** Official Recording/Streaming Tips & Tricks Exchange **

[uncle_rufus]

What are peoples preference of recording voiceovers live or afterwards?

As above... I think if I was trying to do something very condensed and informative like a review I'd probably post-commentate it and try to work out what I wanted to say etc.

For regular gameplay/impressions I think I prefer doing it live because often your reactions to the things that suddenly happen in game is more genuine (but even then it probably depends on the type of game to some extent)

 

[arc@css]

What are peoples preference of recording voiceovers live or afterwards?

I've thought about doing that, but as mentioned I think an audience will get a more natural response when it's live. However, I suppose it could work; worth a try to see what feels more comfortable for you.

 

[Drizmod]

Boom, done. All feedback welcome

Pretty good! You have good speaking voice, Your video quality is good and the sound quality is good too. If you stick with this you can make it big on Youtube. Don't forget those tags! Only query is are you not able to record at 60fps though?

Subscribed!

 

[Judgeneo]

Pretty good! You have good speaking voice, Your video quality is good and the sound quality is good too. If you stick with this you can make it big on Youtube. Don't forget those tags! Only query is are you not able to record at 60fps though?

Subscribed!

Thanks! Just uploaded my second video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyJnfY6tG5Q

I tried 60fps but the video and audio seemed to keep going out of sync when I put it into Blender. I'm not sure if that if because of my PC, or if it would be fixed when I do the full render, but it doesn't happen when I record in 30fps.

@Judgeneo I took my lead from Dan (Nerd) and use a simple jpg screen image that fades out

Definitely try to steer clear of the very over-the-top things... I don't think it needs to be super complicated or anything... Some of the very over-used type of 3d-animation with pounding dubstep type of intros can supposedly risk turning people off of your video before they even get to the content!

As a random example if you've ever watched Nerd^3 (Nerd-cubed... not sure how best to write it!) His intro is basically just his logo on a black background, then the logo area becomes transparent (so you can see the start of the game footage through it) and grows bigger and bigger until it's gone and you're looking at the footage... Nice and simple, quick, and not too hard to do yourself...

I made all of our graphics myself - it's nothing super fancy but (hopefully) professional looking enough... Grab a copy of GIMP and get used to using transparency and layers etc. - as long as animated elements are on separate layers you can save them as separate images and then key-frame them in Blender (for instance the "2" in our logo is saved as a separate image and then I use keyframes on the "rotation" property in Blender to make it spin)

Thanks to both of you, good advice and examples. I've made some simple graphics now, which should do until I get a bit more used to this whole editing thing.

 

[arc@css]

If anyone that uses Premiere Pro has experience of what to do when the media encoder keeps crashing, then I'd love to hear about any solutions that you might have. Baffled as to why it's happening. :/

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18735152

 

[uncle_rufus]

I tried 60fps but the video and audio seemed to keep going out of sync when I put it into Blender. I'm not sure if that if because of my PC, or if it would be fixed when I do the full render, but it doesn't happen when I record in 30fps

Apologies for this sounding patronising if it does, but have you set the project fps in Blender to 60? If you don't the video will be twice as long as the audio and sound out of sync.... Alternatively you might have recorded in VFR (variable frame rate), which Blender can't handle - what are you recording with?

 

[arc@css]

When exporting audio in audacity, what should I select in the 'save as type' box? WAV 32bit?

Spoiler

 

[Judgeneo]

Apologies for this sounding patronising if it does, but have you set the project fps in Blender to 60? If you don't the video will be twice as long as the audio and sound out of sync.... Alternatively you might have recorded in VFR (variable frame rate), which Blender can't handle - what are you recording with?

Figured it out. I record with OBS. Basically, my PC just can't handle playing the uncompressed recording files in blender at 60fps, so the video plays slower than the audio. I did my most recent video in 60fps, and just took a bit more time figuring out where to edit it, and when it rendered it was a-ok.

When exporting audio in audacity, what should I select in the 'save as type' box? WAV 32bit?

