Recording Set Up

I'm not real sure on the video side, but for audio recording it's hard to beat Reaper. IMHO the only feature that Pro Tools has that Reaper doesn't is the ability to severely drain bank accounts. I've been using it exclusively for about four years and don't miss Pro Tools even a little.
 
When I was using Windows, I found Windows Movie Maker that came bundled with Windows was perfectly adequate for the type of videos we make for the Seasons. Is it still bundled with Windows or is it one of those programs that Win8 removed? I believe it's now called Windows Live Movie Maker and last time I saw it it had a lot more functionality than the version I used back in those days on WinXP.
 
yeah windows live movie maker still comes with laptops etc or you can download it, i find it very limited and frustrating has an awful tendency to crash alot, but im also a techno phobe lol you cant multi track with movie maker or put a video into a video, i have sonar cakewalk home recording studio on my laptop but never used it as i cant understand it and the tutorials that came with it arent the same version, all my videos are just raw old me and my uke hence no tidying up or hiding my limited abilties or lack of them :)
 
Unlike Ukeleledaveey, the attic man, I have used Windows Live Music maker up until now, and find it adequate for most things, with no crashes that I can remember.

Basically I record on my ipad or android phone. I probably prefer ipad because the listen back is better than on the phone. If I want to add a second vocal etc then I either listen on on ipad thru headphones, or play on VLC media player with headphone, and record on my phone's audio recorder. I run the video thru Windows Live Movie Maker on PC , add titles etc, then add second vocal which can be positioned to within 1/10 second. This program saves as a .wmv file which was causing long uploads to youtube, so now I run it thru handbrake, with video set to 20, to make a mp4 file. I find this speeds uploads to youtube dramatically.
 
This is my current set up for what it's worth.
I have a Zoom Q3HD camcorder which has a line in port. I run my mic or mics in to a Yamaha mixer and the output of this mixer into the camcorder's line in. Like I would in a live show. After recording with the camcorder I upload the video to the computer where I edit out all the bad takes and chop off the ends. Upload it to YT. Done.

I like using the camcorder because I can do remote recordings as well. It has a good set of condenser mics so all I need is a tripod and the camera. I can then upload the video to the computer and do any editing of the video (or audio if needed).

Usually I like to keep it simple or keep it as if I were perfroming. Sometimes I get daring and do some mutli tracking but not often.
 
I'm not real sure on the video side, but for audio recording it's hard to beat Reaper. IMHO the only feature that Pro Tools has that Reaper doesn't is the ability to severely drain bank accounts. I've been using it exclusively for about four years and don't miss Pro Tools even a little.

I use Auditions because it came with my Graphic Design software, so I decided to give it a try. Also been running into trouble with a great free editor called Audacity. Many of my cross-platform foss programs haven't all been working right on my Win8.1 PC lately and my Foss video editor is Linux only...
 
If you have Linux, you could attempt to learn Cinelerra. It's rather complex though...

There are a lot more user friendly video editors in Linux than Cinelerra. I use Open Shot which easy to get started on but is more powerful than first appears.
 
Everything I know about using multitracking with video I learned from Linda Louden - credit where credit is due - she's the best and is great about sharing her knowledge. I use a really old macbook and I have a samson go mic (cheap usb mic) which is the same one Linda uses. Here is exactly how she showed me how this all works. (If you are using a PC, I am of no help)

Per Linda:

Multitrack


#1. record your song in iMovie. Doing this first helps music tracks line up correctly to your movie and mouth movement after using GB and importing back to iMovie. If you are going to add a title or transitions, now is the time to do that too because that adds seconds to the length. It is possible to do it later once your familiar with how best to line up music but its a good habit to get into cuz it saves steps.


#2. Share the movie to desktop.


#3. Open GB and Name the new project. Drag the movie into GB.


#4. After Movie has fully loaded into GB you have vocal settings to work with. On my version in the lower right you have the three buttons for media, info and loops. click on the "i" info button. I almost always use vocals- Live Performance and then click on the edit tab. Use the Compressor to can change the "gain" higher or lower if you need to. Fix these things while the music is playing to see what suits you. I always change to a lower the reverb. Usually somewhere in the 20's depending on what suits the song.


#5. Adding new tracks. Highlight the track to record your new instrument. You have to use earbuds or a head phones so it only picks up the instrument used. If you try without them it will pick up the music track too and you don't want that. Do this step for every instrument used. Sometimes I use a Bari, cajon, tambourine or a shaker and they all have a separate track of their own. You can cut and splice the track by moving the bar to a the specific spot and use "command t" to split , move the bar to a new spot, command t, highlight what you don't want and click delete. If you make an accidental delete immediately go up to edit and chose undo.


