How I Survived Starting a YouTube Channel in 2020
When I decided to start recording Whisky Riffs episodes at the end of 2019, I hadn’t yet published any YouTube videos that I had edited—just a couple of quick single-take videos of my guitar playing. It was a crash course in trying to figure out what hardware and software I would need to publish my first episode in early January. I decided to use my iPhone 11 Pro as my camera…
When I decided to start recording Whisky Riffs episodes at the end of 2019, I hadn’t yet published any YouTube videos that I had edited—just a couple of quick single-take videos of my guitar playing. It was a crash course in trying to figure out what hardware and software I would need to publish my first episode in early January. I decided to use my iPhone 11 Pro as my camera and bought a UBeesize 54-inch tripod to position it. Our 850 square foot apartment didn’t have much room, but I found an angle that would allow me to sit in our bedroom by the window without showcasing our bed.
From my research I knew that the most important aspects of recording were lighting and audio. Personally, I wouldn’t watch a YouTube video with bad audio, so I decided to get a lavalier microphone. The PowerDeWise mic had a long cord, plugged directly into my iPhone (with the Lightning adapter), and only cost $22. Audio was covered. Lighting was next.
After I set up my iPhone on the tripod, I noticed that the light from the windows wasn’t going to work with this camera angle. I couldn’t use the daylight as a lighting recording trick. After more research I placed another Amazon order for the Neewer 2 Pieces Bi-color 660 LED Video Light and Stand Kit. It only cost $135 and would give me dimming and color temperature control.
For video recording I bought the FiLMiC Pro app, which allowed me to control 4K recording and white balance better than the Camera app. This app also connected to their FiLMiC Remote app, so I could monitor and control the recording on my iPad. My whole recording setup cost me less than $200. Not bad.
Before recording my first episode, I wrote an outline. This is the same format that I’ve used for most every episode in that first year. I also wrote a script and did my research on the whisky I was showcasing in episode 1.
At the beginning of January, I recorded that episode. The guitar riffs were harder because I needed to use GarageBand to record the audio and sync that with the video from my iPhone. Luckily, I already had a Scarlett 2i2 USB interface and a nice mic. Naturally, I recorded way too much tasting content and way too many riffs. Editing was my next challenge.
I had previously tried editing video with iMovie on my MacBook Pro, but it was frustratingly slow and lacked decent title tools. Back to more research to find LumaFusion, a fantastic video editing app for the iPad. Since my 2018 iPad Pro was two years newer than my Mac, it also handled 4K video editing better. There was no plan to publish in 4K on YouTube, but I wanted to be able to zoom into the whisky and my guitar and still have a sharp HD video. If you’re interested in learning more about my editing process, let me know and I’ll write a separate article detailing that.
My first episode was out for public consumption on January 7, 2020. By my third video on January 23, my channel hit 110 subs and I was able to own the WhiskyRiffs name on YouTube—giving me early momentum.
And I continued to publish at least once a week for several months, while keeping notes about my mistakes. My episode log also included which guitar I used, the music style, and the whisky for each episode.
My iPhone was also used to record all the b-roll footage with FiLMiC Pro as the primary app and the built-in Camera app for the slow-motion pours.
At the end of April I was gifted a pair of Elgato Key Lights. The diffusion glass on these helped soften my lighting and having an app to control the settings was a nice improvement. I had my eye on buying a camera too, but most wouldn’t improve my videos enough for the price—until Sony announced the ZV-1. It was designed to fit the type of videos I was recording so I put in my preorder on Amazon at the end of May and waited… impatiently. While waiting, I also decided that I wanted to stop tripping over the mic cord and bought the Rode Wireless Go Microphone System.
The ZV-1 didn’t arrive until late in June and 2020 was wearing me down by then. I thought the new camera would give me more incentive, but I only recorded and published five episodes in the June through August timeframe.
