How to work the caméra?

I wasn't sure where to post this, so it's ending up in the clusterpineapple that is Shenanigans. I've been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting over my personal life for the past several months, because jesus I have nothing else to do right now. I quit my job to go on a bike tour back in July, but I just recently finished the massive amounts of work on my bike within the past week. It's already getting very cold where I live, so training for a tour every day isn't such a great option, so I spend a lot of my time inside (on the computer, duh). Over the past two weeks, I have watched INSANE amounts of current Youtube celebrities, trying to see how they got started and what techniques they used to make them fun and unique. I think I want to jump into this world of entertainment, but moreso for myself right now rather than trying to entertain other people. I have struggled with mild depression for around a year and a half now, and I really need to be okay with myself at this point in time, and learning skills like being in front of a camera and practicing writing a script for a show would really help my self-esteem, I feel. So my idea is this:

Many of my current favorite Youtubers do something unique with their show, and I feel like I've found something niche that no one else does currently (or at least no one my age on Youtube). I've taken to studying the art of food preservation, starting many months ago at a class I attended. I'm completely fascinated with food science right now, and I hope to go to school to study it further once I settle down somewhere. I can make jellies, jams, pickles and a plethora of other things, and it all comes very naturally to me, since I like to mess around in the kitchen in the first place. I want to an instructional video, but while I imbibe, ala My Drunk Kitchen (FOLLOW YOUR HARTO, KIDS). At one point in time, I also wanted to do cocktail tutorials featuring drinks from thedrunkenmoogle.com, but I have yet to receive any response from the team over there, so it's on the backburner. I have all of the resources available to do a weekly or bi-weekly episode, except I DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET STARTED! The only things I currently have as far as recording equipment is a Logitech webcam that records in 720p, and an HTC One M7 phone. No cameras, no microphones, no lighting equipment, no tripods, nothing fancy. I also have no idea about what kind of software I will need to get my hands on for editing. I think I have a copy of Sony Vegas Pro lying around somewhere, but I never really used it for anything.

Does anyone have experience producing Youtube videos? Anything from vlogs to interviews to collaborations, it doesn't matter as anything will help. I do have a friend who does short vlog-style videos and I will be meeting with him this weekend to discuss everything and get tips, but I thought I would also reach out to you guys, because I know y'all have experience in a lot of different mediums, and I thought Youtube might be one of them. If you have any recommendations on software, hardware, recording locations, topics of discussion, show ideas or themes, ANYTHING please let me know. I would forever be grateful!

I imagine @Zelkova; might have some tips.

This seems like an interesting idea to start with at least while you learn some techniques. If you get famous don't forget to remember your old friends here!

Well, maybe he will respond at some point. I currently do random Twitch streams for LoL and various other games, but they are so infrequent because it's hard to get my team together and I feel like I would do better if I were to do something I could edit.

I won't get famous, but I will never forget my fellow Southperrians!

I'm not sure what kind of equipment you might need for a show requiring you to be standing up and moving around. For that kind of stuff maybe take a look at what MKHBD uses? http://amzn.com/lm/R3B571T7PT4PWM (Although he is already well established and has boatloads of cash.)

Streaming from your PC I find that I prefer the Logitech C920 over anything else for just the camera. http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Webca.../dp/B006JH8T3S
I've purchased multiple $300+ headsets and continually return back to my Plantronics Gamecom 780 headset. This is because it has virtual 7.1 surround sound built in, a clear mic, and just runs off USB. http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-Ga...ds=gamecom+780

If you want to work with a condenser mic, most people run with a Blue Yeti or a Blue Snowball. I've heard good things about Rode mics though as well, I even know that Nexon uses one.

Spoiler

http://i.imgur.com/AhC5MU6.jpg

It looks like she is using a Rode NT1-A on that mount.

For software I use Vegas for basic editing. If I need anything special I'll open my creative suite for AE or Premiere Pro. The pros use Premiere Pro but really they both have similar feature sets.

In the end, its needless to say that it takes money to get into the biz. Luckily I don't have many expenses since I just record game footage.

Okay, this may be a crazy idea, but would it be possible to use a GoPro (with fisheye removed) to film? I only ask this because I'm leaning towards getting a GoPro for filming parts of bicycle touring so that family and friends can see the places I go, rather than just read about them on my blog. I think the cost is prohibitive for me if I were to use it solely for action footage, but if I were able to make it multi-purpose for filming a show as well, that really makes it more appealing. I know I won't have control over certain things that would be really nice to have control over, but I can't justify spending tons of money on a DSLR + a great lens. I would be able to get a tripod of the camera, and use my phone as the viewfinder to frame everything. Also, those Blue Yeti microphones look very nice, and they are cheap. I think using a GoPro would be... well, not terrible, but not great. However, it would be cost efficient in getting started, plus I would be able to action shots with it as well when I travel.

Any tips on lighting? I'll have to film somewhere other than my house, because DAMN my house is dark as pomegranate 24/7.

Ohhhhh @Zelkova do you have any insight for me? I've been doing a lot of research and I'd be going after the Hero4 Silver as it suits my needs most, but the only issue I may run into is problems with focusing the camera and the depth-of-field. Nothing is adjustable on the camera, so I would just have to deal with whatever the footage comes out like, which wouldn't be terrible for a beginning camera. Ideas?