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This article may help with the OBS question. It looks like it is possible, but depending on the speed of your computer, it might not work.

But yeah, you could certainly capture the game with OBS and then the cam footage with another program, then edit it together. In LightWorks what you would do is just have 2 video tracks and use the DVE control on the camera footage to zoom and crop the cam footage to the top corner (you could even do a luma-key or green-key to make your background transparent (hang a green drop cloth behind you and make sure it is well lit... viola)... Then when you want to cut between your face in the corner and your face on the whole screen for one o' dem juicy reactions... you just make a cut, remove the DVE/lumakey and boom... done!

So yeah, good luck moving forward, hope you find something easy to do that will give little additional visuals in your vids. :)

Until you find a new mic, maybe try Audacity. I don't use it since i don't do audio commentary atm but a quick google search suggests it's quite good at reducing noise in audio.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/remove-ambient-noise-audio-files-audacity/

I am glad to help out!

Open Broadcaster Software is a good free start. I am not too familiar with how it works but it looks like it worked well for the quality of the game! I'd also recommend http://loilo.tv/gb/product/game_recorder?redirected=true It allows full screen game play and I have found it to be much more compatible with almost every game.

Let me know if you ever want to collab man, I am doing a few videos with youtube strangers. It might be fun and I could teach you some of the ways I do my stuff. I am not perfect but at least it's a start :)

> I use Camtasia to do my audio editing. I see a lot of people use audacity. There's a feature I wish I could do, I don't know if it exists. When you're looking at the visual representation of the audio, I wish I could set a horizontal line across at a point and say 'mute everything under this'. Like, only play sounds louder then this line. Will Audacity allow me to do that?

That is called a Noise Gate, and you can do it in Audacity using a Noise Gate Plugin.

What file type does your Hauppauge export? If you can, I would export to an .AVI file. I don't use a Hauppauge, but you should be able to change the file type that it exports. If not, try Handbrake (free) which is a great video transcoding tool. It is also commonly used to change videos from VFR (variable frame rate) to CFR (Constant frame rate) if you are having audio desync issues.

If you need more help let me know!

::SeaOtterGamer

> Might not want to have it play over your voice after the real video's started though!

Aye, timing and volume was off. Usually it fades out much faster and I'm speaking louder. I'll make sure to keep that in mind in the future.

> but you might want to learn an audio editing software

I usually use Audacity. The main problem I've been having is with the crackling and popping of the mic (most likely a result which isn't easily removed. I also had the noise gate in OBS too restrictive so as I would trail off it'd cut out.

The new mic is beautiful. I haven't had a chance to record any Let's Plays with it yet, but I'm going to give it a shot today.

> I'd put something on all that black space around your video

Agreed. I was trying to record in a 16:9 ratio, but it wasn't very cooperative. I'm having issues figuring out how to crop videos in Premiere (every time I try it doesn't work out so well). I'm stuck on a 5:4 1280x1024 screen at the moment so all of my videos are generally in that ratio.

I think in future videos I'm just going to return to full resolution.

Thank you for all of the great feedback. I'm glad you liked it, and I'll make sure to keep this in mind for my next videos.

Awesome,

So I first started with this resource: https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/how-to-make-high-quality-local-recordings.16/

...which I found by just googling my problem. From there, I just played with the settings for what worked best for my computer.

As far as I can tell (and this is going to be incredibly technical), in the "crf=x" field, the bigger the number the more faster the capturing. So I actually have mine set at 23 even though this little guide says to stick 15-20. There is also an area that says "CPU Preset" that can be changed around with to see what the recording looks like. This page (https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/high-cpu-usage-high-encoding-taking-too-long-to-encode-read-this-first.23334/) has more information about that.

If you already knew all this, I am sorry to offend your intelligence, but I just wanted to share what I could. I had to fiddle with my settings for like three weeks before I finally got a setting that worked for my PC.

No worries!

