SBweekly.tv - Episode 2
My favourite channels to watch on YouTube!

So you plan to finish the Internet and you wonder:"what else could I watch"?

Hello, my friends, I'm Stephan Bollinger and I hope you're doing well. Now it doesn't matter if you're in lockdown right now or if you just have a lot of time on your hands, or you wonder: "what else could I watch"? I thought today I'll share with you some of my favourite YouTube channels and explain to you why I watch them and why I love them.

Before we go there I quickly have to explain two terms that I use. One is called "B-roll" and the other one is "Color grading". If these are terms that you understand, you know what they mean - well - skip forward a little bit. But if they mean nothing to you, let me explain:

Let's say I talk about New York like I did in my video last week - I talk about New York and walking down the streets and this and that and the other, about 10 - 15 seconds into my speech you get bored and it's (you know) all you have to see is this face. So - instead - I use B-roll on top of my voice so that you get an impression of what I'm actually talking about. Now some of the channels that I'll show you use B-roll extensively, and of course it's very time consuming to produce this but it really lifts the production value of a video. The other thing is "Color Grading". Let's go back to that clip from New York. When you just look at it as it was filmed, well it's okay but as soon as you colour grade it "whoo", it's like magic. Doesn't that look so much nicer? Early morning, the sun is coming in… Well, again, that's production value and this is something that you pick up. Maybe if you don't edit video yourself, you don't realize how much time and effort goes into each episode that some of these people produce but it is a big difference.

So - without further ado, here are some of my favourites, so let's jump onto the computer and have a look.

Where to start? Well, I could go in any order but what about we start with that guy… Peter McKinnon. Isn't the intro itself already awesome? "Puazzup"... I can't do this. This is for young people. But so much power, so much energy. But let's have a look at another clip... Have a look: The light in his face perfect. Then we have some nice "depth of field", it's not too creamy, not too blurry in the background but just the right amount. And then we have the blue light behind him, which is perfect with the skin tones - talking about opposite colours. This is a well-crafted shot. So - it's not just putting a webcam in front of you and pushing the record button. Nowadays, go a little bit further! And he does this so well. And the same applies to B-roll. He spent so much time creating those extra clips, those in-between cuts, to keep it interesting. If I would have to pick one of my favourite episodes it's called - I believe - "The gift of photography". Go and check him out, you'll spend hours and hours and hours on really good content.

Next one: A good friend of mine, I have to mention him: He's one of the top instructors when it comes to lightroom, photoshop and photography. It's Scott Kelby… Aside from the fact that Scott is a really nice guy, he really knows how to teach. Go and check him out, he produces videos for free as well as - of course - for his company KelbyOne, which is special for me because last time I was in the U.S. I was invited by Scott to fly down to Tampa and be part of one of their episodes of "The Grid". So, if you go and look for it - yes - somewhere you will find "yours truly"…

Well then - let's move to England to our friend Glyn Dewis… He is an expert when it comes to photoshop and retouching - besides the fact that he's also a pretty amazing photographer! He has this style, these colours that he uses in his own photos, looks amazing. He also creates this series of taking photos of world war II veterans and he shares so many intricate tips. So go and have a look at the incredible amount of awesome tutorials that Glyn shares.

Another human I look up to is Chase Jarvis. He himself is an incredible lifestyle photographer, but his stream is about a lot more … His talks are deep and meaningful and positive and absolutely worth having a look. And his company of course "Creative Live" is the other thing to look at. Go and check out Chase Jarvis and mainly - what I think - his talks which are so so deep and very very motivating and inspiring.

This is a clip from my next one on the list, which is my friend Trey Ratcliff. Trey is known for his HDR photography, but of course, there's a lot more to this interesting character. He travels the world (being a travel photographer) and shares his experiences, he shows you where he was and it's a great way to escape sometimes. And right now - we're all stuck at home anyway - so go and check out Trey's channel and follow him around the globe and see all those beautiful places that he visits.