#6. Use #4 for each track.


#7. When everything is as you like, its time to close out. Click the red button to close. A message will come up to save. Chose Yes and chose Yes to save in ilife.


Now Back in iMovie!


On the left you will find Content Library. Chose GarageBand and it will load up your GB library. Find your project. Click on the plus sign and it will import under your movie and should be lined up exactly! Lower the sound on the movie track and adjust the imported track volume. Thats it! Now your ready to import back to the desktop and into youtube


Now if you want to show yourself playing a different instrument in parts of the movie here is what I do.


Click on import and turn on your camera.
Go into GB and with your earbuds on play along with the first original movie track to capture you in action. For Zipadeedoodah I filmed the slide whistle from the beginning to end of the song. In iMovie I drug just the part I wanted onto of the other movie. Made adjustments to lined it up and then imported that to GB and followed the GB directions tweaking out any bad notes, or rerecord it all together. Then in iMovie delete the old imported track if there is one and click the plus sign for the new track with the whistle.


If you're not very familiar with iMovie then this might not be real clear. Let me know and I will break it down better for you. There are different settings for dropping in new film like "side by side, blue screen, pic in pic etc". Make yourself familiar with those if your not already and this all becomes easy stuff, but can become very time consuming.

I can't use iMovie on my MacBook Pro for recording (I have version 8.0.6, aka iMovie '09). The CPU (2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB RAM) can't cope, so it drops frames/audio left right and centre. If I'm going to record direct onto my hard-drive, I use QuickTime Pro (that's QT7 – which you need to download – btw, not the QT10 that comes bundled with OS X 10.8/9/10).

I then export the audio for processing, for which I normally use Audacity (usually just to 'normalise' the volume, and maybe add a little reverb or compression). I then import the processed files back into QT and mix them into the original audio, so it doesn't sound too processed. I then export the QT file into a YT-friendly format (29.97 fps, etc) for upload. The whole editing process usually takes no more than 5 minutes.

QT7 and Audacity are available for Windows, btw.

I do use iMovie for importing/editing material I've recorded on my Sony Handycam. It's the only program I have that can 'demux' the MPEG-2 output from the camera and so import the audio as well as the video. I then go 'iMovie\Share\Export Using QT' to obtain a YT-friendly QT file for uploading.

However, I find that whenever I do go the iMovie route, the final product always gets "stuck in processing" during upload to YT, even though the settings in 'Export Using QT' are exactly the same as those I use perfectly successfully with QT Pro. Output from iMovie, even in QT format, can take literally hours to upload, even for a 3 minute clip. When it does get stuck in processing moreover, whatever sharing rights you've assigned the clip on the YT 'Edit\Info & Settings' page, those rights will be switched to 'Private' on YT's 'Video Manager' page as soon as you click 'Done'. As pabrizzer will attest, I've been caught out by this more times than I care to remember.
 
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Allen, As others have said there is no need to change to mac. If you are already using PC go and take a look at what these people are telling you for PC. Take a look at Popsters and Greenies videos. They get great stuff from their PCs and programs. Then go take a look at some of my lelouden and Wee_ginga_yin vids used with mac and decide if you see a difference or things that seem better than the other.

I have used mac for years and love it. All of the programs for video making come with a macbook. No need to buy anything extra unless you want a mic. I have a $30 mic that is smaller than a flip phone and has a long chord and a clip on the mic. The clip is great because you can clip it to your pant leg or a tree if you are making an outdoors vid....or your music stand etc.

When I started making vids I finally opened these programs on my mac and learned them. I had all this great stuff right on my mac and didn't know how useful they all are. BUT like others have said if you want to use a extra camera and buy or test new programs or add an eye cam to your system there is nothing wrong with that. I just like having my whole set up in one convenient laptop that I can take anywhere and grab one thing. The $$$ isn't for everyone! and turns a lot of people off.

Which video making programs come on a MacBook?
 
Which video making programs come on a MacBook?
Imovie and you have garage band that you can import your video into and tweak your audio. You can also add multiple tracks to your song and then use this audio for the video you recorded. It's all built into macs with no third party apps, so it all integrates easily without the constant bugs you can run into with some programs.
 