Also! All is not lost with your audio. Using techniques described in this video I was able to remove a considerable amount of the fan noise from a very poor quality rip of the audio. Check it out here

The only thing I would add, if oyu choose to follow this technique, is to run the denoiser at -6dB (taking a new noise profile the second time) twice instead of running it once at -20dB. seems to keep more of the vocals intact

> Do you have any tips on streamlining this process as it is very time consuming(on top of a full time job)

I've rarely done any of that type of editing myself so its hard for my to give you any experienced tips. I will just say that you should record less. That's an easy way to spend less time editing. Video quality, typically, wouldn't suffer a lot either. And if you're not prepared to do that then you can always hire an editor.

> If it were your site, what would you do with the banner option

One thing you've gotta understand when creating a yt banner is the dimensions. The main thing is this: you've gotta have any text and the main content of the banner in the horizontally middle fifth of the 2560x1440 image. If you don't pay attention to that then your banner is going to look cut off when viewed on any device other than the YT TV app or the Xbox YT app (I think). In the old days you used to be able to have your banner stretch across the side of your channel, but not anymore unfortunately. If I was you, have the logo of your channel as the main event in the banner, then have a suitable design or image behind it. If you don't have a photo editing software that's any good, then I recommend using Bannersnack. Its free (mostly) and comes with some nice text tools and colour gradients. The links here... https://www.bannersnack.com/

canva.com for thumbnails is awesome. They have templates that will give you a good jumping off point or you can design one from scratch. You can upload your own photos to add to a template if you find one you like and change the color scheme to your liking. For being a free service, it's quite good.

I would, as beertasticjourney mentioned, do a banner. Your channel needs some identity. We should be able to tell what we're going to find there without looking through all of your video titles...or at least have some idea.

I hope this helps and best of luck!

What? LUIGINATOR? Giving a critique? It's more likely than you think!

• Make sure your title is something that is unique to your channel/video! You don't want it getting drowned out in a sea of similar titles on YouTube searches and recommendations! You want it to stand out - shine bright like a diamond~!!
• Your thumbnail isn't bad, but it could be better! Instead of using a generic emoji, consider using something that is a symbol of your channel! You can see an example of what I mean here - I put the mustache logo of my channel on every thumbnail! That helps with branding and makes sure everyone instantly recognizes your channel's videos when they see them! Additionally, it also helps you stand out from the crowd more, which, as mentioned above, is always important!
• Your audio is pretty clear for what sounds like a standard mic, but you can touch it up in editing to make it sound even better! I'm afraid I'm not well-versed on mobile-based audio editors, but if you're on PC, I always recommend Audacity!
• If you're going to have blank space around your videos, consider give yourself a border! You can throw one together pretty easily in photo editing software!
• Kudos to you for crediting all your sources~! Only douche bags don't do that! Glad to know you're not a douche bag~!
• If you can, create better intro/outro screens! Like I said, you can do this in photo editing software fairly easily!

Overall, this is a good first video, Cap~!! It's a solid idea for a video, you credited all your sources, and you sounded genuinely interested in what you were speaking about when you were speaking before, during, and after all the clips! Well done, bud! :)

Hey man. I went through a couple of the videos and I've got a couple things for you.

So yeah, audio is the hardest thing to get right in these videos. XCOM has a lot of moments where it gets loud and it will drown you out if you're not talking loud enough. Plus I noticed you've got some background noise being picked up by your microphone. If you aren't already you'll want to find a program like Audacity to remove the background noise and add other effects to make your audio nice and crisp. I usually do noise removal, normalize, compressor, and boosting of bass and treble. There's tons of tutorials out there if you need to know how to do that.

Once you figure out your audio and get that down to a science the videos will be much better. Gonna subscribe to you and see how it goes for you in the future! Good luck!

Hey Dash,

I like it. I've watched a few NWN series and the shorter versions bug me just because it takes a while to get anything done. The only thing I noticed was some Mic clipping and keyboard noise, neither of which bothered me that much. I was watching the globlin fight where you got aggro and had to back off to avoid more.

If it helps ....

I bought this combo for dirt cheap from Amazon. Decent mic, plus the boom things.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XB2R57T/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

I plug into my sound card which is perfect for me. The USB sound card is useless and I don't use the amp so if you can find just the mic and arm combo that would be best IMO.