And then we come to Mr. "Ten million followers" on YouTube… I have to admit I'm a big geek when it comes to technology: I love it. This man - he shares all the ins and outs of new tech, new gear and also has some interesting interviews with luminaries out there - so if you love tech if you love geeking out, this is your man!

And then we come to "The Art of Photography"… I find it interesting to hear what other people think, how other people approach photography or videography and I think it's quite helpful to not just stick to what you do, but be open-minded and have a look and listen to how other people see it. So: The Art of Photography, another stream absolutely worth watching.

A completely different story - as you might know, I love Audio, I have been a musician, I still compose, I still produce music, and I follow Peter DelGaudio, which has a stream called "The Booth junky". He's a voice-over artist and because he's quite known by now, he is in the lucky position that people send him different microphones and he tests them one versus one against microphones that we already know. And very often - as it is the case with most gear - the most expensive is not always the best. So if that's something that interests you, go and find the "Booth Junky".

As with all those channels mentioned - of course - I put the link in the description below, so you don't have to go and search, but just click on it and enjoy. You will kill so much time!

Now - there's two more: The second last is a good friend of mine and I'm not talking about his YouTube channel but his website. His name is Emil Bilinski. When I saw his photos for the first time I thought "ok I'll better throw my camera away and become a butcher or a baker or something". His stuff is so good, it's painfully good. So go and check out Emil. I met him - we both flew to New Zealand to talk at a big photo conference and we spent a lot of time outside of the building just chatting and (you know) changing ideas, and he has become a good friend of mine. So go and check his stuff out, it blows your mind.

The last thing of course - if you feel like it - go and have a look at my photography. Do me a big favour though, go and check out my stuff first and then look at Emil's, because otherwise, I lose big time. And that would be painful ;)

Anyway, that's my little list for things to watch. If you dive in you will kill so much time and hopefully really enjoy it, and learn a bunch as well. That's it for me for this week.

Next week I will dive in on - how do I phrase this - a very technical topic in photography. Something that is fascinating, but I'm not entirely sure if it's true. I'm talking about "Lens Compression". So we will dive into it have a good look at it, how it works, why it works if it actually works, and what's going on.

Well, that's it for this week. Stay safe, stay home, be healthy, look after yourself - oh - and one more thing: As always - don't forget to subscribe, click the little bell icon if you like it, why don't you leave a lovely comment below, if you feel like it. Alright - stay safe - I see you next week. 

Missed my first two episodes?
What is it all about (Episode Zero): https://youtu.be/Dk-zn9unvbA
Episode1: “New York City”: https://youtu.be/RyLt0zqHBxs

What to support me creating more awesome videos? https://bit.ly/2UV1huX

The music I use: https://bit.ly/2UznQ8d

SUBSCRIBE & STAY UP2DATE:  https://bit.ly/3bsNUIY

CHANNELS MENTIONED…

PETER MCKINNON
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3DkFux8Iv-aYnTRWzwaiBA

Watch: “The Gift of Photography”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GpjDIfn8l0

SCOTT KELBY
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCROUaTBLRzgRgJRGQesqV9g

KELBYONE
https://www.youtube.com/user/kelbymediagroup

Watch: (When Scott makes fun of my name “SNL” style)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGAxe5jR4Hs

GLYN DEWIS
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9eJ0QMxVANECYICsnM1yzA

CHASE JARVIS
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp8mr0kjVyVAmvexLDqB60A

TREY RATCLIFF
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh7J8gbYMv_Dt4cThLRZJEQ

MARQUES BROWNLEE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBJycsmduvYEL83R_U4JriQ

Ted Forbes  / THE ART OF PHOTOGRAPH
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7T8roVtC_3afWKTOGtLlBA

Mike DelGaudio / BOOTH JUNKIE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHHf1h8k7MA6-AG8FXjnQSw

EMIL BILINSKI
https://www.emilbilinski.com