Tag: Audio Recording

So I have been working on my first YouTube video. To get me started, I picked my first Dynamics Blog post “How to create a new table in Dynamics CRM“.

The Plan…

… was “Keep It Simple, get through the entire process once and then learn from it. Just get through it – don’t overcomplicate it.

Now that didn’t exactly work out the way I planned it.

Distraction #1 – Editing Software

First I looked into which video editing software to use. The obvious contenders were “Davinci Resolve”, “Adobe Premiere Pro” and “Final Cut Pro”.

For multiple reasons, I quickly settled on “Davinci Resolve”:

• it’s free! (Final Cut’s $250 is not too scray, Adobe’s $280 per year seems really expensive)
• works on both Mac and Windows (when I got started I only had a Windows PC, my MacBook was awaiting shipment)
• All reviews on YouTube did not seem to favour one over the other and all are used for blockbuster productions

Distraction #2 – Screen Recording Software

Next up I had to figure out how to record my screen and audio.

For Windows, “OBS Studio” is the obvious choice. It’s relatively easy to learn and has an incredible set of features.

I highly recommend Kevin Stratvert’s video to get started – in fact, all his beginner tutorials are amazing!

(I only realised that it was also available for Mac when writing this post – I had done further research and found “Debut“, which also seems to work well)

Distraction #3 – Script writing in Notion

Next, I spent time trying to write a script based on the blog post. I wanted to start with a proper structure in place, so I headed over to YouTube and search for “How to produce YouTube videos using Notion”

Several hours (or was it days?) later, I settled on Ali Abdaal’s template as a starting point – I still feel a little overwhelmed by it, so I am currently simplifying it to not be scared every time I open it.

I started watching YouTube videos about how to use noggin drama YouTube channel. You can see that quite a bit of time.

I finally settled on a template from Ali Abdaal hyperlink.

Distraction #4 – Thumbnail

This one didn’t take me too long, as I had a pretty good idea of what direction I wanted to go to and how to make them.

I have used “Adobe Express” (rebranded from Adobe Spark) in the past and really liked the speed and ease of it. You can see the final result here.

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Now that I was done procrastinating, I thought I was minutes away from my first YouTube video…

Problem # 1 – First Recording

So I started recording my first video, a simple screen recording with voice over explaining how to create a new table in Dynamics CRM.

I had basic bullet points on the screen next to me hit the record button:

Tt is absolutely incredible how the second you turn on the microphone and a screen recorder you lose the ability to put together a single straight sentence in English and even pronounce basic English words correctly. I forgot all the grammar I knew and started stuttering. The script I outlined in my mind magically disappeared and what should have been a two-minute video turned into a 15-minute recording with hardly any useful footage by the end of it.

I have not expected this… and my problems didn’t stop there.

Problem #2 – Audio quality

During my first attempt, I used my “Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920” as a microphone. The audio quality was atrocious.

Back to YouTube for Tips and Tricks on how to improve the audio quality – none of them worked particularly well for me. I also tried recording the audio separately on my iPhone and my iPad Pro, none of which resulted in the desired quality or a workable process to use going forward (holding the iPhone in one hand while using mouse and keyboard with the other hand is less than ideal for the type of video I was trying to make).

Back to YouTube to watch external microphones reviews – a few hours later I had ordered the “Razor Seiren Mini”, as well as a microphone arm and a filter.

Distraction #5 – Audio Quality Review

Before I could even try the Seiren Mini, my new MacBook Pro arrived and I got sidetracked setting it up and wrapping up work before the holidays.

the MacBook Pro’s microphone quality is amazing, so instead of another shot at making the video I recorded a short clip on the various microphones at my disposal – see for yourself what do you think:

I am simply blown away by the Seiren’s quality – at £35 it is simply incredible!

Conclusion

At the point of writing/ publishing this, I still haven’t successfully recorded/edited or even uploaded my first YouTube video…

I feel that I am close, I am nearly there!

Prediction: I expect there will be a blog post on Procrastination before I upload the video 😅