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 just a few instances (she wasn’t thrilled when her highschool’s soccer workforce discovered it), she began severely posting to YouTube her sophomore 12 months of faculty.
Lately, she’d have much more problem 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 partially to her “Chronically Online Girl explains” series, which covers every little thing from Ariana Grande to the Frenemies lore.
Credit score: Mashable Composite: Zooey Liao/ Picture Credit score: Getty Photographs/ Amazon/ Canon/ Nicole Rafiee’s Instagram
We caught up together with her at VidCon 2025 to get the inside track on what she makes use of lately to streamline her content material creation course of — and to learn the way precisely she manages to document her and Jake Thatcher’s Talk Nasty to Me podcast in her bathtub.
A transportable SSD
When Rafiee first began out with movies, she bumped into some tech points proper off the bat.
“I used to be like, why is my pc working at just like the pace of nothing? And why is my pc as scorching as an oven proper now? Like, I may truly make a pancake on it as a result of it is so scorching and I’ve, like, third diploma burns on my lap due to this.”
The answer? A strong state drive (SSD) 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 completely new laptop computer (and allows you to keep away from some tech waste).
“ All people ought to get an SSD in the event that they wish to (create content material) — not every little thing must stay off of your pc or telephone,” she mentioned. “I say that as I’ve actually 85,000 pictures on my telephone. I ought to take my very own recommendation.”
A Sony digital camera made for creators
Rafiee is not precisely a fan of all merchandise catered towards creators: “Typically when manufacturers are like, ‘this product is made for creators,’ it is like, okay, this sucks,” she mentioned. “And it simply is available in, like, pink or one thing and so they’re like, ‘That is it!’ and I am like, ‘alright I do not want all that.'”
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The Sony ZV-1 does not fall into that class, fortunately. Rafiee advised us it is the digital camera she’s used the longest, largely as a result of it is so user-friendly and versatile: she makes use of it for every little thing from filming her podcast to vlogging in her automotive.
An important video gentle (actually)
“ I do care lots about lighting in my movies as a result of I really feel like I’ve to set a vibe. I do not like a harsh lighting; I need it to seem like I am actually in my home,” Rafiee mentioned.
This key gentle from GVM helps her just do that. She likes it as a result of it is simple to regulate the heat, it is transportable, and it might probably 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’re my true trip or die. I simply changed the padding in them as a result of they had been simply deteriorating so unhealthy from my very own sweat,” she advised us.
Sadly, Bose phased out that actual mannequin, however the almost an identical Bose QuietComfort headphones are nonetheless obtainable for buy.
Acoustic foam for soundproofing
Rafiee did not say precisely which acoustic foam she makes use of, however she did cite it as an important a part of her podcast setup. It is sensible, contemplating she and her co-host Jake Thatcher sit in an empty tub to document it.
It would be a problem for even essentially the most seasoned audio engineer, and Rafiee does not count on the episodes to sound like they’re in a studio: “It’s going to by no means get there as a result of on the finish of the day we’re in a ceramic room. However [the foam] does make it lots higher.” Positioned simply out of digital camera 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 must be (in) 10 out of 10 well being in an effort to make a video,” she mentioned. She got here to the belief after she discovered herself throwing up and coping with migraines constantly whereas filming her “Chronically On-line” sequence, 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 caring for your self are simply as vital as any recording tools or enhancing software program.
Mashable was stay at Anaheim Conference Middle masking VidCon 2025. Verify again at Mashable.com, the place we’ll be speaking to your favorite creators, masking the newest traits, and sharing how creators are rising their followings, their affect, and making a residing on-line.
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