Someone below left some advice on two utilities ... I tried both and I recommend Tube Buddy, the free version has everything I need.

Thank you for the feedback!

1. I'll definitely work on the framing.

2. The mic is a cheap one from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XCKGLTP/ref=twister_B06XPHK8CZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 and we're using Quicktime's "Movie Recording" feature to record us and the audio. It took us a while to get it this "good", but I think I forgot to check the TV's volume before recording.

I think we need to get a good default for where the mic sits and what the TV's volume setting. It's somewhat difficult because the recording setup isn't permanent (we record at two different houses).

The problem is your mic mainly.

https://www.amazon.com/Antlion-Audio-ModMic-Attachable-Microphone/dp/B00T6XUL8S

Here is a great mic you can attach to any headset.

I liked your relaxed energy.

It may also be a good idea to record all your games and just do commentary on the unusual ones.

Either u gotta be super skilled or super funny to get noticed nowadays. Maybe incorporate some jokessss.

much love

I would definitely invest in a new microphone. The blue snowball is a great starter mic. I use it myself and love it. Here is a link. It's a little expensive, but you can sometimes catch them on sale for $40.

I would also recommend trying to move so you have a different background behind you. It just seems like there is a lot going on and I found myself looking at the stuff behind you more than you whenever I saw your facecam. If it's not possible, then it's not a huge deal.

Your commentary is good and it seems like you can come up with some good quips here and there while playing, which is a bonus. I hope this helped you out some! :)

What kind of camera are you using? Sometimes you can get little baby tripods for some cams. I think this one works with the logitech c920

So I just got a set of these for starters. Hope they work out decently better. I don't want to put to much financial resources in until I really know if I want to do this and if people like me, you know? Anyways thanks for the advice and support!

Hey friend, what video editing software are you using? I feel as if maybe your voice could be a bit louder in the mix. Overall its nice and clear and the capture footage looks fantastic, especially since its at 60fps! Not a lot of people will upload at that!

Have you ever considered doing this with a friend? That may make your commentary flow a little easier and make its seem like you have a more relaxed demeanor. But by no means is this bad. This is honestly one of the clearest lets plays Ive seen so far! Nicely done.

Also! Have you ever considered green screening yourself? A good way to have you on screen but not have all of your background stuff detracting from the game is get a cheap green screen background (something like this http://www.amazon.com/LimoStudio-Chromakey-Backdrop-Background-AGG1777/dp/B017WNJS3M/ref=sr_1_5?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1455946421&sr=1-5&keywords=green+screen) and then if you have an editor like Vegas, or Adobe or another "more in depth editor" you could edit out the greenscreen so its just you! Hope these ideas help! Im not sure what your budget is so i dont want to impose this idea upon you, just a suggestion!

With pleasure. Ive had this headset since 2014. Its served me well but now that im doing lets play its definetly time to upgrade. At least the mic. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DU2CHE2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

Totally! I can actually recommend the lights I have (not to sound weird I promise I just think they're good cheap lights). I have now a total of 3 and a umbrella light although you probably only need 2 and could be really creative with reflective things!

This is all in reference to part 3:

Two minor complaints about the commentary, and I've been guilty of it myself for sure, is that you kept going back to a sort of introduction as far as four minutes into the video. "We just woke up in a strange room" and variations of it were repeated a few times.

There are a few times where it seems like you're not sure what to say, so you basically narrate what you're doing/what the game told you do, but not much else. This can work for more animated people, but you're fairly calm so it's not terribly engaging in those moments. I didn't have any issues keeping with it, but I know several people with shorter attention spans that likely would have left the video around those points.

The full minute of outro was a bit long without anything happening/captivating commentary.

The end card itself, though has clear navigation and certainly doesn't take away from anything. I like it.

Humor is a bit dry, but that's not really a complaint as I happen to like dry humor.

