For those who own a mac computer...

mthurman52

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I use photobooth to record my uke vids...but when you strum a little to hard it sounds extremely boomy. What do you guys do to record your vids on your mac?
 
Turn the input gain down or sit further away, should help.
 
I use Photo Booth to record the video, but I've started using Garage Band to record the audio. You have to have a microphone and some sort of digital audio interface - I got a fairly decent setup for $150, and you can do it much cheaper than that, I think. - You can get pretty great sound quality, I think. It only takes a few minutes to sync the audio and video with iMovie.
 
I use QuickTime to record both video and audio... and I usually use my Blue Snowball external MIC. QT gives you a lot of flexibility with the file after recording.
 
I have a man and am still confused. Nice to see the options.
 
I use iMovie instead of Photobooth to record the video.

It is important to adjust your levels correctly. Go into the Audio/Sound/Whatever-it's-called section of your System Preferences to adjust the input level of the mic.

You want it to be as loud as possible without "clipping". That is, the sound meter needs to move to the right as far as possible when you're playing/singing your loudest, but not so far that it constantly smashes over to the right. You want it to just sort of "tickle" the far right side every now and then. No idea if that makes any sense, but experiment with it and you'll figure it out. :)

JJ
 
Here's one setup.

You need a microphone, a 'ukulele with a pickup, or an electric 'ukulele to plug into the Mac. You need GarageBand, iMovie, and a video camera (I use a pocket Canon PowerShot in video mode. Most any current digital camera will shoot acceptable movies.). GarageBand and iMovie are bundled with the Mac - you should already have them. A tripod is helpful.

1. Shoot the video with the camera. The video is fine, but the audio will likely be unacceptable.
2. Simultaneously record the audio into your Mac using GarageBand, with the microphone or electrified 'uke.
3. You can fine-tune the audio in GarageBand with some reverb, etc. if desired. Save this audio file. You're done with GarageBand.
4. Take the video from the camera memory card, open it with iMovie.
5. Delete ("extract") the audio from this video file, then import the audio file made with GarageBand to replace it.
6. Voila!, you have the good video with the good audio in one new movie.

With iMovie, you can add titles, fades, etc. You can save the final movie in various formats and resolutions. If you first save it in the GarageBand format, you can experiment with different compressed versions to get best results with You Tube.
 
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There are lots of options with the mac.... Just to refine my answer (hope I'm not over-explaining)....

If you use the built in iSight camera & mic to capture video and audio with either iMovie or Photobooth, you can adjust the input level as described and get pretty good sound quality.

If you want better sound quality, you can get a USB stereo microphone and plug it in. In your System Preferences, change your audio input to the microphone, then record. You end up with much better quality sound. iMovie has some basic audio editing capabilities that will allow you to refine the sound a bit, but even with Photo Booth, you'll end up with better sound. This is a pretty easy option and doesn't require the extra time of syncing up the audio and video in iMovie - the two are captured together.

I like using Garage Band for the audio - you can do multiple tracks and use all of their preset equalizers and effects to really fine-tune the sound. I also have to do this because I don't have a stereo USB mic - I have a fairly nice analog mic, so I just got a digital audio interface which allows me to plug it in to the mac, but the signal into the computer is mono, not stereo. I have to use Garage Band to process the recording to get a stereo finished product. The interface has other advantages, though - it serves as a preamp and also allows me to record any analog instrument with a 1/4 audio out, so I can get a good signal for my guitar, bass, keyboard, etc. This is where you end up with separate video and audio that takes a little work (it's pretty quick, though) to integrate using iMovie. Also, to clarify - you really need an external microphone for this - either a USB stereo mic or an analog mic w/ an interface.

If you want to keep it simple, just turn down the input level and rock out.

If you want to spend a little ($50-$100 minimum) to get a much better sound, pick up a USB stereo mic.

If you want to be able to record other instruments and have a few more options, pick up an interface. This (LINK) is what I've got and it's extremely easy to use.

I'm certainly no expert - I just really started doing this stuff the last month or two - but here are two example to compare.

Recorded this one using the iSight camera and built in mic - I didn't have the input level low enough, so it clips pretty bad.....:




This one uses the external mic with the sound mixed in Garage Band. It took me about 15 minutes to sync up everything and do final processing with iMovie. (I still had the recording level a bit high, so there's a little clipping.... I was just too lazy to go back and fix it).



hope this helps.....
 
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I use iMovie. At first I used photobooth but was annoyed that the image was reversed. I think iMovie sounds better and also has a better picture quality. Lately though, I have been using my iPhone to do videos. It has surprisingly good video and audio quality.
 
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