method before. It would probably take maybe 10 minutes to render a 10 minute video. This video was 26 minutes and 4 seconds, and it took the entire night to render. I started it at probably 2am and I woke up at 8am and it was still going. I went back to sleep and woke up just less than 2 hours later and it was STILL going. I think it finished at 11:30am.

Even though I don’t like that it took such a long time to render a 26 minute video, I would much rather allow it to take almost 10 hours to render if it’s great quality. I’m not quite sure I would say it was great quality because it still seemed a bit off, but it is what it is. So my videos will look better from now on. Now if I can only learn how to add funny sounds and silly movie clips and have more energy. I need some go-go juice.

Check out my latest video.

YouTube

So… have you been watching my YouTube videos? What? You didn’t know I was on YouTube? Well, better late than never, eh? Check me out. http://www.YouTube.com/DiaryofaGayNerd.  I’m a sensation! Ok, so I’m not a YouTube sensation, but I’m working on it lol.

I think as with anything, my personality is shy in the beginning, then I start coming out of my candy coated shell until eventually I’m singing and dancing with a lampshade on my head. I haven’t gotten to that point yet, but I’m much more comfortable on camera, and I’m not even editing anymore. When I say editing, I mean editing out the parts where I start whining how I can’t do this and how I can’t think straight. Now I can literally talk for 20 minutes until I realize OMG I’ve been talking nonstop for 20 minutes! My first few dozen videos were about 10 minutes or less, now I’m like crap it’s going too long lol.

So check me out when you get the chance and see my personality in action. No, really, I need the views, likes and subs lol. PLEASE check me out lol.

Vlogging on YouTube

I have wanted to start vlogging for years, but I’ve always been so camera shy. It seems like when it comes to typing what I have to say, I have a lot to say, but when I’m sitting in front of a camera, suddenly my brain turns to mush. I stutter and stammer and I might get a full sentence out, but then I realize how dumb I sound, so I stop talking and figure I’ll just edit that out, so then I start over, but some how the words never come out and I hit the stop button and delete the entire video.

You know how when you are watching YouTube, then suddenly you come across a video and you have to turn the volume up all the way, and you can still just barely hear the person? That’s my phone’s issue. I go to record and when I listen to the recording, I can barely hear myself. I tried recording my voice while playing a game on my PS4 using my PS4 camera’s mic, but when I listened to it, I couldn’t even hear myself. It was barely a whisper.

My phone’s mic volume sucks, except for when I’m on the phone with someone. No one has ever complained about not being able to hear me, but as soon as I try to record myself,  I can’t hear myself.

I tried a sound check with my Hitachi DVD-Camcorder, and the volume is ok, but I have nothing but problems uploading the videos to the computer when I record with the DVD-Ram. I did put an old mini DVD-r into the DVD drive on my computer and I had no problems picking out clips, but in order for me to work with the Hitachi DVD-Cam, I’ll have to use a DVD-r to record, then finalize the disc, then I can upload the files to my computer. The DVD-r’s are 30 minutes, so I will have to record a few vlogs per disc. I’m not going to do 1 vlog, then waste the rest of the 20 minutes or so I have left on the disc. I don’t want to have to go through that because those mini DVD’s are about a buck a piece.

I bought a mic on Amazon recently for my phone, and it arrived, but it didn’t work at all on my phone, and it didn’t work at all on my DVD-Camcorder. I still have my old Samsung Galaxy SIII, and the mic worked on that phone, no problem. I did a test video with audio and video on that phone, but when I tried to load the video to my computer, I got an error message.

So far I have a mic that doesn’t  work on anything but a phone I don’t even use anymore. I can’t upload vlogs from my Hitachi DVD-Camcorder using a DVD-ram disc because I won’t be able to upload them to the computer. My new phone’s volume sucks… I can’t afford a new camcorder, and I really wanted to Vlog, so screw it, I started vlogging with my Hitachi DVD Camcorder.

The first vlog was bad, in the beginning, but I kept going until it was over. It was like ripping a bandaid, but I did it. I think I recorded 9 minutes, but with all the edits I ended up with 6 1/2 minutes. That’s ok. My 2nd vlog was a lot easier, but I had a moment in the beginning where I said I can’t do this, but then just kept going. I had 1 or 2 edits in the beginning of the 2nd one, but then I didn’t have to edit anything else until the very end. The 3rd vlog on that first DVD-r had a lot more edits, but I think I did good, and I was much more relaxed by the time I was on the 3rd vlog.