However, I find that whenever I do go the iMovie route, the final product always gets "stuck in processing" during upload to YT, even though the settings in 'Export Using QT' are exactly the same as those I use perfectly successfully with QT Pro. Output from iMovie, even in QT format, can take literally hours to upload, even for a 3 minute clip. When it does get stuck in processing moreover, whatever sharing rights you've assigned the clip on the YT 'Edit\Info & Settings' page, those rights will be switched to 'Private' on YT's 'Video Manager' page as soon as you click 'Done'. As pabrizzer will attest, I've been caught out by this more times than I care to remember.
i also use an old macbook and I can't directly upload to youtube either, so I export to my desktop, then open up youtube and drag and drop my movie file from the desktop to the youtube upload screen. It's an extra step, but it works.
 
Imovie and you have garage band that you can import your video into and tweak your audio. You can also add multiple tracks to your song and then use this audio for the video you recorded. It's all built into macs with no third party apps, so it all integrates easily without the constant bugs you can run into with some programs.

I finally got my iPhone fixed. I noticed I can get Garage Band and iMovie on my iPhone. I wonder if I would be able to do all this with a phone! That would be amazing if I could. I guess I will try it, tomorrow.
 
I use Auditions because it came with my Graphic Design software, so I decided to give it a try. Also been running into trouble with a great free editor called Audacity. Many of my cross-platform foss programs haven't all been working right on my Win8.1 PC lately and my Foss video editor is Linux only...

Adobe Audition? I used Cool Edit Pro and continued with Audition for a while after Adobe bought the program and rebranded it. It's now been tailored to work more with video than as an audio DAW. I don't use it any more for recording but occasionally use it for mastering.

Reaper is much less processor intensive and doesn't crash nearly as often. I've played with it on a Windows 8.1 all in one PC and it seems to work fine. My main recording rig is still XP though.
 
i also use an old macbook and I can't directly upload to youtube either, so I export to my desktop, then open up youtube and drag and drop my movie file from the desktop to the youtube upload screen. It's an extra step, but it works.

Sorry if I wasn't clear before. I wasn't talking about exporting directly from iMovie to YT (that ship sailed once Google dropped YT usernames for G+ ones). I meant that the iMovie file that I've saved on the desktop always gets 'stuck in processing' once I've opened up YT and dragged & dropped.

I have to go one extra step. Open the iMovie export in QT, and then export it as a .mov a 2nd time. I don't know what it is, but there's something that iMovie leaves in the wrapper somewhere that YT just doesn't like.
 
Reaper is much less processor intensive and doesn't crash nearly as often. I've played with it on a Windows 8.1 all in one PC and it seems to work fine. My main recording rig is still XP though.

+1 for Reaper... which I also run on XP on an old dedicated laptop. I think it really helps to juice up an old computer and JUST use it for recording. It really helps with latency etc. And switch off the sound card, screen savers etc, disconnect it from the web and such so you don't get any interruptions at a critical moment.
 
Sorry if I wasn't clear before. I wasn't talking about exporting directly from iMovie to YT (that ship sailed once Google dropped YT usernames for G+ ones). I meant that the iMovie file that I've saved on the desktop always gets 'stuck in processing' once I've opened up YT and dragged & dropped.

I have to go one extra step. Open the iMovie export in QT, and then export it as a .mov a 2nd time. I don't know what it is, but there's something that iMovie leaves in the wrapper somewhere that YT just doesn't like.

Turns out, from the discussions over in Season 160.1 and the experiments that I have done since, that what I need to do, once I've finished with the audio, is to export the edited movie to a QT.mov and then export that movie to a QT.mp4. If I leave it (or re-export it) as a QT.movie, the exported product is some 450%-500% larger than the original.

If I go direct to .mp4, the upload ends up looking really pixellated and grainy. Exporting the bloated exported product from QT.mov to QT.mp4 reduces the file size to approx that of the original, w/o degrading the video quality of the upload. The .mp4 as it appears on my computer is still really pixellated & grainy, but the video quality in the uploaded .mp4 is just fine.

From then on, the upload is only a matter of a few minutes.


So, those steps in full:

1) Original file recorded in QT (with size, say, of 47MB)

2) Edited original file exported from 'Movie to QT Movie' OR file exported from iMovie via QT (size increases to 240MB)

3) Exported (240MB) file exported (again) from 'Movie to MPEG-4' (size reduces to 14MB)

4) MPEG-4 output looks grainy/pixellated. Uploaded MPEG-4 looks fine.