Spoiler

I've just used mp3 for audacity

 

[arc@css]

I've just used mp3 for audacity

Ok, thanks. I'll give that a whirl later on.



Another thought buzzing around my head...

When tinkering with ShadowPlay, if I select 'In-game' as the resolution setting, then a bit rate of 130 is available. However, if I select 1440p then only up to 50 is on offer. The higher one looks to be the obvious choice, though I'm not quite sure I fully understand everything.

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[uncle_rufus]

When exporting audio in audacity, what should I select in the 'save as type' box? WAV 32bit?

I usually go with WAV over mp3 because WAV will be lossless (uncompressed) which is really what you want if you're about to put it into another editing program (which will compress it when you render the final video)

Figured it out. I record with OBS. Basically, my PC just can't handle playing the uncompressed recording files in blender at 60fps, so the video plays slower than the audio. I did my most recent video in 60fps, and just took a bit more time figuring out where to edit it, and when it rendered it was a-ok.

Ah I see... do you have A/V sync and frame dropping turned on in Blender? Under the "Playback" menu in the timeline there should be an option for both of these - turning them on should force Blender to try harder to keep things in sync while you're editing (at the expense of sometimes looking like it's dropping a few frames, which is no big deal)...

Some things are better than others performance-wise in the editor, but if it's really chugging you can also temporarily drop down the scaling so that it's not rendering such a high quality image... In the main scene properties (where the render button is) under "Resolution" just drop the "100%" down... I quite often change this to "10%" while I'm doing very broad editing so it runs nice and quick, and you can still make out enough to tell what's going on... Just remember to whack it back up to 100% before the final render!!! (saying that, I sometimes do renders at 10 or 25% when I want to test out a short section to see how the finished render looks without wasting a lot of time at full resolution)

When tinkering with ShadowPlay, if I select 'In-game' as the resolution setting, then a bit rate of 130 is available. However, if I select 1440p then only up to 50 is on offer. The higher one looks to be the obvious choice, though I'm not quite sure I fully understand everything.

Interesting... it seems to think that the "in-game" setting is much more expensive (you can see that as well because of how much more space it wants for the buffer in the "Shadow time" setting)... What's your desktop resolution? (and do you have any scaling on it?) I wonder if maybe when you don't have a game running it's assuming the "in-game" thing you are about to try and record is the desktop? If you have 2 monitors do you see the figures on the Shadowplay window change when you launch a fullscreen game which is at 1440p?

 

[arc@css]

I usually go with WAV over mp3 because WAV will be lossless (uncompressed) which is really what you want if you're about to put it into another editing program (which will compress it when you render the final video)

I see, thanks.

What's your desktop resolution? (and do you have any scaling on it?)

I am now on 1440p, and no, I don't use any DSR at the moment - if that's what you mean?

I only have the one monitor.....well actually, that's not strictly true. I could connect up my old 1200p one?

 

[uncle_rufus]

I am now on 1440p, and no, I don't use any DSR at the moment - if that's what you mean?

I only have the one monitor.....well actually, that's not strictly true. I could connect up my old 1200p one?

Nah don't worry about that... I was just wondering if maybe ShadowPlay is altering the resolution of the "in-game" setting on-the-fly depending on what it things the current "game" window is doing...

Poking around in ShadowPlay for myself here's what I think might be happening... I'm only on a 1080p (well 1200p) monitor, but the resolution options I get in ShadowPlay are:

360p (bitrates of 10 - 50)
480p (bitrates of 10 - 50)
720p (bitrates of 10 - 50)
1080p (bitrates of 10 - 50)
1440p (bitrates of 10 - 50)
2160p (bitrates of 30 - 130)

And then the in-game option which has bitrates 10 - 130

So I think the "in-game" one just allows you to select any of the available bitrates, since ShadowPlay isn't sure what resolution it's going to be using... maybe?

 

[arc@css]

So I think the "in-game" one just allows you to select any of the available bitrates, since ShadowPlay isn't sure what resolution it's going to be using... maybe?

