I’ve got everything I need to record good audio for covers. What I don’t have is the video… I don’t have a webcam, I don’t have software, my “studio” is a converted garage with crap all over the place and unfinished drywall, I look like a complete dork on camera, I’m lazy, and any other excuse you feel should get lumped in here.
What I’d like to do is have text, and maybe some pictures, over the music. Show what gear I’m running, maybe a nice picture or two floating in and out, pretty much I want to do a PowerPoint over the music. I do have PowerPoint, and I have the Windows Video Editor. I have created a video using the Windows Video Editor, with the text on the “title card”, but after a few seconds the title card text disappears and it’s just a blue screen for the rest of the music.
So… help me, BassBuzz, you’re my only hope. How do I do what I want to do?
You can do overlayed text and graphics with any video editor, at least all the ones I’ve tried (which is quite a few). I’ve never tried Windows Video Editor, but I’m sure if you look around the menu or read the user guide (if there is one), you’ll find the way.
Too be honest, and not to sound condescending, but it’s one of the simplest and most rudimentary functions of a video editor. You just need to learn how to do it.
Have you watched the John and Pam Video editing tutorial?
You’re totally right. It should be drop-dead simple, I mean, I’m a software developer by trade. But video and audio editing are new to me. And sometimes new things are scary, Pam!
I use my phone to record videos., but you can also get some “action cameras” on amazon for $50 or so. I don’t like how I look on camera either. I did one video where my head was out of frame (which appears to be common on bass/guitar covers) and my wife said she didn’t like it, so whatever, I put my whole self in my videos now.
Youtube is my favorite resource for specific editing tutorials.
I use my phone to record the videos, since the beginning of the cover adventure. it’s enough for the video part of a cover, in my opinion. the video is just here to make the thing more fun and friendly, but the real point is obviously the music part.
that said, a video is not mandatory at all for a cover. an audio file can be enough.
As others have said, if you have a decent smartphone, you have a decent (or better) camera.
Don’t overthink it. Just set your phone up where it’s focused on where you’ll be, hit the record button, get in the shot, and fire away. The worst that can happen is that you might have to reposition your phone/self until you figure out the logistics. Not hard at all.
As for editing software, there are tons of options. Consumer editing is accessible to everyone, and it’s intentionally simple to do, by design. You just gotta get your feet wet and experiment.
I just use WinAmp visualizations for my videos, on the theory that no one wants to see a timelapse of me at my desk recording and producing music in a DAW
A smartphone is the simplest filming solution, and probably the route you should take. In fact, I have several fancy cameras (including a camera that’s approved for filming for Netflix), and most times I will reach for an old iPhone to quickly film myself playing, because it is just simpler to use. Pro tip: invest in a cheap smartphone tripod stand so that you can position the smartphone in the optimal position/angle to film you. For more professional-looking results, you’ll need to use a proper camera with a lens. The Sony ZV-1 ($700) or the Sony ZV-E10 with kit lens ($800) would be good choices. But if you’re going for the look of the most popular YouTubers, know that they are using camera + lens combinations that are $3,000 - $6,000.
Most people overlook the importance of soft lighting. Cheapest lighting source is natural light, so plan to film during the day and next to a window (you facing the window, not with the window behind you) if money is tight. If you already have a smartphone, I would invest some money into lighting. There are cheap lighting kits with soft boxes available for around $70, but something like this (along with this stand or this stand)would be just as effective and save a lot of space.
Think about audio, too. Bad audio will ruin a video. To keep things simple when you edit video, record the audio onto the video at the same time. The microphones on smartphone are ok, but if you’re looking to record yourself playing bass, you can do better. Too many variables to give you quick advice here, so you’ll need to research how to record audio using the equipment you have onto the video of the camera you are using to film yourself. Otherwise, you’ll need to invest in the right kind of pro video editor capable of marrying audio that’s recorded separately from video (Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, etc.). My personal setup: a lapel mic and a two condenser microphones running into a Zoom running into my camera.
Windows Video Editor is very capable of doing what you want to do, but you will quickly outgrow it as your video skills improve. If you want a free, professional level editor you can’t go wrong with DaVinci Resolve, but it is overkill for what you want to do and the learning curve is steep. Clipchamp is also a free, more powerful editor that’s purpose built for what you want to do (also a Microsoft product). If you are going to incorporate screen shots or do video capture of your computer screen, you can use Game Bar (normally used to record game play) or purchase Camtasia (which would also give you an excellent, easy-to-learn and use video editor for $300). If you have a Mac, iMovie is a no-brainer (free and already installed on the Mac). iMovie is to Final Cut what GarageBand is to Logic, that is a less feature-rich version of the pro product, that’s still capable of producing professional-level results.
Do you have the media bit represented over a whole timeline? It seems like you just inserted the text in a default length (3 secs?) and after that, it ends up showing the basic chroma key blue background of editing software, you have to stretch it so it overlays timeline 0 to the moment you want it to disappear…