If I miss out step 2, however, the uploaded file looks horrible. Still sounds horrible of course, whatever steps I take, but that's the ol' GIGO at work :)
 
Everything I know about using multitracking with video I learned from Linda Louden - credit where credit is due - she's the best and is great about sharing her knowledge. I use a really old macbook and I have a samson go mic (cheap usb mic) which is the same one Linda uses. Here is exactly how she showed me how this all works. (If you are using a PC, I am of no help)

Per Linda:

Multitrack


#1. record your song in iMovie. Doing this first helps music tracks line up correctly to your movie and mouth movement after using GB and importing back to iMovie. If you are going to add a title or transitions, now is the time to do that too because that adds seconds to the length. It is possible to do it later once your familiar with how best to line up music but its a good habit to get into cuz it saves steps.


#2. Share the movie to desktop.


#3. Open GB and Name the new project. Drag the movie into GB.


#4. After Movie has fully loaded into GB you have vocal settings to work with. On my version in the lower right you have the three buttons for media, info and loops. click on the "i" info button. I almost always use vocals- Live Performance and then click on the edit tab. Use the Compressor to can change the "gain" higher or lower if you need to. Fix these things while the music is playing to see what suits you. I always change to a lower the reverb. Usually somewhere in the 20's depending on what suits the song.


#5. Adding new tracks. Highlight the track to record your new instrument. You have to use earbuds or a head phones so it only picks up the instrument used. If you try without them it will pick up the music track too and you don't want that. Do this step for every instrument used. Sometimes I use a Bari, cajon, tambourine or a shaker and they all have a separate track of their own. You can cut and splice the track by moving the bar to a the specific spot and use "command t" to split , move the bar to a new spot, command t, highlight what you don't want and click delete. If you make an accidental delete immediately go up to edit and chose undo.


#6. Use #4 for each track.


#7. When everything is as you like, its time to close out. Click the red button to close. A message will come up to save. Chose Yes and chose Yes to save in ilife.


Now Back in iMovie!


On the left you will find Content Library. Chose GarageBand and it will load up your GB library. Find your project. Click on the plus sign and it will import under your movie and should be lined up exactly! Lower the sound on the movie track and adjust the imported track volume. Thats it! Now your ready to import back to the desktop and into youtube


Now if you want to show yourself playing a different instrument in parts of the movie here is what I do.


Click on import and turn on your camera.
Go into GB and with your earbuds on play along with the first original movie track to capture you in action. For Zipadeedoodah I filmed the slide whistle from the beginning to end of the song. In iMovie I drug just the part I wanted onto of the other movie. Made adjustments to lined it up and then imported that to GB and followed the GB directions tweaking out any bad notes, or rerecord it all together. Then in iMovie delete the old imported track if there is one and click the plus sign for the new track with the whistle.


If your not very familiar with iMovie then this might not be real clear. Let me know and I will break it down better for you. There are different settings for dropping in new film like "side by side, blue screen, pic in pic etc". Make yourself familiar with those if your not already and this all becomes easy stuff, but can become very time consuming.

Wow, a tutorial - I didn't know I needed this but I certainly did! Thanks.
 
Turns out, from the discussions over in Season 160.1 and the experiments that I have done since, that what I need to do, once I've finished with the audio, is to export the edited movie to a QT.mov and then export that movie to a QT.mp4. If I leave it (or re-export it) as a QT.movie, the exported product is some 450%-500% larger than the original.

If I go direct to .mp4, the upload ends up looking really pixellated and grainy. Exporting the bloated exported product from QT.mov to QT.mp4 reduces the file size to approx that of the original, w/o degrading the video quality of the upload. The .mp4 as it appears on my computer is still really pixellated & grainy, but the video quality in the uploaded .mp4 is just fine.

From then on, the upload is only a matter of a few minutes.


So, those steps in full:

1) Original file recorded in QT (with size, say, of 47MB)

2) Edited original file exported from 'Movie to QT Movie' OR file exported from iMovie via QT (size increases to 240MB)

3) Exported (240MB) file exported (again) from 'Movie to MPEG-4' (size reduces to 14MB)

4) MPEG-4 output looks grainy/pixellated. Uploaded MPEG-4 looks fine.

If I miss out step 2, however, the uploaded file looks horrible. Still sounds horrible of course, whatever steps I take, but that's the ol' GIGO at work :)

Try Handbrake
 
+1 for Handbrake

I use video setting around 20, but more could be possible
 
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