How to upload 4K videos to ManyVids?

[AvaCharlotte]

Hey everyone! I recently figured out how to record in 4K on my iPhone which is great, but my video quality still isn't where I want it. I see a lot of other girls on ManyVids and their videos look FLAWLESS. Is some of that the lighting? There's a particular girl I am thinking of but unsure if I am allowed to name her here. I'm looking for general tips on making my videos look amazing, but I also think that my video quality is kind of butchered by the time they make it to ManyVids. Here is my upload process:

1. Film in 4K on iPhone X
2. Do any necessary editing on iMovie
3. Upload to Google Drive
4. Download from Google Drive
5. Upload to ManyVids

I'm thinking that with all those steps, the 4K is likely getting diminished along the way. Any thoughts on ways to preserve it and just in general how to reach the absolute BEST possible video quality?

 

[QuinnLane]

You may want to transfer to your PC via a usb cable of some sort if possible, and edit from there, I'm not sure on the limitations of iMovie on phone. Editing on my PC lets me set bitrate, framerate, and all that. Lighting is also a huge part of it! If I don't have good lighting, my video looks crap.

It could also just be Manyvids - I've seen a LOT of models saying that since they updated the uploader, the quality on the other end has been absolutely butchered. I'm not on MV anymore so I can't say my experience.

I also know that 4k isn't going to look the same as others; LittleMissElle/Elle Faye shoots in 4k on her iPhone and it looks amazing, DestinationKat has a higher-end (IMO) 4k DSLR that also looks amazing, and when I film in 4k on my S8 it can be a toss up on quality.

 

[AvaCharlotte]

You may want to transfer to your PC via a usb cable of some sort if possible, and edit from there, I'm not sure on the limitations of iMovie on phone. Editing on my PC lets me set bitrate, framerate, and all that. Lighting is also a huge part of it! If I don't have good lighting, my video looks crap.

It could also just be Manyvids - I've seen a LOT of models saying that since they updated the uploader, the quality on the other end has been absolutely butchered. I'm not on MV anymore so I can't say my experience.

I also know that 4k isn't going to look the same as others; LittleMissElle/Elle Faye shoots in 4k on her iPhone and it looks amazing, DestinationKat has a higher-end (IMO) 4k DSLR that also looks amazing, and when I film in 4k on my S8 it can be a toss up on quality.

Thanks for the reply! I don't think it's ManyVids because the other girls with the really good quality are also on ManyVids, but it could easily be how I'm editing on my phone. The problem is I haven't been able to find any video editors for my mac that are easy enough for me to use. They're all really complicated. Is there any software you would recommend? I actually do have a really nice DSLR camera that I plan on learning to use, I just haven't yet because I have no clue how and supposedly my iPhone should be able to make a good quality video. I try to film right in front of my window with lots of daylight but even then it doesn't look nearly as good as this girl's, even before I edit or anything. Does a studio light setup really make THAT huge of a difference versus standing in front of daylight? I've been wanting to invest in a good studio light setup for a while but can't until I move out of my current place with my parents.

 

[QuinnLane]

Thanks for the reply! I don't think it's ManyVids because the other girls with the really good quality are also on ManyVids, but it could easily be how I'm editing on my phone. The problem is I haven't been able to find any video editors for my mac that are easy enough for me to use. They're all really complicated. Is there any software you would recommend? I actually do have a really nice DSLR camera that I plan on learning to use, I just haven't yet because I have no clue how and supposedly my iPhone should be able to make a good quality video. I try to film right in front of my window with lots of daylight but even then it doesn't look nearly as good as this girl's, even before I edit or anything. Does a studio light setup really make THAT huge of a difference versus standing in front of daylight? I've been wanting to invest in a good studio light setup for a while but can't until I move out of my current place with my parents.

Studio lighting is absolutely worth it. Even just small desk lamps with bright bulbs makes a huge difference. The girls I mentioned are on Manyvids too, but MV changed their uploader like a week ago and ever since then people have been having huge issues with quality, because the site re-encodes the videos now or something. You could be shooting on a brand new top-of-the-line camera and it'll still look crap if you don't have decent lighting.
I got two umbrella light stands (holding 2 lights each) + the bulbs for under $50 and it completely changed my video quality.
As for video editors, iMovie should also be available for free on a Mac, but if it's an older one (I have a 2010 macbook) it might not be available. On my Mac, I used Filmora, which is really simple once you wrap your head around it. There's a lot of options but I only really used it to make cuts, add watermark, and transitions.

 

[AvaCharlotte]

Studio lighting is absolutely worth it. Even just small desk lamps with bright bulbs makes a huge difference. The girls I mentioned are on Manyvids too, but MV changed their uploader like a week ago and ever since then people have been having huge issues with quality, because the site re-encodes the videos now or something. You could be shooting on a brand new top-of-the-line camera and it'll still look crap if you don't have decent lighting.
I got two umbrella light stands (holding 2 lights each) + the bulbs for under $50 and it completely changed my video quality.
As for video editors, iMovie should also be available for free on a Mac, but if it's an older one (I have a 2010 macbook) it might not be available. On my Mac, I used Filmora, which is really simple once you wrap your head around it. There's a lot of options but I only really used it to make cuts, add watermark, and transitions.

Thank you so much! This all sounds really helpful. I will also send an email to ManyVids support to ask them about that. It would really suck if they made changes that mess up the video quality.