At the start of September we moved to a larger apartment a few blocks down the street. I had to rethink my “studio” location. Our bedroom was bigger and I had more space to explore, but what would I change? I decided to stand up and buy a pub table to have in front of me. This allowed me to showcase the whisky more and position the camera as a direct shot, instead of the awkward angle of our old space. More than any new gear, this reinvigorated my desire to shoot video.
My last investment in 2020 was one more improvement to my lighting: a softbox. I was struggling to add more light using my Elgato Key Lights and not add distracting glare from my glasses. After diving back into the YouTube research life, I decided on a Sokani X60 COB Light and a Selens Hexadecagon Softbox. This combination was small enough to tuck aside when I wasn’t recording, but large enough to diffuse light at a close distance.
There were some other minor improvements, like a camera handle rig for my ZV-1. This allowed me to attach a quick shoe plate to my camera and still access the battery and SD card without removing it. That meant I could switch tripods quickly for my main shot, guitar video, and b-roll shots. It’s amazing how much these inexpensive additions sped up my setup, recording, and tear-down processes. Because my studio is also my home office and—more importantly—our bedroom, I can’t leave any of this recording gear in place. Everything I buy for my videos must be able to be set up quickly to record and tucked away efficiently afterwards. Something about having lighting and video cameras positioned by our bed doesn’t sit well with my wife.
Below is a list of my main equipment for recording each episode. Chat with me on Twitter if you have any questions.
Sony ZV-1 Camera with Vlogger Accessory Kit and UURig Handle Grip Bracket
Sokani X60 V2 LED COB Video Light and a Selens Hexadecagon 65cm Umbrella Softbox
Two Elgato Key Lights (one reflected off a wall and one to side light the whisky)
Neewer N55CR tripod with extra ball heads and quick shoe plates
Here’s my guitar gear for recording the riffs:
GarageBand for iPad
And of course, my lovely guitars:
2019 Taylor 314ce acoustic guitar
2017 PRS CE 24 “Angry Larry”
2016 Fender American Professional Stratocaster
55 Episodes in 2020
When I started this YouTube channel in January of 2020, I set a goal to publish at least one episode a week with a couple of extra ones. That gave me a 54 episode goal for the year. Then the pandemic hit along with the political drama… and for almost three months out of the year, I didn’t publish any episodes.
When I started this YouTube channel in January of 2020, I set a goal to publish at least one episode a week with a couple of extra ones. That gave me a 54 episode goal for the year. Then the pandemic hit along with the political drama… and for almost three months out of the year, I didn’t publish any episodes.
But I’m happy to report that a crazy 25 episode spree in December pushed me past my goal: I published 55 episodes in 2020. Beating goals is an incredible boost for my moral and has given me momentum for 2021. Cheers!
24 Days, 24 Episodes
When my wife suggested that I record one episode for each whisky in my Flaviar Whiskies of the World Advent Calendar, I didn’t respond well. I think my response was, “Are you insane? This is 2020 and I can barely pull off one episode a week!”
But the more I thought about it, the more it sounded like a good idea…
When my wife suggested that I record one episode for each whisky in my Flaviar Whiskies of the World Advent Calendar, I didn’t respond well. I think my response was, “Are you insane? This is 2020 and I can barely pull off one episode a week!”
But the more I thought about it, the more it sounded like a good idea. When I mentioned the idea on a video, the positive response from viewers put me over the top. I decided to go for it. Since my “studio” is also the master bedroom of our San Francisco apartment, there’s no way I could leave my equipment in place. So I had to set up lighting, a table, my camera, and all the props daily. Then I would record the tasting video and then a video for picking a thumbnail image. Lastly, I had to tear all that down, edit the video and thumbnail, and then publish it… 24 days in a row. Oh, and I also have a full-time job for a fairly demanding tech firm. The upside to this frantic daily routine is that I got pretty quick at all these separate tasks. I also found ways to optimize each and every element of my video production.
The result is now complete and you can watch all 24 episodes in my Whisky Advent Calendar 2020 playlist. Thank you to everyone who supported me with uplifting comments on YouTube and on Twitter, you gave me the energy to keep this up day after day. Enjoy and cheers!
