50 Video Ideas:
1. Vlog – Just talk to the camera about your day, or something funny or interesting that happened today or the other day.
2. Skit / Short Movie – Have a funny idea in your head? Write out a rough script, and make it a short film!
3. Artsy – Do you like to paint, draw, make crafts, or create in general? Make a video of you MAKING something! People love watching these videos, as many other artists like being inspired.
4. Talk about art – Even if you can’t paint a nice portrait, if art interests you enough to read about it, why don’t you talk about different types of art? Other art enthusiasts, fans, and students will watch your video if it is simple, sweet, to the point, AND informative.5. Music – Do you sing? Maybe you play the piano or guitar? Maybe you even make beats! Anything related to music, you can either post a video of you singing or playing an instrument, or even just post your song with some album artwork as an image for the entire video.
6. Recent Events – Did something happen in the news that you just HAVE to talk about? Do you find yourself talking to your friends and family about things that happen in the news? Well, make a video about it, and you’ll have lots of other people listening to you as well!
7. Celebrities – This can go into recent events as well, but celebrities are always doing something crazy or stupid (or both!) – talk about what happened, what you think about it, and ask others to comment on what they think.
8. Tutorials – Is there something that you know how to do that other people WISH they could do? Make a video on HOW to do it (make steps, like step 1 – step 2 – etc.).
9. Parody – Are you funny? Can you make something funny? Make a parody video, music video, or skit about an event, celebrity, song, and make it funny, and people will watch it, AND share it.
10. Music Video – Whether it is a parody, or your own music, or just something funny, make a cool music video that is creative, and post it!
11. Shoutout Video – Don’t go overboard with this, or overBORED with this ;) – What I mean is, don’t make too many videos like this, because people usually don’t like them too much. But hey, make a video where you “shout out” or give promotion to other video makers. You never know, they might see your video and make one about you!
12. Dancing Video – Do you break dance? Are you good at hip hop, ballroom, or any other type of dance? Make a video showcasing your skills! However, DO NOT make a video of you just shaking your ass, especially if you are underage. The only viewers you will attract will be men between the ages of 25 – 70. It’s been proven. Just trust me, you don’t want to make a “soft-p0rn” video, you want to showcase actual SKILLS you have with dancing.
13. Rant Videos – Something bothering you? Do you think other people will have somewhat of the same opinion? Some people actually love hearing other people rant. Just don’t HATE on people though, actually go into detail about the things that bother you.
14. Impersonations – This can be a strict impersonation video, where you impersonate a celebrity or actor/actress. Or, you can make this into a skit or even a song, all while you do your best impersonation.
15. Gameplay – Are you a GAMER? Do you have skills, or even just like to have fun while gaming? Make a video of some of your best gameplay for a particular game, and instead of ONLY playing for yourself, you’ll have other people watching you play as well – and they may learn a thing or two ;)
16. Special Effects – Are you good with editing and special effects? It doesn’t matter! There are hundreds and thousands of great tutorials on special effects. Follow along with what other people have done, and make your own special effects video!
17. Concerts / Events – Are you going to a concert, a show, or something that other people are going to or WANT to go to? Film parts of it, and upload it with your title being the name of the event. People who went, and even people who didn’t go but wanted to will be searching for this stuff.
18. Interviews – Do you know some cool people? Maybe a DJ, music artist, designer, artist, etc.? Do a little off-the-ball interview for people to get to know this person.
19. Question / Answer Video – Make a video where you let your visitors ask you questions (in the comment section), and then tell them you’ll make an “answers” video in a week or so – you get 2 videos for the price of 1! ;)
20. Animation Video – Make an animation! Spend a couple hours on it, or spend a few weeks on it! The better it looks, the more views it will probably get. Even if you don’t know how to animate, watch some tutorials, and do what they do!
21. Slideshows – Anyone can take a pretty good photograph, right? Take your photographs, and make them a slideshow! Even make multiple videos for different categories of pictures.
23. Reviews – Review a new product or something you JUST got! Other people want to know how this product works, what it does, ALL the details!
24. Unboxing Videos – For some reason, people LOVE unboxing videos. Make a video of you unboxing a product (opening up the box and packaging), and show every angle and tell every detail about the product.
25. Slow Motion – Make a video in slow motion – could be popping a balloon, smashing an old guitar, slapping someone in the face – anything that could be even funnier in SLOW-MO.
26. Fast Motion (timelapse) – Make videos 10X or more speed, whether it is traffic in the city (or just driving), or a painting, or a sunset, or anything else you can think of.
27. FOOD! – Everyone has a favorite meal. Do you know how to make it? Show other people you making (and eating) your favorite meal.
28. Putting Things Together – Could be a model (airplane?), a rubix cube, or even a simple puzzle. Film the entire thing, and speed up the footage to about a minute or two, and show the timelapse of you putting it together.
29. Magic Tricks – Whether you are a pro magician / illusionist, or if you just know a cool trick or two, make a video about it!
30. POV Video – Make a video from the point of view of yourself (or a made-up character). Do something funny, or go through a funny scenario. Either hold the camera right in front of you, or better yet – tape it to your head for the video!
31. Beatbox, SFX, Sounds – Make your own beatbox, sound effects, or play a few notes on an instrument. Then edit them so they are all their own clips, and fit them together to make your own song, all from your own sounds!