Yeah, you're probably right.

 

[tcfreer]

Well last night was the most nervouse stream I've done for a while.

Finally put a webcam on the stream - no green screen or anything yet.

Now I need a new Mic, has anyone got any suggestions on a decent budget mic - Looking at a Blue Snowball?

 

[Cromulent]

I usually go with WAV over mp3 because WAV will be lossless (uncompressed) which is really what you want if you're about to put it into another editing program (which will compress it when you render the final video)

Personally I'd use FLAC if your editing program supports it since it will be lossless but will also be compressed so it should take up less room.

 

[uncle_rufus]

Now I need a new Mic, has anyone got any suggestions on a decent budget mic - Looking at a Blue Snowball?

(Some of this is opinion, so don't blindly obey it, but it might help)

The issue with the Snowball, and also the Yeti, and the AT-2020 and many of the other mics which seem to get recommended on reddit in every single thread about mics for gaming videos/streaming... is that they are condensers which means they're very very sensitive. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you have a poorly treated room (acoustically) and/or any sources of background noise you can't control (kids, pets, traffic, neighbours) you may find you have trouble getting a recording that you're happy with...

It isn't impossible, but you might have to get creative... the first ~100 videos or so on our channel were recorded with a Snowball, and we found that we had to hang a big heavy blanket across the room behind us to reduce echo (where the sound from our voices was bouncing off the walls in the hallway behind us and reflecting back into the mic, sounded like we were recording in a cave!)... and we also struggled to get a good balance on the mic gain between being able to get a good signal on our voices, and the sound of controllers/keyboard/mouse clicking noise...

The alternative is to go for a dynamic mic... these are going to be a lot less sensitive and easier to get a good sound out of without any costly/impractical acoustic treatment of the room etc. When we upgraded our setup a few months ago we picked up two Shure SM-57 dynamic mics (one each) and our recent videos are all happily recorded with those; no more echo-blanket, no more background noise problems, endless tweaking of settings etc...

If there's a downside to dynamic mics - some people say that they sound less full and more like a sort of "sports broadcaster" type of sound... but if that's true I don't really hear it in our experience and recordings. You'll want to make sure you're processing the audio properly as well (compression, EQ, etc.)...

That's my 2p anyway... nothing to say you can't get great results with a condenser and plenty of massive streamers/youtubers do use them just fine, but the main thing I feel I've picked up on in my time trying to look into this is that there's a huge amount of mis-information out there (just look at /r/letsplay and the number of threads which are essentially "Help! How do I remove keyboard/mouse click noises from my audio?" and the user has a Snowball/Yeti/AT-2020 everyone on the sub told them to buy)

 

[dakaiez]

(Some of this is opinion, so don't blindly obey it, but it might help)

The issue with the Snowball, and also the Yeti, and the AT-2020 and many of the other mics which seem to get recommended on reddit in every single thread about mics for gaming videos/streaming... is that they are condensers which means they're very very sensitive. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you have a poorly treated room (acoustically) and/or any sources of background noise you can't control (kids, pets, traffic, neighbours) you may find you have trouble getting a recording that you're happy with...

It isn't impossible, but you might have to get creative... the first ~100 videos or so on our channel were recorded with a Snowball, and we found that we had to hang a big heavy blanket across the room behind us to reduce echo (where the sound from our voices was bouncing off the walls in the hallway behind us and reflecting back into the mic, sounded like we were recording in a cave!)... and we also struggled to get a good balance on the mic gain between being able to get a good signal on our voices, and the sound of controllers/keyboard/mouse clicking noise...

The alternative is to go for a dynamic mic... these are going to be a lot less sensitive and easier to get a good sound out of without any costly/impractical acoustic treatment of the room etc. When we upgraded our setup a few months ago we picked up two Shure SM-57 dynamic mics (one each) and our recent videos are all happily recorded with those; no more echo-blanket, no more background noise problems, endless tweaking of settings etc...

