Skip to content
UdemyVideo Editing & AnimationPaid courseAll LevelsCertificate

The Lone Video-maker’s guide to making videos at home (Udemy.com)

Make professional quality online videos - all on your own

Created by: Huw Collingbourne

Last updated March 2020

Our take

Based on the ratings of 107 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in March 2020. No course pays to be reviewed.

Huw Collingbourne's course is a 3.1 hour walk through how he films himself at home. The syllabus shows 39 lectures in six sections: setting up a studio, cameras, sound, lighting, presenting and production. It is aimed at people who work solo with a phone, pocket camera or DSLR, and it covers cheap options like softbox lights and USB mics as well as pro-grade LED lights. Think talking-head videos, not screencasts.

Reviewers like the clear explanations and the range. One calls it a great all-round review, another says it suits a novice, and a third finds the approach a bit pedantic but loves it. One says they picked up tips other instructors skip. The criticism is consistent too. One reviewer calls it super basic with little detail, another wanted more screencasting directions, and the one-star review says there are no tutorials, only lectures. Treat it as an overview, not a how-to.

The last update was March 2020, so gear and iPad advice may be dated. Out of 107 ratings, 65 are five stars and the average is 4.3, so it is well liked, if small at 814 students. It is worth it if you are starting from scratch and want to know what to buy and why. Skip it if screen recording is what you need.

Best forNewcomers filming talking-head videos alone who want a map of cameras, mics and lighting before buying anything.
Skip it ifYou want screencasting or hands-on exercises rather than a gear and setup overview.

Pros

  • Covers cameras, mics, lighting, backdrops and presenting in one 3.1 hour course
  • Budget-minded: shows cheap softbox lights, USB mics and phone or iPad setups
  • Clear, detailed explanations that reviewers say suit complete beginners
  • Instructor answers student questions, according to one reviewer

Cons

  • Last updated in March 2020, so gear and iPad advice may be out of date
  • Reviewers call it basic, with little hands-on detail or tutorials
  • Built around talking-head video; one reviewer wanted more screencasting directions
A great all-round review of what's required when making professional looking videos on a budget and by yourself.
David Lee Williams, a student

Labeled All Levels, but it really suits beginners and hobbyists going solo; experienced video makers may find it basic.

icon
What you will learn

  • Make pro quality videos on a budget
  • Shoot videos at home or set up a home studio
  • Choose and use cameras, microphones and lighting
  • Script, present and produce videos all on your own
  • Take the first steps to an online career in video

Course content

6 sections · 39 lectures · 3.1 hours of video 6 quizzes

  1. 1Setting up a studio 4 free previews9 lectures · 1 quiz · 38 min
  2. 2Cameras7 lectures · 1 quiz · 34 min
  3. 3Sound11 lectures · 1 quiz · 52 min
  4. 4Lighting4 lectures · 1 quiz · 19 min
  5. 5Presenting3 lectures · 1 quiz · 21 min
  6. 6Production5 lectures · 1 quiz · 23 min

Who it is for

The instructor says it suits

  • Anyone who wants to make a career in online video
  • Newcomers to video-making who need to know where to start
  • Someone with basic video-making experience who wants to take the next step
  • Anyone who needs help to choose equipment to make good videos alone
  • This course is NOT aimed at video-production teams with large budgets

What you need before you start

  • Familiarity with online videos and the enthusiasm to learn how to make videos at home without a team of people to help you. A pocket camera, HD phone, tablet or digital SLR is enough to get started.

How it compares

Against the other 293 rated Udemy courses in Video Editing & Animation on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.3 out of 5higher than 26% of them
  • Reviews107#191 of 294 by number of reviews
  • Length3.1 hoursshorter than 59% of them
  • Last updatedMarch 2020earlier than 76% of them

icon
Course Description

You can make professional-looking videos all on your own. In this course, Huw Collingbourne reveals the secrets that have helped him to become a top-selling online instructor. He takes you behind the scenes of his home studio to show you exactly how he makes videos - entirely on his own - with good visuals, sound and lighting. He explains everything you need to know in order to make a good quality videos without spending a fortune on expensive cameras. And if you want to take the next step towards really pro-grade video productions, he explains how to set up a dedicated home video studio

In this course you will learn about:

  • Cameras: pocket cameras and phones, tablets and digital SLR cameras
  • Microphones: desktop USB mics, camera-mounded mics, lapel mics, hand-held recorders and more 
  • Audio: using ‘pop filters’ and ‘dead cat’ wind shields
  • Video with your iPad: and tips on recording great sound with an external microphone
  • Lighting: Natural lighting, cheap ‘softbox’ lighting and pro-grade LED lights
  • Backdrops: White, black and coloured backdrops or ‘on location’
  • Scripting and presenting: talking to camera, using teleprompters or autocues
  • Plus: Field monitors, GoPro cameras, selecting tripods, filming with multiple cameras, synchronizing audio, optimizing video and much more...

icon
Udemy Discount

The discount is applied through our link. Open the course from here and Udemy's current promotional price is applied at checkout on most courses, no code to type.

