• The gear
• Here’s Michael’s entire flow:
  • Step 1 - prepare the iPhone:
  • Step 2 - record the show:
  • Step 3 - edit the show:
  • Step 4 - export to camera roll
  • Step 5 - write descriptions and other meta:
  • Step 6 - publish to YouTube:
  • Step 7 - bonus - add a blog post:
• With these short 7 steps anyone can post high-quality videos on YouTube:

Michael is using his iPhone as his recording studio - he records the videos on it, edits and publishes them - all from the iPhone. Here’s how he does it:

“Every 2-3 weeks I’m recording a short ‘Productive! Show’ video where I’m testing my newest productivity tips and tricks. I’m checking out what works for me and what doesn’t… and I do it all via video.

Many people have asked me how I’m recording the video and which programs on my Mac I’m using to publish each episode of my Productive! Show. Well, the answer is simple: None. I’m not using any programs on the Mac. I’m recording, editing and publishing everything on the iPhone.”

The gear

Let’s start with the gear. Here’s Michael’s entire recording studio hardware-wise:

• iPhone 5
• The Glif+
• A small Hama tripod
• KV connection cable to split mic and headphone jack
• SONY ECM-AW3 wireless Bluetooth microphone
• Apple ear-pods headphones

Now let’s look at the software:

• iPhone’s built in camera for recording videos
• iMovie on the iPhone from Apple ($4.99 in the App Store)
• Built-in YouTube publishing capabilities of the iPhone
• Byword on the iPhone and the iPad

Here’s Michael’s entire flow:

“Here I am recording an episode of the Productive! Show from start to end.

Step 1 - prepare the iPhone:

I mount the iPhone on the tripod using the Glif and the tripod. I attach the microphone. Now, depending on the ambient noise and the sound quality I want to achieve, I’m either recording via the headphone mic or the wireless Bluetooth microphone. When using the Bluetooth microphone I’m simply attaching the KV-connection cable to the iPhone and later the Bluetooth receiver to the cable and the Bluetooth microphone to my shirt.

Step 2 - record the show:

I’m always trying to record a few short takes. Instead of recording all at once, I’ll split the episode into several parts.

Step 3 - edit the show:

I dismount my entire recording studio; put the Glif, the microphone and everything else back into my bag. I sit comfortably on an armchair, attach the headphones and fire up the iMovie on the iPhone. I create a new project and start the editing process. I cut out the scenes and put them in the timeline. I add captions, define a theme and put fade-to-black at the end of the movie. Editing with the iPhone is pure fun; I do everything by finger-touching the movie. It works great. I started this workflow on the iPhone 4S, but the iPhone 5 is even better for movie editing as it’s simply faster. And you can tell the difference.

Step 4 - export to camera roll

After my movie is ready, I export it to my camera roll to 720p. I don’t choose full HD for now as I don’t want the files to be too big. This quality is enough for a great looking video on YouTube.

Step 5 - write descriptions and other meta:

While the iPhone is generating the movie, I fire up my iPad and open Byword. I have a template set up for each video show and I follow this template to create a great title of the show, description and everything else. Once I’m done, I save the file in my iCloud folder and get back to the iPhone.

Step 6 - publish to YouTube:

I go to camera roll on the iPhone and watch my ready-to-be-published video again and see if it’s the way I want it. It’s never perfect but usually more than good enough. And that works for me. I click on the button ‘share’ and choose ‘publish to YouTube’. A dialog pops up where I log in to my YouTube account and I’m being asked for video details.

This is when I switch to Byword on my iPhone and go to the iCloud section and the file with description and title I created back in Step 5 on the iPad. I copy and paste the title, description and all the other details to the YouTube upload box and upload the video.

Step 7 - bonus - add a blog post:

When the video is uploading I also copy and paste the contents of the ‘description’ text file to create a blog post. Once the video is uploaded I copy the embed code and publish the blog post. Then, I also submit it to the social media.

With these short 7 steps anyone can post high-quality videos on YouTube:

Voila! My entire video show has been recorded, edited and posted thanks to my iPhone (and iPad) and my entire workflow has been reduced to just 7 simple steps. None of these steps requires a Mac or any other computer. I do everything with my ‘two portable computers’ - the iPhone and the iPad.”