New Microphone For Videos

So I have spent an inordinate amount of time in the past few days thinking about making videos for a weekly vlog. I am a little daunted by learning the editing process and all the other things necessary to make a professional looking YouTube channel. It's also easy for me to dream that I'm going to spend a lot of time making videos that will get enough views to help me support myself. I know that you need at least a few thousand views daily to make any noticeable revenue. But my mind is so optimistic, and I have been wanting to get a new camera for a few years now, so my reasoning is that it's better to invest a bit bigger now with an eye towards higher quality instead of gradually upgrading in stages, which could save you hundreds in the long run. I decided to wait for that big camera upgrade until I at least was making some sort of income. I'm not really a teacher so I'm nervous to go looking for students, but I really need to start that process.

A while back I had a nice recording set up which included a CAD microphone, mic stand, and cables. I sold those to Chris because it was all too much stuff to bring with me to Austria. But now that I have my own place where I can practice, I figure I should get a new mic set up for use with my microtrack. I just bought a new Behringer B-5 condenser mic and am very excited. My current camera doesn't have a lot of flexibility in video recording, but it should be high enough quality to start.

I must be watching too many vloggers and I'm getting ahead of myself by thinking about what I need to do to become popular. I know the most successful channels are product (fashion and tech) reviews, skit comedy, vlogs, video game let's plays and reviews, cute animals, crafting, not to mention official music videos of stars, clips of tv shows, and movie and video game trailers. Vlogs are almost completely character driven. As an introvert I have spent years training myself to make sure not to say stupid things. "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." But I think I can afford to loosen up a bit, as long as I keep in mind that everything that is posted on the internet stays there essentially forever.

I do of course want to make content that I'm proud of. I guess my audience, outside friends and family, would be the Classical music community. YouTube is an excellent resource for musicians hoping to expand their musical horizons and find new music and new (or classic) interpretations of pieces they are working on. I am honestly a little surprised with how many full opera productions are on YouTube. But I notice a big void which could have a good niche market, the practical behind the scenes work of a musician. The few I stumble across are very professional, like this one behind the scenes look at the Cleveland Orchestra's production of The Cunning Little Vixen, an opera by Janacek.

Anyway, I wrote down a list of reasons why I wanted to start a YouTube channel and what plans I have.

Why?
-To document my life abroad for myself and friends.
-To develop my humor and story telling skills, and learn to open up and love my voice.
-To present a look at an aspiring Classical musician's life in an honest and (hopefully) entertaining way.
-To motivate me to work hard at music and learning German.
-To both relax and stimulate my creativity, doing silly things after I get my work done.
-To talk through interesting ideas.
-To (maybe) make enough money to pay for a new camera and eventually help support myself.

What?
-Practice videos
-Travel / weekly vlogs
-Learn German
-Storytelling through photography
-Random internet challenges, bad improv, misc. discussions

Maybe it'll be a huge embarrassment, but I think that with reasonable expectations and focus on my passion for music it will be well worthwhile. I can better share my life in Vienna and as a musician with friends and family back home. Anything beyond that is a bonus.