If there's a downside to dynamic mics - some people say that they sound less full and more like a sort of "sports broadcaster" type of sound... but if that's true I don't really hear it in our experience and recordings. You'll want to make sure you're processing the audio properly as well (compression, EQ, etc.)...

That's my 2p anyway... nothing to say you can't get great results with a condenser and plenty of massive streamers/youtubers do use them just fine, but the main thing I feel I've picked up on in my time trying to look into this is that there's a huge amount of mis-information out there (just look at /r/letsplay and the number of threads which are essentially "Help! How do I remove keyboard/mouse click noises from my audio?" and the user has a Snowball/Yeti/AT-2020 everyone on the sub told them to buy)

It's all about how you set them up, i have a XLR with a Focusrite Scarlett Solo interface and have no problems with background noise at all myself. If i had gone for the USB version i'd have had no end of problems. With the interface though i can mess with the gain and have cut everything out bar my voice completely when recording/streaming.

It cost a little though, after getting Mic/XLR cable combo it was roughly £85, £10 on the arm, £25 on the popshield, £10 on the shock mount and £65 on the Focusrite Scarlett. I get nothing but thumbs up from anyone in regards to voice quality though and to be fair they should last a very long time.

The above information is very sound though, if your on a budget though it may be worth saving up for a more expensive setup and one that will last rather than a short term solution.

Here is my setup.

 

[arc@css]

Now I need a new Mic, has anyone got any suggestions on a decent budget mic - Looking at a Blue Snowball?

Some good information from the chaps above. Worth taking note of.

I'm very new to doing commentary, and ended up going for the AT2020 condenser mic (USB version), which was not necessarily a 'mistake' but I now think that I meant to get the other version? Not totally sure... Shortly afterwards I did also buy a pop filter, but have yet to get the arm and anything else that others have recommended. I can't say I've noticed any benefit from that yet.

I've done a handful of videos with commentary in, and it's only in my most recent one that I would say that the quality appears to be getting better. All I've done is experimented with the adjustable levels directly on the mic itself as well as getting my feet wet with Audacity. By all accounts, this mic is a very good quality bit of kit, but also very sensitive. I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end, though.

 

[dakaiez]

Some good information from the chaps above. Worth taking note of.

I'm very new to doing commentary, and ended up going for the AT2020 condenser mic (USB version), which was not necessarily a 'mistake' but I now think that I meant to get the other version? Not totally sure... Shortly afterwards I did also buy a pop filter, but have yet to get the arm and anything else that others have recommended. I can't say I've noticed any benefit from that yet.

I've done a handful of videos with commentary in, and it's only in my most recent one that I would say that the quality appears to be getting better. All I've done is experimented with the adjustable levels directly on the mic itself as well as getting my feet wet with Audacity. By all accounts, this mic is a very good quality bit of kit, but also very sensitive. I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end, though.

It's not a bad thing going with the USB version it's just you don't have much control over the gain and sensitivity of it all without using an outside program. As an example my friend has the USB one and me the XLR he can hear no background noise from mine but i hear loads on his.

XLR version allows you to take it all away to the point that you won't possibly need an audio editor like Audacity to cut out noise. That's the only difference really. It's a real good mic, just very sensitive to sound.

Arm or shockmount isn't needed, but it helps take the mic away from desktop sounds and closer to your mouth for a clearer recording/broadcast and the shockmount just stops the vibrations from it being on an arm.

 

[arc@css]

It's not a bad thing going with the USB version it's just you don't have much control over the gain and sensitivity of it all without using an outside program. As an example my friend has the USB one and me the XLR he can hear no background noise from mine but i hear loads on his.

XLR version allows you to take it all away to the point that you won't possibly need an audio editor like Audacity to cut out noise. That's the only difference really. It's a real good mic, just very sensitive to sound.

Arm or shockmount isn't needed, but it helps take the mic away from desktop sounds and closer to your mouth for a clearer recording/broadcast and the shockmount just stops the vibrations from it being on an arm.

Thanks, that's clears that up in my mind. Btw, that's a nice set-up you have there.