32. CONTEST! – If you have a big enough following, make a contest where people have to make video responses to you doing something, and whoever is the best wins (set a time for when you will announce the winner!).
33. GIVEAWAY! – Similar to a contest, a giveaway is simply you giving something away, for free. But it’s not something where people or you vote on “who’s the best” or anything – it’s more of “leave a comment and you’re entered”, and you pick out of the hat, and whoever you pick wins.
34. Narration – Make a video where you dub a voiceover and narrate your own thoughts. This can go for anything! You can even think of some crazy ideas and make a funny skit out of it.
35. Story Time – Tell your viewers a funny or interesting story about yourself (try to stay away from sadness, you don’t want other people to remember “that depressed video guy”, right?)
36. Polls – Ask people questions, and tell them to respond and write their answers as comments (or better yet, video responses!).
37. Dub / Voiceover – Either give a voice to an inanimate object (or something like a baby or pet that doesn’t talk), and pretend you are talking to them, and voiceover (or even just post words) what they would be saying.38. Stopmotion – Take a picture, move a couple inches, take another picture. Do this a few hundred or thousand times, put all the pictures together, and make it into a video (you can do some really fun stuff with stop motion videos).
39. “Hidden” Camera – Pretend that you are doing something “wrong”, and have a “hidden” camera filming the entire thing. Then pretend as if you JUST notice the camera, and flip out as if you didn’t know it was there.
40. Act – Show off your acting skills. Put some dramatic music behind it too (or funny music, or suspenseful or scary)
41. Comedy – Don’t have enough time to do stand-up comedy at shows, bars, and events? Do a stand-up routine on camera, and upload it for hundreds, thousands, even millions to see!
42. Re-enact Old Shows or Movies – Re-enact a scene from a show, maybe even a cartoon, or something from a famous movie. Put your own spin on it too!
43. PSA (Public Service Announcment) – Is there a cause or fund you want more people to know about? Make a video talking about why it’s so great, and why more people should donate or become a part of it.
44. Advertise / Promotion Video – If you have a website, facebook, twitter, or anything like that; Make a video about it, and make it fun, maybe give away something for free so it doesn’t sound boring.
45. Battle Scars – Talk about some cool scars you have, and invite people to share their own stories of their own battle scars.
46. Who are you? – Make a video explaining who you are, and ask other people to make video responses of who they are. Make this fun, and people will respond!
47. Challenges – Do challenge videos. Invite your friends and family to be part of the videos. How many hot dogs can you eat in 10 minutes? How many marshmallows can you fit in your mouth? Do some fun challenges, and of course, invite others to do the challenges with you.
48. Pet / Animal Videos – People on YouTube LOVE cats, and really any type of cute pet. Film some cute or funny moments in your pet’s daily routine, and upload the clips as videos!
49. List Videos – Make a video that lists a whole bunch of things that will help people out (like “50 video ideas”) ;)
50. Video Responses – If you really can’t think of any ideas, go find someone else’s video, and upload a response to it!
Have a karaoke party and sing your favorite songs in different tunes
2-4 people have a "gossip session"
A funny weird experiment (ex. mixing vinegar and apple juice and seeing what it looks and tastes like, etc.)
A talk show
A reenactment of a dream-make it funny
Court controversy Nothing is destined to elicit a more robust response than a good controversy. But a word of caution: if you run with a controversial subject you must be prepared for equally controversial comments. Some people thrive on throwing the cat among the pigeons; others run a mile. It’s a matter of taste.
Cinematic genres
By setting
Biography - portrays a real-life character in his or her real life story.
Crime - places its character within realm of criminal activity.
Film noir - portrays its principal characters in a nihilistic and existentialist realm or manner.
Historical - taking place in the past.
Science fiction - placement of characters in an alternative reality, typically in the future or in space.
Fantasy - films set in imaginary worlds, often with a swords and sorcery theme.
Sports - sporting events and locations pertaining to a given sport.
War - battlefields and locations pertaining to a time of war.
Westerns - colonial period to modern era of the western United States.
By genre
Action - generally involves a moral interplay between "good" and "bad" played out through violence or physical force
Adventure - involving danger, risk, and/or chance, often with a high degree of fantasy.
Comedy - intended to provoke laughter
Drama - mainly focuses on character development
Fantasy - speculative fiction outside reality (i.e. myth, legend)
Horror - intended to provoke fear in audience
Mystery - the progression from the unknown to the known by discovering and solving a series of clues
Romance - dwelling on the elements of romantic love
Thrillers - intended to provoke excitement and/or nervous tension into audience
By format
Animation - illusion of motion by consecutive display of static images which have been created by hand or on a computer
Shoot with the edit in mind. Don’t overshoot and make more work for yourself. Get enough to tell the story.
Use a tripod!
Shoot wide, medium and tight shots. Long shot is the establishing shot. Medium shot is the more general shot used to shoot your footage. Close-ups for cutaways or a specific thing to show the audience. Mix and match to make your story.
Most edits are 4-6 seconds long so you only need to record 10 seconds on each shot and then you can cut them to
For voiceovers match visuals with narration. “If you can’t see it or show it you can’t say it.” Have visuals of everything you are talking about!
Keep a talking head vlog short and possibly add some still pictures
If you can’t vary your shots try adding some simple text points on the screen or create a simple slide to add to the video. Something to break up the monotony will help keep interest.