Some courses are excluded from Udemy's promotions. If the price does not drop, clear your browser cookies and use the button again.

icon
Instructor Details

Huw Collingbourne

  Huw Collingbourne is the technology director at SapphireSteel Software, developers of programming tools for Microsoft Visual Studio. He is author of The Little Book Of C, The Little Book Of Pointers and The Little Book Of Recursion from Bitwise Books and of The Book Of Ruby from No Starch Press. He runs Bitwise Courses and teaches courses on a range of programming topics. 

     Huw has been a programmer for more than 30 years. He is a well-known technology writer in the UK. For over ten years he wrote the Delphi and Java programming column for PC Plus Magazine.  He has also written numerous opinion and programming columns (including tutorials on C#, C++, Smalltalk and Ruby) for a number of computer magazines, such as Computer Shopper, PC Pro, and PC Plus. 

     In the 1980s he was a pop music journalist and interviewed most of the New Romantic stars, such as Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Adam Ant, Boy George, and Depeche Mode. He is now writing a series of 1980s murder mysteries. 

icon
More courses by Huw Collingbourne

$12.99

$10.99

$18.99

$89.99

$59.99

$59.99

icon
More Video Editing & Animation courses

$12.99

$74.99

$11.99

$19.99

$59.99

$10.99

icon
Reviews

4.3

107 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Khan mohammad on 6/28/2020

No tutorials are given in this course. Only lectures and useless.

By Emily Lowe on 2/17/2020

So far the ad ice is not quite what I was looking for

By KEN Dugas on 10/8/2019

This is how to set up for a talking heads video. I was hoping for more screen casting directions. It is well done and does provide good information for setting up a location and equipment. My favorite section was on the video editing was suggestions for file size reduction with Handbrake. Well worth the cost and time to view.

By Norm Gray on 8/11/2018

An excellent course for first-timers or those considering making their own video on a budget. Every topic provided details of needed equipment and tips on using each item. Huw's enunciation was clear, inflection & expression likewise and made the course easily understood. I think that I detected a Welsh accent.

By Barry Poulson on 7/3/2018

This is one of this Instructor's two video creation courses. Sufficiently varied such that I am glad I took them both. This is somewhat more thorough. Not only did I learn what I needed but I learned important things about video I did not even know existed. A solid five stars.

By Alastair Otter on 9/10/2017

This course was hugely useful for someone entirely new to producing videos and as someone just starting to look at producing a series of video tutorials. The instructions were clear, detailed and informative, without being overwhelming. Highly recommended.

By Kamil Trzebiatowski on 8/14/2017

Very accessible for a total rookie such as myself! Absolutely astonishing - and so easy to understand. I made an Excel list of things to buy / invest in as you went a long and I hope within 4 months I'll be able to put my course on Udemy... Wish me luck!

By Danai Florou on 7/2/2017

This is a great course. Very informative, well paced and the explanations very clear and thorough. The instructor did a fantastic job explaining everything I needed to learn about video making. I now know where to start and what I´ll need; I have a very clear idea about the equipment, the technical part and many smart, low budget tips and suggestions!

By Amber Renee on 5/11/2017

Getting much better! I like that he gives several options. I wish I had the cool accent for my future videos. I hope that he gives a course on that too. I hope there is a list of products that is posted somewhere that reviews what each of the products are used for as a quick reference. Other than that I highly recommend the course.

By Graham Thompson on 10/13/2016

I really enjoyed my run through this course and I know I will be dipping back into it as I progress in making my own videos. I like the presentation style used, makes a change from the baseball cap wearing (sometimes) 'yo buddy' over excited approach used in some courses. The information is sound regardless at what level you are and is obviously from experience rather than having briefly read about it. The principles shown, and demonstrated, work just as well for corner of the room or dedicated space users, in fact the course really covers both and demonstrates what can be achieved when setting out. I am now in a position to consider specific things when I set up to do a 'talking head' video and ensure certain aspects are correct before I start. Before this course, I took a much less structured (ok, I was lazy) approach. So why not 5stars? Well, nothing is perfect and although sound, lighting, backdrop and are very well covered, I would have liked a little more from the camera setup, I.e. The actual filming rather than the equipment side, the creative side I suppose. However, I am being a bit harsh in saying that. This is a great course, loads of content and well produced.

Showing all 10 reviews on CourseDuck

Read all 107 reviews on Udemy

icon
Quality Score

No CourseDuck member has rated this course yet. Taken it? Give each part a thumbs up or down.

Content Quality
/
Video Quality
/
Qualified Instructor
/
Course Pace
/
Course Depth & Coverage
/

Overall Score : 86 / 100