So far I have 3 vlogs posted on my new YouTube page which is at www.YouTube.com/DiaryofaGayNerd. If you are reading this, PLEASE visit my vlog and watch my videos, and if you like them please hit like and subscribe. I edit them during the day, then I publish them at or just before midnight Pacific time, and I will be doing this every night.

The mini DVD-r discs hold 30 minutes, so I can record 3 10 minute vlogs or 2 15 minute vlogs. Today we went to Martin’s Meats and Deli in Bakersfield and I sat at a table with Audrey Chavez about her suspended sandwiches and Bakersfield AIDS Project. I told her it would only be a few minutes, 5 at most, and it ended up being around 15 minutes lol. Ooops. I felt like a reporter lol. But my main goal was to show America what a wonderful person Audrey Chavez is. I’m also going to send the link to that video to the Ellen DeGeneres show. I think Ellen should know about Audrey.

I only had 4 blank DVD-r’s, and I’ve already used 3, so I have 1 left which I will most likely record on when my partner goes to church on Sunday. I was told the best time to vlog is when there are either no people in the house, or wait for everyone to fall asleep. My partner sleeps like a cat, so all I can do is wait for him to leave the house, then I can vlog. I have 4 more videos waiting to be edited, and I have a list of 4 more ideas for vlogs. I’ll probably check 3 of those off on Sunday. I also bought 20 more DVD-r’s for future videos.

The only thing that I hate about my vlog is that I have to do it on my bed because that’s the only spot I feel comfortable vlogging from. I would love if I had a sound proof room with a desk and a professional mic where I can feel free to vlog without feeling like someone can hear me, and they have their ear on the door lol. I would also love to have a desk to sit at, like my desk for example lol. It needs to be straightened before I can do that, so maybe I will focus on that this weekend. I also don’t like the image on the screen. It feels like the video is washed out or something. Perhaps one of these days I will have a better set up so I look more professional, like these pro’s I watch every day. GOALS!

So until that happens, I will just have to make lemonade  with the lemons life has dealt me.

YouTube Channel

I’ve had a YouTube channel for years under the name Xanapus, and I wanted to start vlogging because I want to advertise my book a bit more than just with Twitter and Facebook. YouTube would give me another audience. I created a second YouTube channel from my Diary of a Gay Nerd Google+ account, and I was surprised the name was even available. Good thing I didn’t wait too long.

My life partner is so paranoid that his conservative Republican born again Christian family members might find out I wrote a book, then actually read it. When I published my book, I was going to advertise it with my other blog on my Xanapus.com website, and he begged me not to, which is why I ended up buying DiaryofaGayNerd.com and started the blogging all over. I also had to create a page on Facebook for my book because God forbid they see my book advertised on my personal Facebook profile. I swear that boy (he’s 21 years older than me by the way lol) is going to have a stroke or a heart attack one of these days from the stress if his family ever found out about my book. I’m sure they’d be fine with it and probably wouldn’t even care, but he’s so private, and he just doesn’t want them to read it because the less they know about my life, the better. I think more importantly he thinks I wrote a lot about our life together, and that’s what he’s afraid they will read. I was very vague about our relationship in my book, as per his request, so even if they did read my book, they wouldn’t get that much more information than they already have.

So as you can tell from the screenshot (above) I have an icon and a banner. I have a DVD camcorder that my partner bought for me a little over a decade ago, and it works fine. Not great, just fine. Like I said, it’s old. It would be awesome if I had a DVR camera so I can record to a hard drive in the camera, then I can upload the videos with ease. It took me an hour just to do a sound and video check. I uploaded the video to my computer using a program that came with my camcorder called Image Mixer 3, and after 5 failed attempts, I figured out it’s not the camera, it’s not Image Mixer 3, but it’s Windows Movie Maker. I add or import the video and it renders it, but all I get is sound, no image. I watched the video and it played just fine on the media player, it just refused to show me the images in Movie Maker.

Another problem for me is lighting and sound. I added a wired mic that I can put under my shirt and just clip it to my collar, and I added a camcorder light and software to a wish list called YouTube on Amazon. I would love to start vlogging sooner than later, and I can buy the mic and light soon, but those don’t do me any good if I don’t have the software to edit the video. Perhaps I can use the editor on the YouTube website, but I don’t know how that works since I haven’t tried it yet. Maybe I’ll just record something, then upload it and mark it as private, then see if I can edit it through the website.