Audio and video quality are really good, though you might want to consider finding a way to soften the overhead light source so it creates less of a focused glare (soft boxes are cheap and easy to make.) I recently purchased this set of lighting from Amazon for a really good price, but it does take a bit of room to set it up. Not much, but a little more than some people have.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FG5FQ5S?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

Thank you for the feedback. Could you recommend some good desk lamps? I already have two but they didn't add much with regard to lighting. Lighting is a bit of a problem for me, Ill look into some additional lights. Thanks again for the feedback.

• Lamps - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FIYJXAQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

I'm using a Audio Technica AT2020 XLR and I'm not very audio saavy. The mic should be crisp and high quality but for whatever reason I just can't get the quality that I'm looking for.

My setup is the AT2020 on a mic stand and I'm using the Nady SMPS-1X Phantom Power Supply

It's so frustrating not knowing how to make my settings optimal and get the quality that everybody else seems to be getting with this microphone :/

Thank you for the feedback, hopefully I can figure out my microphone :)

I found that your commentary was great. You didn't have any silent spots, and you actively kept your audience connected, but the quality killed it for me. I'm aware you addressed it in your post, but you have to get a capture card if you plan on growing more as you can only reach such an audience with recording your tv. You could always use the emulator dolphin on PC to emulate the game, or buy a standard def cap card. Secondly is mic quality. It wasn't too bad, but I would suggest a relatively cheap headset like Microsoft LifeChat LX-6000($40) if your looking for one on a budget. Lastly If I were you I would talk during the cutscenes, but just not as much so the viewer can still enjoy your commentary along with it.

(This is assuming you're on a budget, obviously there are better options out there, but at a bigger price range) Mic: http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-LifeChat-LX-6000-for-Business/dp/B00465UNYI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1441896777&sr=8-2&keywords=microsoft+headset

Cap Card: http://www.amazon.com/Gamecap-HD-Recorder-PlayStation-Xbox-360/dp/B00B1OK3TC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1441896624&sr=8-3&keywords=roxio+game+capture

Thanks, I'm quite disappointed really with the headset. It's the Razer Kraken 7.1 Chroma. Razer is supposed to be a good company, but their mic quality is so bleh.

You do have a point there. For some reason, I got reaction and review mixed up. I do plan on taking a more JonTron approach with future reviews. This was just a small step towards that point.

Thanks though for the feedback. It always means a lot and is really helpful. I was looking at the following microphone here

You hear somewhere when I'm dealing with the Dragon a knock in the background. It was my 5 year old wanting to come in and watch. He'd been watching let's plays in the other room when I started.

The outtro has been an ongoing debate for me. I've been trying to think how I want to approach it. At the very least I need some kind of card or something.

I'm not sure what happened with the mic in this episode. I just rewatched it myself. I have an AT2020 with a pop filter. Maybe something went wrong in my editing that I missed. The AC in this house is quite noticeable and noisy.

Thanks for the feedback! If you'd like, feel free to link your last video /r/letsplaycritique thread here and I'll take a look at it. I like to return the favor. :)

Yeah, I don't know if I'm gonna stick with this headset for commentary. I did see these new microphones though that I might get. Not sure how they are though with solo and group commentary.

NEAT Bumblebee

NEAT BeeCaster

Thanks for the 30 seconds though. I'm using a Yeti mic. I think it's a pretty decent mic but I think I'm sitting too close and maybe I have one of the settings on it messed up?

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Yeti-USB-Microphone/dp/B002VA464S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430345507&sr=8-1&keywords=yeti+microphone Is the one that I have.

I didn't have a huge budget for the mic and I read on /r/letsplay that the Samson Metor Mic was a great "bang for buck" choice. I looked at a few review videos and picked it up from Amazon.

Just got it today. Sounds amazing compared to my headphone mic... no surprise there.

I'm going to echo CoinOpProductions sentiments about the audio quality and cut scenes. One exception to the cutscenes is if you feel you can fill it with good comments about it.

If you're looking for a relatively inexpensive mic that has really great quality you should check out the Blue Snowball USB Mic, it's awesome for the price and usually you can get it for around $50-60 dollars on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Snowball-Microphone-Gloss/dp/B002OO18NS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421810461&sr=8-1&keywords=blue+snowball

Aside from that, nice job =)