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[UrbanwarfareStudios]

Hi Guys,

Here is my second video. With intro screen + credits + better aspect ratio just a shame the content is very boring but it will get better (I hope) as my project progresses.

Again thanks for the tips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psokUCXWvxA

[JigxorAndy]

I've tired a lot of different techniques and pieces of software for recording videos. I'm still not really sure what's the best but I can show you what I do so far.

For a 720p YouTube video I use:

Record with:

Playclaw:
Low Compression
30 FPS
6 Compression Threads

And then put it through VirtualDub:
XVid 720p preset. Quality 1.0
with audio: CCITT u-Law 44.1k 8 bit stereo

That gives me a video of this sort of quality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdKUVKkPTJk

The filesize can be quite large. Perhaps 1GB of raw video for 5 minutes of recording which is compressed to 100-200mb.

Playclaw is decent, but I think something like FRAPS which most people use would probably be better.

One thing is I still haven't found any good editing software for this process. I'd really like to make a trailer video but I'm not sure what to use. Anyone got any ideas?

[Christian Knudsen]

I use kdenlive for video editing. It's really excellent. You'll need Linux or Mac OS X for that, though.

[AuthenticKaizen]

One thing is I still haven't found any good editing software for this process. I'd really like to make a trailer video but I'm not sure what to use. Anyone got any ideas?

I have listed a selection of proper video edting and recording software over here:
http://www.pixelprospector.com/indie-resources/#video-recording-and-editing

I use Sony Vegas for editing. Really good piece of software.
There are 3 versions (50$/100$/600$... the basic version is enough for normal editing).
Note that you can test the free trial of each version for 30 days without any restrictions.

[JigxorAndy]

One thing is I still haven't found any good editing software for this process. I'd really like to make a trailer video but I'm not sure what to use. Anyone got any ideas?

I have listed a selection of proper video edting and recording software over here:
http://www.pixelprospector.com/indie-resources/#video-recording-and-editing

I use Sony Vegas for editing. Really good piece of software.
There are 3 versions (50$/100$/600$... the basic version is enough for normal editing).
Note that you can test the free trial of each version for 30 days without any restrictions.

I've heard good things about Sony Vegas, thanks for the tip, I'll give it a go.

edit: I've been trying the trial of Movie Studio 11 (the cheapest option) and it seems really awesome! It's extremely intuitive and works straight out of the box with lots of great features. I'll probably be buying it. Thank you very much.

[AuthenticKaizen]

good to hear that you like it.
it just works indeed

[Strigop Studios]

Can any of these zoom on a specific section of the screen while recording? We are working on making a trailer for our first game and need to be crazy zoomed in on one part of the game for dramatic effect 

[zede05]

I agree with everyone that said Fraps, it very easy to use and allows really nice quality for both video and image.

[Richard Kain]

Can any of these zoom on a specific section of the screen while recording? We are working on making a trailer for our first game and need to be crazy zoomed in on one part of the game for dramatic effect 

Most recording programs aren't going to allow that much control. Your best bet for an effect like that would be in post-processing. (add the effect in a video editing program after the video has been captured)

[Jamie W]

Just a quick tip, for anyone who wants to record video/audio on iOS, if you have a newer device (iPad2 or better; iPhone 4S or better), there is a great piece of hardware to do this. It's called Game capture HD: http://www.gamecapture.com

Works a treat!

[Gregg Williams]

I've been using Screenflow on Mac for recording all of our game stuff, and its been generally fantastic.

[Chris Pavia]

+1 Screenflow

[ludist]

I guess I'm in the minority here with Fraps, but I've had pretty consistently bad experiences with it on every PC I've used. I plunked down the cash for Fraps and I regret it pretty frequently. I have a speedy PC (i7), but I discover awesome (read: absolutely horrible) quirks that Fraps has pretty much every single time I use it. Recording videos that end up corrupted, crashing without error messages during the middle of a video, causing huge problems with Flash games, etc.  I don't know if I've ever paid for a piece of software with more technical issues.  Since I use Fraps to record alpha and beta user-testing, those kind of errors end up costing lots in time and wasted effort.

[Strigop Studios]

Can any of these zoom on a specific section of the screen while recording? We are working on making a trailer for our first game and need to be crazy zoomed in on one part of the game for dramatic effect 

Most recording programs aren't going to allow that much control. Your best bet for an effect like that would be in post-processing. (add the effect in a video editing program after the video has been captured)

Oh ok cool. Thanks for the advice 

[Chris Polus]

+1 ScreenFlow

I really grew fond of ScreenFlow by Telestream on the Mac. It's a great software for all the basic recording and editing needs. You can also add callouts, highlight the cursor or single windows - all AFTER the fact. Great for recording games or tutorials.

Cheers,
Chris