How I Make and Edit videos

This isn't so much a guide to video making but more of how I make my videos. If anyone has any tips or advice for me on something I'm doing wrong, please let me know. So far, for the last hundred or so videos, I've essentially used the same programs and the same strategy.

Programs:


For Recording: FRAPS

For Video Editing and Compressing: VirtualDub

For Audio Recording, Editing, and Compressing: Audacity

Recording:

Using FRAPS - First, I test the game using FRAPS in a somewhat intense scene or area. This will give me an idea of what sort of graphics settings I need/should turn down. A couple important notes about your in game graphics: Unless your recording full 1080p video, don't bother turning your Anti-Aliasing or background draw distances very high if at all. When you compress the file down, you'll loose the look of Anti-aliased footage anyway, so you might as well remove it now. I tend to play Mass Effect and Dragon Age at low/near lowest settings, and it still looks pretty good. Better, more consistent frame rates are better than a few minor jagged edges, especially on youtube.

I let my FRAPS float on framerate, which basically records at 60FPS. Now your actual FPS are not going to remain at 60 the whole time, but you will record at that rate. Its hard to visualize, but this is important for compressing/editing in VirtualDub later on. If your computer really struggles with this, you can force FRAPS to record at a lower frame rate, which will also force your game frame rate down to that level. I found this was actually harder for my computer to use.

When playing the game, I have FRAPS record at full screen and play in a 720p (1280x720) window.

It goes without saying, but make sure you're not running background programs. Shut down your download clients and iTunes.

Storage - I have a 180gb hard drive devoted just to storing all of my videos. FRAPS filesizes are massive. When I'm recording Dragon Age, which tends to be around 55-60FPS the entire time, two and a half minutes of footage is four gigs. So a 10 minute video on youtube is going to be around 15-20 gigs uncompressed. I keep none of this footage; as soon as I've edited and compressed a section, I delete all of it.

Recording Technique: I try to record as much as I can in one session, rather than just recording per video for Youtube. That's why I tend not to ask for requests in the middle of a section of videos, because I've already filmed what's going to be in them. Also, I do have bad playing days. I'll go back and re-record a section until I think its acceptable. This cuts down on having to wait for load times between starting and shutting down the various programs, and its more fun.

Editing/Compressing Video:

VirtualDub is more of a video compressor than a true piece of editing software. Since it is free, you shouldn't expect to be able to anything particularly amazing. However, there are resources out there for doing more complicated tasks. My videos are pretty basic so I have no need for anything more complex, though I am thinking about eventually upgrading to something better.

The codec I use for Encoding is the XVID MPEG-4 codec. When using that encoder, you have the options for setting general, non technical quality settings, or a specific bitrate or a specific end file size. I did a lot of experiments and I've found that 4000kbps was the best for me. I actually didn't arrive at the 4000 mark until my Dragon Age videos, to give you an idea of how much toying around I did.

A 10 minute video is compressed to around 300 megabytes with audio included at that setting. Depending on your upload speed, that could take you awhile, but for me I upload videos in about half an hour. Youtube is fickle about processing; sometimes the process takes hours, other times just minutes. That aspect is entirely out of your hands.

When editing, I first arrange the files and crop. Then I save a .WAV file of the audio. Then I select no audio, select the video compression setting, set to Full Processing Mode, and compress. This usually takes about twice to three times the length of the footage to compress. Also, this will occupy a huge portion of your CPU. I've had my CPU overheat several times while compressing. Try to do as little as possible with your computer while it works.

Editing/Compressing Audio:

Audacity is much more of a full audio editing program than VirtualDub. I don't even know of all its features yet, but I'll share what I mainly use. Its pretty basic.

After the footage is done compressing, I open up Audacity and the video. I then hit play on the video in Windows Media Player and then record on Audacity and start talking. I have a terrible mic; the Fatality gaming headset mic, so I need to keep the mic somewhat close to my mouth. However, to cut down on popping and breath noise, I turn down the input volume to about 75%. I also try to speak a bit louder than a normal conversation.

You'll notice somewhere around the end of my adept videos, all of the static in my videos is gone. This because I discovered a feature called "Noise Removal". Basically I record between 3-7 seconds of blank audio from my mic, then set the noise profile to that white noise. Afterward, I apply the noise reduction to my commentary and bam, no more static.

After I've finished with the commentary, I import the .WAV file, adjust the volume levels for both my voice (I turn it up) and the game (I turn it down), save, then Export to a .mp3 file.

Finishing Up:


With everything finished, I re-open VirtualDub, then open the audio-less .avi I saved earlier. Under audio settings I go to use audio from file, select the .mp3 I saved, then select direct stream copy. Under Video settings I select direct stream copy. Finally, I save the .avi again (this usually takes about 10-20 seconds), and then upload the new file to Youtube.

Hope this helps you out should you ever want to make videos of your own.