Tutorials/Videos

Videos are an important part of Minecraft, ranging from gameplay, to minigames, to tutorials.

Gameplay
Gameplay videos are usually recorded and uploaded to sites like YouTube, or broadcast directly to a streaming service like Twitch, and generally show off playing the game in vanilla, with mods, or on a server.

Most modern game consoles include some form of DVR built into their operating systems, like Xbox's DVR, or PlayStation's Sharing and Broadcast system. For recording longer, or in higher fidelity, an external capture device can be used to record to itself, or stream to your PC for capture.

On Windows, you have several 1st party options, depending on your GPU manufacturer:


 * AMD Radeon ReLive (AMD Radeon Software)
 * Nvidia ShadowPlay (Nvidia GeForce Experience)
 * Xbox App / Xbox Game DVR (Windows 10, pre-installed)

On macOS, see this support article on available 1st-party screen capture methods.

3rd Party Tools:


 * FFmpeg (Linux, Mac, Windows)
 * FFmpeg is a bundle of command line tools and libraries. Recommended only for advanced users.
 * Some libraries may be patent-encumbered - see FFmpeg's Legal FAQ
 * Open Broadcaster Software (OBS Studio) (Linux, Mac, Windows)
 * Screenflow (Mac Only, Commercial)
 * SimpleScreenRecorder (Linux)
 * VLC Media Player (Linux, Mac, Windows)
 * Note: Capture and Streaming are not the primary purposes of VLC. Captures are in a lossless AVI format, and as a result can quickly fill up storage space. Transcoding is highly recommended.
 * Xsplit Gamecaster (Windows, Commercial)
 * and many more!

Animation
Animated videos are harder to produce, although still pretty popular, and can range from stories to music videos. These are made in external programs, and rendered to a file.

For animating, you can use programs such as:


 * Adobe Animate (Adobe Flash Professional)
 * Autodesk Maya
 * Blender
 * Mine-imator
 * Source Filmmaker
 * Cinema 4D

For more options, see Wikipedia for a list of 2D animation software, or 3D animation software.

Tutorials
Tutorials are another type of video, ranging from how to use redstone, installing mods, to livestreaming or server creation.

Record or live stream

 * If you plan on recording or streaming the game, we recommend OBS. It allows for both recording and streaming the game, as well as integrating a Twitch account to see live chat and stream options without using a browser. It's also free and can capture in any quality your computer can handle.
 * For video editing, you can use Vegas or iMovie. Adobe Premiere is also an option, with the Elements and Pro versions, depending on your budget. VirtualDub is a high quality open-source editor for those who do not wish to pay for an editing program. DaVinci Resolve is another popular, high quality editor, which has a free tier that is more than enough for editing Minecraft recordings.
 * If you wish to record your voice and the audio from Minecraft in two separate streams to be edited together later, you will need a program like Audacity. Or you can use the DXtory recording program which automatically records sounds in separated streams. Also, Blender can split the Sound and Video streams if you use RecordMyDesktop.

Tips

 * If you are doing repetitive/boring tasks, you should either not record doing it, record the first and last part of your boring task and then piece them together, speed up the boring task (e.g. a time lapse), or just cut it out. You do not want your viewers to be bored, especially if they are new. Also, try to make your videos as exciting and fun to watch as possible!
 * Background and a channel image for YouTube will help you enhance your page.
 * Interact with your viewers, ask them for suggestions, what you could improve and what they want to see!
 * Don't use subscriber exchange (aka Sub4Sub), there is a very low chance that those subscribers will actually view the videos, and really just count for a hollow number. Instead, embed your video on a forum, or the Wiki (but be sure to comply with the video policy—people are banned for violating it). Note that replacing someone else's video with yours won't get you anywhere, come up with your ideas, or at least try to come up with a better design. If the wiki is giving you a viewing benefit from embedding your videos, then return the favor to the wiki and clean up every article you put a video in, not only will this help the wiki, it makes your video seem better as it is seen in a better context.
 * Inbox or contact other Minecraft video creators e.g. tnthost or machinima and discuss partnerships, cross promotional videos and deals with Minecraft content creators. This benefits both parties involved, so many channels would happily accept your offer.
 * Don't force yourself to do something. If you don't like something, don't do it. Tell your viewers you don't like it and ask them to suggest something else.
 * If you are making tutorial videos, make sure that they are tutorials for things that people will want to know about, and you present it in a user-friendly way. (A tip learned from experience: Know what you're going to say BEFORE you say it!)
 * Don't spam useless videos, if something can be put in 1 video, then there's no reason to split it into parts.
 * Don't be greedy, if you want to do this JUST for money then you should quit it. Doing it just for money will show how careless you are, remember, it's not about the money it is about building a community.
 * Don't go to the popular channels and spam their videos with comments about visiting your channel. People will most likely not visit your channel, and they will get quite annoyed! (Also it is likely your comment won't even appear due to spam filtering)
 * Don't expect thousands of views when you just start. If you upload high quality content (video and audio) frequently and are friendly, you will start gaining views. Even if it seems like nothing is happening, just keep uploading!
 * Try your best to use original or close to the original resource pack, as this will make most viewers comfortable with your videos. Two examples of good resource packs are Faithful, and packs that change how glass looks in order to make it look clearer. However, if you make redstone contraptions, oCd is also a good option to use.
 * You do not always have to talk in some videos. If you do videos like machinimas, you can use royalty free music, on screen text and royalty free sound effects. DO NOT use copyrighted music—it will only get you into trouble.
 * When recording, it's good to go out and buy a good headset, although a "proper" microphone is preferable, as it will increase the clarity of your audio significantly.
 * Make sure you stand out. Don't do just the generic "let's play" that just about everyone does. Be creative with your ideas.
 * If you can't think of original ideas, then make videos on new features on Minecraft (e.g. snapshots and updates) that not many people have made videos on yet.
 * Video oral format. It is important to have a plan when streaming. First introduce yourself and what you will be doing. Then give our audience a reason to stay and most importantly credit everyone who you have used.
 * Make videos because you enjoy making them. If you don't enjoy making them, you are not gonna keep making them. You are just going to fall off at some point and you are going to get frustrated it didn't turn out the way you wanted it to be. If you make videos that you enjoy making, then you can't lose. It doesn't matter if you don't get a lot of subscribers. If you make videos that you enjoy making, other people will enjoy watching them. So, if you're not enjoying making videos, then don't make videos.

Tutorials/Videos 教程/视频