How to make YouTube Shorts: A beginner’s guide to YouTube’s TikTok competitor
YouTube is beta-testing its Shorts feature to create brief videos directly from the app as it hopes to compete with the likes of TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook and Instagram Stories.
Using your smartphone’s camera, you can record brief videos and upload them immediately. The default length is 15 seconds and you can add more time in the app, up to a minute.
The YouTube Shorts feature is now available in more than 100 countries including the US and Canada. Users can find these specific videos by tapping Shorts at the bottom of the YouTube app, on the YouTube homepage, or on their channel page.
Note: After you record your video, make sure to add the #shorts hashtag in the video’s title or description to allow YouTube to recommend or promote your Shorts video.
While these Shorts cannot currently be monetized from advertisements, they will affect your number of views and total playtime, and you can direct people to your monetized YouTube channel. YouTube also has a $100 million fund to support creators who help build the Shorts community.
Requirements to make YouTube Shorts
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YouTube Shorts can be up to 60 seconds in length. A 60-second YouTube short can be several 15-second videos combined or one continuous video.
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The videos must be shot in a vertical orientation.
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The video can use audio from YouTube’s library or other videos but only for up to 15 seconds.
How to make YouTube Shorts
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If you don’t already have the YouTube app on your device, download it for your Android or iPhone and sign in.
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Tap the Create button, which is the plus symbol in the bottom-center.
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In the pop-up, tap Create a Short, which has a camera icon next to it.
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If this is your first time using this option, your device will ask for permission to allow YouTube to use the camera and microphone.
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Once approved, you land in the YouTube Shorts recording page.
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YouTube shorts recording length defaults to 15 seconds. By tapping on the number “15” above the record button, you can change it to 60 seconds.
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Tap the Speed icon of a speedometer on the right to speed up or slow down the recording.
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You can also set a time for the camera to start without you by pushing Timer, just below Speed.
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Finally, Filters allows you to apply various visual filters to your recording. Some Android users may be missing this function.
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Once ready, hit the Record button. Tapping it again will stop the recording; then tap again to record the next segment in the same video.
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Tapping the Undo button at the bottom, represented by a left-facing arrow, will delete the last segment but not the whole video. The Redo button, represented by a right-facing arrow, will return that segment to the video.
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When you’re done recording, tap the check mark in the bottom right to preview your video and add music, text, and filters. When done, tap Next.
- Finally, add a title and adjust sharing settings. Add the #shorts hashtag to the title to ensure it can be seen or promoted with YouTube’s other Shorts videos.
- Tap Upload and it will be added to your YouTube.