📅 Monday, 25-08-25

My Full Process to make a YouTube video

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I’ve been making videos for 30 months now 🤯

Over this time I've pieced together a process that feels simple enough to repeat, yet strong enough to carry the whole channel.

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It wasn’t designed in one sitting.

It’s a patchwork of trial, error, and many late nights fixing problems I didn’t know I was creating.

But having a clear structure has made the difference between “thinking about making a video” and actually shipping one (almost) every week.

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Here’s what my process looks like now, it's 14 steps so strap in.
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1. Capture ideas as titles

I log ideas as Titles in a Notion table that is part of a whole system made in Notion which I cloned from Ali Abdaal (I've hired Tintin Smith - the former YouTube producer of Ali - as a coach to improve my YouTube skills and this came form him).

2. Expand title into age

When I pick one title I like, I expand it into a Notion page that auto-adds a bunch of attributes like title length, thumbnail text, alternative title options, intro guidelines and some reminders / checklists so that I don't miss anything.

3. Make Thumbnails

Before I write, I plan the thumbnails.
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I shoot them with the same camera and color grade I’ll use for the video, then pull them into Canva to add text or adjust cropping.

Then I upload the final 3 in the Notion page of that video to have them neatly visible and top of mind.
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I always try to do three so that I can use split test feature of YouTube to find the best performing one (and try to learn why).

Sometimes they’re completely different concepts, sometimes just different text on the same image.
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Here's an example of a video that is currently at this stage of the process:

4. Write the first 30-60s

The intro needs to do 2 things:

1. match the promise of the title and thumbnail,
2. clearly set up what’s coming next.

That's it.

Ideally this is done in the least time as possible, while still being very clear, but I always struggle to keep it under a minute...

Still working on it :)

5. Write Script

Once the intro is solid, I build out the rest.

I try to keep sentences short and easy to follow.

Each point should lead naturally into the next, almost like a chain of cause and effect.

I also make sure not to circle back on the same idea too many times.

Twice is enough.

Less and you often don't get the point across. Any more, and it feels repetitive.

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6. Record voice only

I open a timeline in DaVinci Resolve and read the script out loud, word for word.

My focus here is just on clear pronunciation and intonation.

Because I tend to speak slowly, I then speed this track up by 1.15x to keep the pacing tight.

You'll see what this is for in step 9.

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7. Add Music

At this point I bring in music.

Sometimes to mark a new section, other times just to set the right mood.

DaVinci’s AI “Live Trim” feature is great here - it lets me stretch or shorten a track without breaking the rhythm of the beats.

Lately I've tried to use less music, because I realised I was becoming dependent on it for every section of the video.

But good videos should work well even without a score, so I will be forcing myself to try and rely on it less.

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8. Set-up A-Roll cinematic shot

I set up the shot with cinematic lighting.

That part could be its own guide, there's a lot of techniques that I learned here and there from the filmography courses I took on skillshare as well as video tutorials on youtube and also paying attention in movies.

But essentially it's all in controlling the lighting of the space and of the person individually.

I like warm tones.

I also like to use plants.

9. Perform to the guide track

With everything ready, I put my AirPods in, press record on the camera, and play back the voice track I recorded earlier.

This way, I don’t have to think about intonation - I can hear it in my ear.

All I need to focus on is body language and delivery.

It might sound strange, but it is so much better than reading off notes or of a teleprompter for me, and it helps me make sure what I say is clear, value rich, and well delivered.

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10. Auto-clean with Intelliscript

Back in DaVinci, I import the recording and run it through the “Intelliscript” AI tool. It automatically cuts silences, removes filler words, and deletes retakes. That single step saves me one to two hours every video.

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11. Plan B-roll with markers

I watch the edit through and drop markers wherever B-roll is needed. I keep it simple with three categories:

• White = recording info on screen of my laptop or phone
• Pink = hand-drawn paper cutouts to emphasize key points
• Blue = any extra scenes I need to film indoors or outdoors

12. Shoot B-roll in focused sessions

I film each category in its own dedicated session.

Usually about an hour each, often spread over different days.

That way I don’t burn myself out by trying to capture everything in one go.

I then label the shots that are good, scrap the rest and import everything that needs editing in a single B-Roll folder for that video.

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13. Mix the audio

I balance all the audio tracks, add sound effects, and double-check that the music sits lower than I instinctively want. (It’s easy to drown yourself out if you don’t.)

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14. Export, Prepare and Schedule

Finally, I export the video in 4K and upload it to YouTube.

I whitelist the music on whichever platform I used - Epidemic Sound, MusicBed, or Tom Fox’s library.

Then I upload the three thumbnails for split testing.

I write the description, making sure I include a link to the free resource I’m giving away (I always write a resource for each video).

Finally, I schedule the video for Friday at 3pm UK time.

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And that's it!!
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Phew.. that took a while.

I hope you found it interesting and learned something.

I you did reply to this email saying "TIL" (today I learned)

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🫶

See you next Monday,

Massa
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⸻

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P.s.

Was a public holiday here in the UK.
I spent it repotting, trying to save my plant. (I'm not good with plants... 🥲)

What the hell is this tiny tool for?

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