Xuul's Video Making Suggestions

 

Part 1 Recording

 

Hello everyone and welcome to another blog post.
This post was inspired bu SithHolocron's blog post HERE. Originally I tried to write a lot more, but that didn't work out. I will eventually get around to reworking and posting the rest.

 

This write-up is intended to go alongside a few videos I intend to make on this topic. The first (hastily put together) video is

for your viewing pleasure. I also recorded a video of myself editing the first video if you are interested in me editing a video in real time. That meta video will be available HERE

 

Before we start I am going to preemptively answer a few questions

 

Who are you?
Xuul. I make Youtube videos mainly focusing on video game modding (particularly Star Wars games) and more generally on PC related topics. I love technology

 

What makes you qualified to write this post?
Put simply. I’m not.
I HAVE made over 400 videos for Yotube and many other in the past as well. I have nearly 4500 subscribers and 1,000,000 views on Youtube. I’d like to think my work is high quality but it depends on the project and how much time I’ve really had.

 

What software do you use?
I record video using DxTory and Bandicam. I edit and record audio using Audacity. I edit my videos using Sony Movie Studio Platinum 12

 

Can you shout out a video I made?
No.

 

Can I ask you for advice or help with my project?
It never hurts to ask.

 

 

 

Now that all that is out of the way… Let’s get started!

 

Recording Software
I’m going to assume if you are reading this you at least have a vague video of what you want to make into a video. If not, then go do that first. You will need at least some kind of plan on what you want to do.
Once you have a plan you are going to need to record your raw audio. To do that we are going to need…. SOFTWARE.
Here is a list of thing you can use to record with some Pros and Cons.

 

Fraps: The most well-known recording software.
Pros: Easy to set up. High quality video.
Cons: Degrades performance in game more than alternatives. Cannot change codec. Large file sizes. Desktop recording not initiative. Only one audio source.

 

Bandicam: Lighter weight alternative to fraps.
Pros: Can change codec. Allows for two audio sources. Built in webcam overlay. Built in desktop recording. High quality video.
Cons: Cost.

 

Dxtory: Priced similarly to Fraps. This program allows for much more customization
Pros: Can customize nearly everything. Allows for multiple audio sources. Priced the same as Fraps. Quality depends on settings/codec
Cons: Hard to set up. Audio must be set up before each session. Cannot record Desktop easily.

 

CamStudio: A program that can record either your entire screen or a select area of it
Pros: Free
Cons: 2GB file limit. Poor Quality. Very high performance impact.

 

Nvidia Shadowplay: Built in software with Nvida’s newest GPU’s
Pro: Free . Very low performance impact. Good Quality
Cons: One audio source. Must have NVidia GPU

 

Audacity: A powerful audio recorder/editor.
Pros: Free. Allows for background noise cancellation. Very powerful.
Cons: Cannot record video. Cannot automatically sync with recording. No hotkey support in game.

 

These are not the only options available, just the ones I am familiar with.

 

The Importance of Audio sources

 

Some people may be wonder what is meant by audio sources.

 

When recording live commentary it is important to have the System sound (AKA Game sound) and the sound from your Mic to be separate. This will allow you to balance the audio so an explosion in a game will not down out your talking or loud talking to cause the viewer to not hear the game.

 

For software that has multiple sources simply set one source to your Mic and another to system sound. If the software only has one audio source I suggest you set it to ONLY record the game audio. Do NOT mix in the sound of your mic with the game sound. Instead use Audacity or similar program and record the Voice over separate. This is the main reason I do not use Shadowplay, since having to sync the audio in post is annoying.

 

Codecs

 

If the software you use supports custom codecs USE THEM. They are generally higher quality, lower performance and often smaller filesized in the end than the stock codec. In particular I suggest the Lagarith Lossless Codec. It is the best balance of quality and filesize out of anything I have found and is the only reason my hard drive are not constantly full.

 

I plan to continue the blog in the future and talk a bit more about things like hardware, editing and possibly how to set up the software mentioned above. For now....

 

I have been Xuul & I hope you have an excellent day.