My next problem is my face lol. Here’s the thing. I know people see me when I’m outside, and I don’t have a problem with them looking at me, mainly because I don’t see myself outside, I only see them, so it doesn’t bother me. But when I can see my face on the screen while I’m filming, it freaks me out and I start getting nervous about recording. Obviously I have to be able to see myself to make sure I’m in frame, but I just don’t want to see myself lol. I wish I could just record myself without actually having to see myself, but then when I go to edit, I have to look at myself… again lol. And my voice! UGH! I hear myself every time I talk, but the voice I hear when I talk is a different voice I hear on recordings. It’s way different. I think I’m more ok with my voice than I am my face, and I know I have to get over that if I want to record video.

The final problem I have is being on video alone. I live with someone who also hates being on video. Heck, he hates having his picture taken. I’m surprisingly ok with having my picture taken lol. I think that if I were to record a video of myself with someone else in the video, then perhaps I won’t stutter and stammer so much. I talk on the phone with people with no problems, so you would think if I can chat on the phone with no problem, then I can chat in a video with someone with no problem.

I am ready and willing to start vlogging, I just need the mic and the light. If I can edit within YouTube, then I will worry about the software another time, but if YouTube editing doesn’t work out, then I will need to get something affordable. I want to get this thing started because the sooner I start vlogging, the sooner I will get over my fears and then I can start advertising and reading excerpts of my book on YouTube.

Of course I would appreciate any advice anyone can give to me. The camera I have is a Hitachi DVD Cam GX3100A. I am using a DVD Ram disc to record video, then I have to use ImageMixer 3 to upload the video files to my computer. My computer specs:

I am also looking into getting a animated intro. I might have to go to Fiver for that, but if you can help me, please let me know. Any advice would be awesome. I’m poor, so I can’t get started if I can’t afford to buy the things I need.

UPDATE: I have a pair of headphones with a mic attached to it, so I thought I wonder… I didn’t use my DVD Camcorder, instead I used my phone to do a sound check with the headset, and unfortunately that didn’t work out. I could barely hear my voice with my mic a decent length from my mouth. When I had the mic practically next to my mouth, I could hear, but it wasn’t loud enough. You know, when I watch YouTube, which is every day on my TV using my PS4, if I come across a video where I have to turn the volume all the way up to 100 and I can still barely hear their voice, I move on to the next video. So I just want to make sure people can hear me without having to turn the volume all the way up. If they can’t hear me, why in the world would they care what I have to say? The lighting issue is one thing, I can vlog in the morning when the sun comes up and I can go in the back yard to do it. No problem, but if they can’t hear me, then there really isn’t a point in doing it.

New Etsy Store

I’ve been quite the busy little bee lately.  I decided that I wanted to start making lanyard keychains, but then a friend told me that I could make other patterns, not just the square and the round, but more intricate.  She sent me to Laneyards on YouTube where I learned how to expand my horizons by making this complicated DNA strand pattern.  I went a bit further though, instead of just making it with the clear and color, I decided that I wanted to make one of each in the rainbow colors (purple is not in picture, but it is on Etsy), so I went shopping and found the translucent (which by the way makes it even more difficult to make) and I found the gold and the pink (which isn’t for sale yet).  But then I made one with all of the rainbow colors which I never in a million years thought I’d be able to do.

So what the heck am I supposed to do with all of these keychains?  People are suggesting to me on Facebook that I should sell them on Etsy, so that is what I have done.  I opened up a store called GayNerd.  I didn’t just come up with a price on the spot, I did some research and found that people were selling the DNA strand keychains made out of paracord for $8, although as I type this some of them have them for $1.50 to $5.  There are some DNA keychains made out of hemp as well for around the same low price.  I decided on $4 for the colors, $5 for the rainbow and $5 for the gold.

The rainbow one is really hard to make and takes a long time and these keychains are probably going to ruin my already messed up hands (carpel tunnel syndrome), so that’s why they are that much.  Also the gold is $5 because it’s not cheap at Michael’s.  I figured the colors are inexpensive to buy, but still a long time to make and they are hard to count because of how clear they are.

I’m not expecting anyone to buy these, I am just having fun making something neat out of nothing.  Who knows, I might get out of the DNA phase and move on to something even more complicated.  I like a good challenge.  And even if these keychains are mine forever, sitting on my desk collecting dust, at least I know that I had fun making them and it was a learning experience for me.

If I never sell them, well, let’s just say you can expect to see me on Hoarders in a couple of years LOL.

Jake Shears “It Gets Better” Video

This is one of the best and most emotional “It Gets Better” videos I have seen. You know how people always say in movie reviews “I laughed and I cried”? Well, I actually did.  I had to share it here.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjFxosDnzOo