Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: Video Recording

  1. #1

    Default Video Recording

    For those who want to record audio AND video of their playing (to show the rest of us here at the Row how they are progressing with TMBG) I've decided to post this bit of information on howto do this.

    Disclaimer : I will mention brands and products as examples. I mention them because that's what I use, this is not set in stone. Before you purchase anything try to get a trial version before you decide to pay.

    For example, Cubase is said to be the most popular here in Europe while ProTools is most popular in the USA (there's also Logic but that's Mac only and I'm assuming most people here use a PC). But there are a LOT of other high quality D.A.W.'s out there (D.A.W. = Digital Audio Workstation) and they all have their pro's and cons.

    So first, what do you need :
    - PC or Mac
    - An Interface (USB or Firewire)
    - Webcam
    - a D.A.W.
    - Video Editing Software
    - a Bass Guitar :-D

    To record my video's I use the software that came with my Webcam (HD Pro C910). So no need to purchase anything extra. The software fits the need perfectly. The only problem is that these cams are made for chatting like Skype which makes them not good for recording a bass guitar (and the build-in "Right-sound" makes it even worse).
    So I connect the audio-out from my DVD-Player to the input of my Interface and select the interface as the mic.
    In the picture below you'll see and example (I'm making the screenshots on another system so I'm using slightly different hardware like a lower quality webcam and other interface but the process remains the same).

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	HVR01.jpg 
Views:	317 
Size:	19.9 KB 
ID:	3865
    for some weird reason the preview of my video in in Black & White but the actual recording is in color. You'll notice that "Right-Sound" is off and Mic is set to "Balance In (Balance WDM Interface) since I'm using a Balance by Propellerheads as my Interface on this system (my video's are recorded with a Yamaha Steinberg CI2+)

    When the video is ready the software will "compress" the video because HD files are pretty large, so you can grab a cup of coffee or practice some bass.

    Next is bringing the video file into your DAW. The reason for this is that it's the easiest way to put the video and audio together later on.

    Most D.A.W.'s support video files but I prefer Sonar X3 by Cakewalk.
    Why Sonar you ask ? Here are a few reasons,
    1. Price around €100 which is fare considered what you are getting (they don't have a limited track number like most entry-level D.A.W. for example).
    2. DRM : Most D.A.W.'s come with some kind of "crippling" copy-protection. (Cubase needs a USB eLicenser that only works with their products, ProTools needs an iLok and most others also use a Dongle or Activation based on your computer hardware). When you loose or break a dongle or your PC crashes you are in bad luck since you will need to purchase a replacement dongle or send an email to allow you to activate a new computer.
    Sonar X3 (and the Studio and Producer versions) only need a Serial and Registration code. You can use these as much as you need. The only rule is that you agree to only use the software on 1 PC at a time, but if you are recording on one computer you don't have time to use Sonar on a 2nd one at the same time).
    There is also a D.A.W. called Reaper (reaper.fm) which has 2 license types personal and commercial. The software is exactly the same but they ask to register a commercial license if your revenue from the music you make with it is more than a certain amount per year. I don't know if Reaper supports video.
    But I'm getting off-topic.

    - Start a new project (empty) and add the video file
    - Add an Audio Track and set it up (set your interface input to which the bass is connected)
    - Arm the Bass track for recording.
    - start recording.
    - because you recorded the "Play-Along" track with your video file you can listen to that while recording your bass (just like when you practice with the loop-library).
    - stop recording and when you are happy with the recording remove the video track and export the audio to a WAV file.
    - Sonar can export to a Video file but when I tried it the video quality isn't that good so I'm doing it like this (if you don't want or needs HD video you can probably skip the next step and just export to a video (offcourse you don't remove the video)).

    Below is an image of how it looks in Sonar (notice there is no audio recorded from the Bass since I cannot play and take screenshots at the same time :-D You'll also see that the video is recorded elsewhere)
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	HVR02.jpg 
Views:	291 
Size:	21.3 KB 
ID:	3866

    Last thing to do is to combine audio and video and post online or share with your friends
    I'm using Cyberlink PowerDirector 12 but again if you prefer something else please use whatever you want. For me this seems like the best solution.

    - Start PowerDirector and import the video and audio files
    - after importing the files put the video file in the first video track (the audio will be automatically placed in the audio track under the video).
    - You can put the audio track you've recorded with you DAW in the next free audio track or as I did in my example add 1 audio track to the top and put the recorded audio there (both will work).

    since we've recorded the audio in Sonar in sync with the video you shouldn't need to worry about timing and it makes the editing a lot faster. You can also record the audio without importing the video file but then you'll need to sync the audio and video in Power Director later which IMHO takes a lot longer.

    - Make some adjustments if needed.
    - trim the leading and end bits you don't need
    - save export share.

    last image is the files imported and put in place in Power Director.
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	HVR03.jpg 
Views:	296 
Size:	20.4 KB 
ID:	3867

    Remember try to find trial versions of the software you intend to use and see if they do what you want and they are not too difficult to use. You can also search google for customer feedback on certain products.
    You can also ask here or on other forums about user experiences with an interface or D.A.W. you intent to purchase before going to actually get one (there is a difference in quality).

    And about user experience, the interface of Sonar X3 is made for very large screen resolutions (at least 1920x1080) My laptop (in my studio) has a lower resolution and it's hard to get everything you need to properly display on screen. Fortunately there is a free membership to Gobbler when you buy Sonar so you can sync projects between PC's so I record on my Laptop with the CI2+ interface and I edit on my desktop with the Balance interface.

    Also most interfaces come with a D.A.W. (for example my CI2+ came with Cubase Artist 6 and my Balance came with Reason Essentials, both are IMHO not as good for this as Sonar X3. Cubase is a great D.A.W. for audio only and Reason is more a "Virtual Rack" but also good for audio recording).

    Well I hope this is somewhat helpful

    edit: here are links to the 3 screenshots in Full resolution :

    http://www.patrickkox.com/HVR/HVR01.png
    http://www.patrickkox.com/HVR/HVR02.png
    http://www.patrickkox.com/HVR/HVR03.png
    Fender 2012 American Standard Precision Bass (Left-handed)
    Fender '59 Bassman LTD.









  2. #2

    Default

    Thanks guy!! And on that Right sound thing I discovered that also, NOT good for recording music, I guess it's for talking mostly, turn that thing off....
    GO LOW!!!STAY HIGH!!!ON BASS THAT IS!!!

  3. #3

    Default

    Thanks, Patrick!


    - low life -

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    2,088

    Default

    Wow! Pretty thorough Patrick.

    Now for us neophytes, can you start at the first paragraph and write that in "neophyties".

    I'm having difficulty figuring out how to simply edit a video that I imported from my Canon video camera.

    Software with nothing but an online manual or a help function really doesn't help me learn stuff.

    Not looking for answers, just complaining

    ___________________________________
    Steinberger NXT5 EUB, MTD 535 Fretless, Tobias Killer B6, 72 Fender Precision
    Eden WT500, WTX1000N & WP100, QSC PL230
    Eden D410XLT, D410XST, 215, Fender Bassman 10

  5. #5

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by TobiasMan View Post
    I'm having difficulty figuring out how to simply edit a video that I imported from my Canon video camera.
    It's not easy I agree and good manuals are sometimes hard to find.
    But I think this method is the most straight-forward as I can think of.

    WEBCAM :

    - You record the file to disc

    D.A.W.

    - Import the video in a new Sonar X3 project
    - Add a track to Sonar for your bass guitar
    - Make sure the track for your bass is "armed" for recording and record
    - Stop recording when you are done.

    next you can do a few things
    - Export it all as a Video (uploading to YouTube can be done straight from within Sonar) but when I tried the video quality was low, but it might fit your needs).
    The only problem is that I don't know howto edit the video in Sonar so unless you cut the beginning and end of your recording it's all going to be uploaded to YouTube.

    - or delete the video track and export your bass recording to a WAV file.

    POWER DIRECTOR 12

    If you don't export from Sonar to video file or YouTube do the following :

    - open Power Director 12
    - File -> Import -> Media File
    - Browse to where you recorded your video to and open that file
    - Browse to where you recorded your audio with Sonar and open that WAV file
    If you store both files in the same folder you can also select the other option to import a media folder
    - your files are added to the media brower on the top left
    - drag the video file to the bottom, it will only allow you to place it in a video track (it shows a film strip and a speaker icon) this should put the video in the video track and the audio that's recorded with the webcam in the audio track.
    - drag the audio file to the audio track underneath the video track you've just added.
    - DONE

    but again this leaves you with an unedited file with stuff before and after the actual video you want to remove so to remove them do this :

    - play the video until the point you want the recording to start. (use PAUSE not STOP since that returns you to the beginning of the timeline)
    - Select all the tracks (audio+video) by keeping the control button pressed and clicking on the tracks.
    - Around the middle of the screen (in between the media library and the timestip where you put the tracks)
    - Click split and it should cut all tracks at the same point.
    - select the stuff you want to remove and delete (you can also do this for all parts at once if you use the Control+click method).
    - I have a Dutch version so I don't know the English message you get, but when you click the trash icon you'll see a box with 3 delete options. Choose the one in the middle (or bypass the right-click menu and just do CONTROL+DELETE
    - This moves everything to the beginning of the timeline.
    - Do the same for the ending.

    Finally you save the project and click on "Produce" here you can select what you want to output to:
    - Standard 2D (various formats like AVI, MPEG, ...)
    - 3D (I'm guessing we're not going to need this)
    - Device (if you want to export for a specific device like an iPhone or X-Box)
    - Online (for exporting to YouTube, Facebook, ...)

    This is as simple as I can seem to explain it.
    Take some time to play around with the various programs you are using, most of them support Undo (pressing Control+Z) so if you make a mistake you can simply undo and try something else.

    If you are not using Sonar or PowerDirector you'll need to find out how your software works and that can be difficult sometimes. I've tried Sony Movie Studio but I find it hard to do simple cuts so I don't recommend it. People also claim that Sony Vegas is the best product (because of some advanced features) but it's probably too difficult and too expensive for basic recordings like this.

    There is also Wondershare which has some cheap video tools but I cannot comment on how good or bad they work or how easy they are (or not).
    Last edited by Patrick; 05-01-2014 at 01:24 PM.
    Fender 2012 American Standard Precision Bass (Left-handed)
    Fender '59 Bassman LTD.









  6. #6

    Default

    Oh, I forgot something that might be easier but might have a lower quality of audio.

    what you need is :
    - Interface with XLR support (Phantom power is not needed)
    - Webcam
    - Dynamic Microphone (Shure SM-57 is a popular one).
    - XLR cable :-D

    - Connect the microphone with the XLR cable to the first imput of your Interface (this is important since port 2 is not recorded this way)
    - Start you recording software
    - Select your Interface for the Mic.
    - Play and Record

    The mic will "hear" both the play-along and your bass.
    This might take some time to setup the correct volume of your TV/AMP and the correct location of the mic so you can hear the play-along AND your own playing.

    Also, the SM-57 is a very good microphone but I'm told it's not ideal for recording a Bass guitar (for recording a bass the general advice people give is to directly connect it to your interface and record that way. This is why I wrote the above post).
    Fender 2012 American Standard Precision Bass (Left-handed)
    Fender '59 Bassman LTD.









Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •