Nicole Rafiee has been across the block on YouTube. The 25 year-old creator made her first channel in center college, and after deleting her channel a couple of instances (she wasn’t thrilled when her highschool’s soccer crew discovered it), she began severely posting to YouTube her sophomore yr of school.
Lately, she’d have much more issue if she felt like deleting her channel when somebody in her actual life discovered it. She’s garnered an viewers of 1.07 million subscribers on YouTube, thanks partly to her “Chronically Online Girl explains” collection, which covers all the pieces from Ariana Grande to the Frenemies lore.
Credit score: Mashable Composite: Zooey Liao/ Picture Credit score: Getty Pictures/ Amazon/ Canon/ Nicole Rafiee’s Instagram
We caught up along with her at VidCon 2025 to get the news on what she makes use of nowadays to streamline her content material creation course of — and to learn the way precisely she manages to get file her and Jake Thatcher’s Discuss Nasty to Me podcast in her bathtub.
A stable state drive
When Rafiee first began out with movies, she bumped into some tech points proper off the bat, “I was like, why is my computer running at like the speed of nothing? And why is my computer as hot as an oven right now — like, I could actually make a pancake on it because it’s so hot and I have like, third degree burns on my lap because of this.”
The answer? A stable state drive to retailer her many hours of footage. She says she’s collected six over time — at about $99 a chunk, it is undoubtedly cheaper than shopping for a wholly new laptop computer (and allows you to keep away from some tech waste).
“ Everybody should get an SSD if they want to content create — not everything needs to live off of your computer or phone,” she mentioned. “I say that as I have literally 85,000 photos on my phone. I should take my own advice.”
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A Sony digicam made for creators
Rafiee is not precisely a fan of all merchandise catered towards creators: “Sometimes when brands are like ‘this product is made for creators,’ it’s like, okay, this sucks,” she mentioned. “And it just comes in like pink or something and they’re like, ‘This is it!’ and I’m like, ‘alright I don’t need all that.'”
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The Sony ZV-1 would not fall into that class, fortunately. Rafiee informed us it is the digicam she’s used the longest, largely as a result of it is so person pleasant and versatile: she makes use of it for all the pieces from filming her podcast to vlogging in her automotive.
An amazing video mild (actually)
“ I do care a lot about lighting in my videos because I feel like I have to set a vibe. I don’t like a harsh lighting, I want it to look like I’m literally in my house,” Rafiee mentioned.
This key mild from GVM helps her do exactly that. She likes it as a result of it is easy to regulate the heat, it is moveable, and it might mimic the sunshine of the solar to set the proper atmosphere.
Bose headphones
Rafiee has been utilizing the Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones for years. “ They are my true ride or die. I just replaced the padding in them because they were just deteriorating so bad from my own sweat,” she informed us.
Sadly, Bose phased out that precise mannequin, however the almost an identical Bose QuietComfort headphones are nonetheless out there for buy.
Acoustic foam for soundproofing
Rafiee did not say precisely which acoustic foam she makes use of, however she did cite it as a vital a part of her podcast setup. It is sensible, contemplating she and her co-host Jake Thatcher sit in an empty tub to file it.
It might be a problem for even probably the most seasoned audio engineer, and Rafiee would not count on the episodes to sound like they’re in a studio: “It’ll never get there because at the end of the day we are in a ceramic room. But [the foam] does make it a lot better.” Positioned simply out of digicam line, the froth works alongside some pillows within the tub and rugs on the ground.
Honorable point out: A wellness routine
Rafiee’s final important is a strict wellness routine. “I need to be like in like 10 out of 10 health in order to make a video,” she mentioned. She got here to the conclusion after she discovered herself throwing up and coping with migraines constantly whereas filming her “Chronically Online” collection, after hours of standing underneath the lights and never getting sufficient sleep.
Whereas not a bodily product, it is a good reminder that getting loads of relaxation and taking good care of your self are simply as vital as any recording tools or enhancing software program.
Mashable will likely be stay at Anaheim Conference Heart this week protecting VidCon 2025. Examine again within the days forward at Mashable.com, the place we’ll be speaking to your favourite creators, protecting the newest traits, and sharing how creators are rising their followings, their affect, and making a residing on-line.