 

[KingMarti]

Thanks for the reply! I don't think it's ManyVids because the other girls with the really good quality are also on ManyVids, but it could easily be how I'm editing on my phone. The problem is I haven't been able to find any video editors for my mac that are easy enough for me to use. They're all really complicated. Is there any software you would recommend? I actually do have a really nice DSLR camera that I plan on learning to use, I just haven't yet because I have no clue how and supposedly my iPhone should be able to make a good quality video. I try to film right in front of my window with lots of daylight but even then it doesn't look nearly as good as this girl's, even before I edit or anything. Does a studio light setup really make THAT huge of a difference versus standing in front of daylight? I've been wanting to invest in a good studio light setup for a while but can't until I move out of my current place with my parents.

For video editing software I would recommend Davinci Resolve, it's simple enough to do just basic trimming on clips and doing color adjustments but if you wanted to try and experiment with something more than just basic trimming and editing (such as VFX, audio editing, motion tracking etc) then you have a bunch of tutorials on youtube on how to do more complex edits as well as tutorials for basic editing.

For uploading to MV in 4k... the biggest issue is going to be file size, MV has a pretty small upload size limit, so you will proberly need to compress the video (handbrake is highly recommended for this, you can usually 1/2 the file size without really loosing any quality on the finished video)

uploading and downloading from google drive shouldnt have any impact on the video quality as it's literally just cloud storage.

For getting the best video quality the most important thing is the lighting. If you check the FilmRiot and Cinecom.net youtube channels they focus on making low budget short films and have a bunch of tutorials on everything from lighting set ups to costuming, scripting, and creating atmosphere within the video.

If your videos are no longer 4k when you upload them to MV I would check the settings in your editor as it may be rendering out the file at a lower resolution.

 

[AvaCharlotte]

For video editing software I would recommend Davinci Resolve, it's simple enough to do just basic trimming on clips and doing color adjustments but if you wanted to try and experiment with something more than just basic trimming and editing (such as VFX, audio editing, motion tracking etc) then you have a bunch of tutorials on youtube on how to do more complex edits as well as tutorials for basic editing.

For uploading to MV in 4k... the biggest issue is going to be file size, MV has a pretty small upload size limit, so you will proberly need to compress the video (handbrake is highly recommended for this, you can usually 1/2 the file size without really loosing any quality on the finished video)

uploading and downloading from google drive shouldnt have any impact on the video quality as it's literally just cloud storage.

For getting the best video quality the most important thing is the lighting. If you check the FilmRiot and Cinecom.net youtube channels they focus on making low budget short films and have a bunch of tutorials on everything from lighting set ups to costuming, scripting, and creating atmosphere within the video.

If your videos are no longer 4k when you upload them to MV I would check the settings in your editor as it may be rendering out the file at a lower resolution.

I actually do have Davinci Resolve, I just for the life of me cannot figure it out. I will try looking up some tutorials. I'm not very tech savvy but I clearly need to learn to be in this business haha. Budget isn't so much a problem for lighting, it's really just that I live with my parents and they have no clue I do any of this so all my equipment needs to be stuff I can break down and put in a box really fast when my mom comes knocking at my door. If it sounds stressful, that's because it is lmao. Handbrake sounds useful, does it work for mac?

 

[KingMarti]

I actually do have Davinci Resolve, I just for the life of me cannot figure it out. I will try looking up some tutorials. I'm not very tech savvy but I clearly need to learn to be in this business haha. Budget isn't so much a problem for lighting, it's really just that I live with my parents and they have no clue I do any of this so all my equipment needs to be stuff I can break down and put in a box really fast when my mom comes knocking at my door. If it sounds stressful, that's because it is lmao. Handbrake sounds useful, does it work for mac?

Yep, im like 99% sure that handbrake has a mac os version.
As for lighting, it would be worth checking out the film maker youtube channels as the diy stuff and the lighting tutorials they do are designed to be torn down at the end of every shoot. Even with softbox kit's they break down pretty easy.
You could always go the less obvious route and set up cool white led strips they are so popular now that no one would see them and be thinking why do you have them. If you get the RGBW ones then you can also play about with different colord lighting effects.

 

[Zana]

I often shoot with my iphone too, but the quality will never be near as good as some of the mega expensive cameras a lot of MV girls use

And for editing, Davinci Resolve is still kinda confusing to me too, but if you have the money to pay for an editor, Filmora is easier

 

[QuinnLane]

Yes! Handbrake is also on Mac.

 

[AvaCharlotte]

Yep, im like 99% sure that handbrake has a mac os version.
As for lighting, it would be worth checking out the film maker youtube channels as the diy stuff and the lighting tutorials they do are designed to be torn down at the end of every shoot. Even with softbox kit's they break down pretty easy.
You could always go the less obvious route and set up cool white led strips they are so popular now that no one would see them and be thinking why do you have them. If you get the RGBW ones then you can also play about with different colord lighting effects.

That's a really good idea! I'm not sure if there's a good place to put them in my room but I will definitely see if I can work out a spot. Thanks!

 

[AvaCharlotte]

I often shoot with my iphone too, but the quality will never be near as good as some of the mega expensive cameras a lot of MV girls use

And for editing, Davinci Resolve is still kinda confusing to me too, but if you have the money to pay for an editor, Filmora is easier

I have a DSLR camera so maybe I just need to suck it up and learn how to use it to film. I wonder what kind of cameras they use? I'll definitely check out Filmora, thanks!!

 

[AvaCharlotte]

Yes! Handbrake is also on Mac.

Ok, I'll get it!