Isn't that why a lot of YouTubers (or content creators, whatever the name is), hire a videographer to do that work for them?
So it's probably like, $1-2K per video if you want someone else to take care of the editing and thumbnail design aspects. Hence you'll likely have to do this stuff yourself for the few hundred thousand or so subs, at least if you don't have FAANG/trust fund money on the side.
It isn't all that different from other arts: If I paint, I might be lucky enough to pay a gallery, either through commission (often 40-60%) or through renting space (often, monthly payment plus a lower commission). You might be able to rent space. But most folks just have to do all the small stuff themselves. It isn't uncommon for artists to spend more time doing social media/advertising/mundane stuff than they do creating art, if you are trying to make money.
I'm not as intimate with the music scene, but it seems a lot of folks do similar stuff.
you're probably thinking of streaming, which involves less work, but you have to do it in real time with OBS or whatever. maybe you're talented and can do it yourself, but sometimes that involves a second person at the controls.
sure you can just upload a raw video straight from your device. but this is exceedingly rare, because you've grown accustomed to at least the basic round of editing - you likely don't even realize what edits have happened. raw video is incredibly boring. will anyone watch it? if not, then what are you even doing that for?
you should try both sometime, it's not quite as easy or fast as it sounds.
So presumably by "one take" hahamrfunnyguy means he:
* Stopped recording driving to pick up materials, placing orders where there's a wait for parts to come in, and suchlike.
* Stopped recording things speculatively, just in case he decides to make a video later.
* Stopped worrying about 'narratives' and 'thumbnails' and 'the algorithm' when working.
* Stopped cleaning off his hands and fussing with camera settings to get the perfect shot of every step on every machine.
* Stopped trying to make point-of-view videos and keeping an eye on the camera screen, so he didn't need the tripod between him and the workpiece.
* Stopped retaking any time he messed something up or flubbed his lines or the audio came out bad.
* Stopped worrying about set dressing like having a picturesque, tidy background for every shot
Then the editing process is just editing several hours of video down to a few minutes and maybe recording a voiceover.
But I follow such a wide variety of topics from political, to technical, to PC gaming to food (keto, general, other) and home construction or even electronics DIY stuff. I think YouTube has trouble figuring me out... I tend to get fed too much of one thing over time, and have to go into my subscribe list (a few hundred) and start watching from the more recent, or specific channels depending on what I'm in the mood for.
On the other hand, I could try to build projects that might be more mainstream for the better views, but then I’m spending time creating stuff I don’t want to make.
Your interest being niche may not matter as much as you may think.
[0]braintruffle - took the concept of computer fluid simulation as main topic over detailing specific implementation, few videos a year.
[1]Reducible - His explanation of GJK algo, even after reading papers on it, made me appreciate it.
Both utilise extensive animation skills, mastering meaning of video.
You can't build a Youtube channel by highlighting what you've built. You have to explain how and why it's built the way it was. The end result is maybe 5% of the value.
Check out Kenji Lopez-Alt [1]. He’s an award-winning chef who who makes cooking videos by strapping a GoPro to his head and going to work in his hot kitchen. He has basically none of the fancy production you see on cooking TV shows. Yet his videos are very popular because he’s a great chef and he tells you the why in addition to the what and how.
I’m pretty sure he’s made his setup just about as close to optimal as possible in terms of minimizing the time he spends on the video production part while still looking great. I think his one bit of fancy production is that he has a nice spot by the window to set a cooked dish for his thumbnail photograph. I think a bunch of his cooking videos also do double duty to supply photographs for his cookbooks, but that’s unnecessary for the vast majority of video creators.
His reputation is almost exclusively from his superb cooking articles (and recipes). The Youtube channel is a side dish, not the main course.
Ultimately, there is no formula for fame because audiences are fickle and trends are fleeting.
This channel is amazing. I learn best by simply watching others do, and this will surely help me advance my culinary art!
But lapel mics cost money and they can be a pain to wear, especially when you’re cooking and need to keep your hands free without anything dangling into the food or the fire!
Apart from the good format I found myself thinking the audio is extremely good
At the channel's peak, I was trying to publish a DIY video where I would build something two or three times a month. I started the channel because I enjoy making stuff and thought I would be able to do more of it and maybe get paid to do it.
As I continued, I worked hard to polish my production style and I realized I was prioritizing the video production over doing what I loved. Making videos taking time away from actually making stuff and making the projects take 10X longer. So I stopped.
I still post videos from time to time, but I try to do everything in a single take and not spent more than an hour editing it. Last year I finished a project I was pretty proud of and spent about 20 hours working on a video and it only got 100 views after the initial posting. For me, it takes a lot of self promotion to get the algorithm to recognize the video as a good video and have it be shown to more people. The self promotion part is something I really dislike doing.
YouTube is great for people that love the process of making videos because it's a win whether someone watches your video or not. Editing can be fun, but for me it gets tedious and I prefer doing a lot of other things.