Overcoming Performance Anxiety
I’ve always had a crippling fear of performing in front of people, which is funny because my dream as a teen was to be a rock star. Delusional teenage Kevin even bought a cheap Les Paul knock-off guitar to fulfill this dream. Inexpensive guitars today are pretty awesome, but back in the ‘70s, cheap guitars were horrible instruments — mine was no exception. After years of lessons on a clunky guitar, my skills improved at a snail’s pace and I never felt I was good enough to play for anyone. When I started college and found I had more natural skills for writing computer software than music, I discarded my dreams of touring and playing in a band.
I’ve always had a crippling fear of performing in front of people, which is funny because my dream as a teen was to be a rock star. Delusional teenage Kevin even bought a cheap Les Paul knock-off guitar to fulfill this dream. Inexpensive guitars today are pretty awesome, but back in the ‘70s, cheap guitars were horrible instruments — mine was no exception. After years of lessons on a clunky guitar, my skills improved at a snail’s pace and I never felt I was good enough to play for anyone. When I started college and found I had more natural skills for writing computer software than music, I discarded my dreams of touring and playing in a band.
Twenty years later, I owned a better guitar and tried to get back into playing, but never got much traction. Even paying for lessons failed to get me focused enough to practice daily. Having no goals or any hope of being able to play for anyone but myself, I drifted away from the guitar again.
Fast forward to 2014, my move to San Francisco put me in an apartment just two downhill blocks away from the Van Ness Guitar Center. While browsing the guitar section one day, I was convinced to sign up for lessons by a store promotion. The instructor they assigned me turned out to be a great match. Like me, he was a fan of blues/rock guitar and taught me techniques used by Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan — two of my guitar heroes. After a few weeks of lessons, he said, “You should go to an open mic night at a blues bar and just get up on stage to play riffs with the band.” My response was, “Do you even know me?! I can’t play in front of you as well as I do alone in practice! There’s no way I can handle an audience.”
After a couple of years, my teacher went on tour and I had to switch instructors. As the weeks passed, I found that I was enjoying learning guitar more from YouTube. As an added bonus, this also eliminated my anxiety about performing in front of my teacher. I dropped my single, in-person instructor and added three or four online replacements.
It only made sense to use YouTube for learning guitar, since I already had been watching various channels to learn more about tasting whisky. In three years, I went from barely knowing about whisky, to being a resource for friends on what whiskies to buy. During that same time, my guitar skills ramped up to the point where I didn’t feel guilty about buying a proper guitar and amp setup. Slowly, my confidence on the fretboard was improving as well.
Then around the middle of 2019, I came up with an idea: What if I started a YouTube channel that somehow incorporated my two favorite hobbies? Can I blend drinking whisky and playing guitar in a way that people would tune in and watch?
I came up with the name Whisky Riffs and immediately grabbed the domain. I recorded a couple of videos to see if I could overcome my fear of playing guitar in front of an audience. After posting those to my new channel, I let it gather dust for several months. I wasn’t ready to commit to regular episodes.
It took me until the end of December to decide to go all in. Within a week of making that decision, I learned how to set up lighting, audio, and use my iPhone to record quality videos. My iPad Pro would serve as my editing rig. After a few test recordings, I posted my first episode.
Whisky Riffs was happening, but now I was committed to weekly episodes. My first goal was to get to 100 subscribers, so I could pick my own YouTube channel name. That happened on January 23 — just three weeks in — and provided the momentum I needed to plow forward. I set a goal to keep improving my channel and process with each video: better riffs, more polished recordings, and faster editing skills.
Recently, I posted episode 16. That’s incredibly satisfying, given that my first episode was posted just 14 weeks earlier. I have consistently posted an episode each week, plus a couple of bonus episodes. My performance anxiety isn’t gone, but my commitment to pushing out regular videos keeps it in check. Every week, I have to give myself a pep talk to turn on the camera and face the bright LED lights. The way I end my intro to every video is as much for me as it is my viewers:
Let’s do this…