XOR Userforum

Hi Nerds,

what is the equipment/setup that you guys use to create videos of your performances?

I'm currently considering the following setup/workflow:
- use the camera of my smartphone (possibly on a tripod). Alternatively use the camera of my digital camera.
- record the sound (from my modular and possibly some talking) directly into my DAW
- combine video and sound in postproc, possibly add some text/grafics

Is that feasible?
What would you change/improve?
What do you use to cut the video and possibly merge audio?

I have little to no experience with video but am fairly comfortable with ffmpeg.

Kind regards,
Michael

I’ve been starting to consider similar things, with the aim of participating in things like Jamuary, “weekly beats” type activities, etc. and perhaps eventually doing a bit of streaming.

I’ve been thinking to keep the setup really minimal, since I’m unsure how much use I’ll truly get out of it.

For video, I’m likely to mount either just a phone camera or perhaps an action cam like a GoPro so that there’s a better chance of having other uses for it. Multi-camera seems a bit of an unnecessary stretch for me at this time.

(re: GoPro and similar, I find even this narrow choice to be quite tough. The GoPro Max has been featured in some really cool modular videos, and the idea of being able to pan and zoom around the field of view after the fact is pretty cool. However, that model is limited in a bunch of other ways.  )

For audio, probably just my Zoom recorder’s audio synced up afterward, though perhaps running its audio directly into the camera. (I’m also trying to keep the computer out of this as much as I can, and running on batteries as much as possible, both for simplicity and for sake of avoiding noise issues.)

For editing, I very often hear of folks using DaVinci Resolve on account of it being both good and free, but certainly plenty of mention of various Adobe and Apple products.

For streaming, I’d likely take OBS as far as I could without investing in too much additional hardware, though I do hear many good things about the ATEM Mini product line (also from Blackmagic Design, as is the case for Resolve, and whose cameras also seem pretty great though well beyond what I need in terms of both capability and price.)

One thing neither you or I mentioned so far but which I for one certainly still need to consider: lighting! I don’t know about your setup, but mine is in one of the worst-lit rooms in my home and would need some help to get a) decent video quality and b) a decent look.

That and blocking some nearby things from being within frame, whether via some curtains/drapes/dividers/whatever or just tossing some sheets over a few things.

I’d love to hear more about what others are doing in this overall topic.

Thank you for your reply. OBS I have installed (and that was my fallback ). DaVinci I did not know about but just downloaded it and will check it out.

W/r to the camera I will test with my smartphone. If that is not good enough I will give my DSLR Camera a chance.

Lighting is a good point...I did not mention it since I happen to own two photo lamps with reflectors...that should cover the basic needs. Blocking off other things/stuff is a valid point as well

Recording into my Zoom seems more work than directly into my DAW. But I understand the argument.

depending on your budget, I'd give a hard look at the Blackmagic Atem lineup. Makes it really easy to stream and record multiple cameras, without taxing your computer for video encoding. As for cameras, you can get older mirrorless cameras pretty cheaply these days. I picked up a pair of Fujifilm X-T20s used for pretty cheap (already had a bunch of lenses) then set them up in my studio feeding into the Atem. now when I want to stream, I just power everything up and im g2g

Thank you for that suggestion. I'm under the impression, that lineup is way beyond what I'm trying to achieve.

I record video on my iphone, record a stereo track to my daw (Reaper), and then combine them using DaVinci. I also use a web cam and “Lumen” to create some video synthesis effects for my videos. I record the video synthesis output using syphon record.

DiVinci is a great program! After watching a few tutorials I found it much easier than iMovie.

Thank you for your response. The workflow you describe is pretty much what I've come to favourize after reading all responses so far. My DAW of choice is reaper as well. Can't beat the value for the money

Only remaining question is the video editing SW. I have installed both OBS Studio and DaVinci Resolve. At first glance the later looks a bit more intimidating (as in overwhelming) but I haven't worked with either and can't judge. Comparisons I found on the inet are favourable for both. Anyone around here having tried both and is willing to comment?

My (expected) use is:
- very simple editing (having one big take and possibly cutting out things or "overdubbing" parts with secondary takes)
- possibly adding text and simple graphics (arrows and such)
- merging audio to the video

Currently I don't expect multi camera or such stuff.

Kind regards,
Michael

(10-13-2021, 05:56 PM)Karlo Wrote: [ -> ]I record video on my iphone, record a stereo track to my daw (Reaper), and then combine them using DaVinci. I also use a web cam and “Lumen” to create some video synthesis effects for my videos. I record the video synthesis output using syphon record.

Thanks for chiming in, Karlo! I had been hoping that you would.

After the last replies on this thread I looked back into camera options again and I must admit that for my limited use cases I’m likely to either upgrade my phone (which is already pretty old) to something with more wide-angle options or to pick up a GoPro. Either of those would provide other benefits aside. Fancier things will have to wait until proven necessary.

(10-14-2021, 12:52 PM)mgd Wrote: [ -> ]Only remaining question is the video editing SW. I have installed both OBS Studio and DaVinci Resolve. At first glance the later looks a bit more intimidating (as in overwhelming) but I haven't worked with either and can't judge. Comparisons I found on the inet are favourable for both. Anyone around here having tried both and is willing to comment?

I’ve only used OBS a little, and Resolve not at all, but I don’t often see the two mentioned as in competition for the same use cases. I almost always see OBS mentioned in a streaming context and Resolve in an editing one, though I’m sure there’s overlap to be found.

After having dug into it a bit further it seems indeed that OBS Studio is not suited as a Video editor. Therefor I will give DaVinci Resolve a try.

Thank you to all that helped me to come to this conclusion by providing their opinion and advice. I highly appreciate that !!!

(10-14-2021, 05:43 PM)mgd Wrote: [ -> ]After having dug into it a bit further it seems indeed that OBS Studio is not suited as a Video editor. Therefor I will give DaVinci Resolve a try.

Thank you to all that helped me to come to this conclusion by providing their opinion and advice. I highly appreciate that !!!

Check out Casey Ferris on Youtube. Divinici isn't intuitive and his video tutorials really helped me when I got stumped. Sorry I can't post a link right now, but a search will get you there.