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Best Way to Record a Video Inexpensively, but with decent quality

PauFerro

PauFerro

Jun 8, 2008
3,361
4,204
United States
#1
I'm at the point where I need to create videos for my jazz groups. We had some really awfully recorded stuff (an iPhone set up at one angle, weak sound quality, the crowd talking in the background, could not hear the bass very well on the recording).

Does anyone have a suggestion for how to create a professional looking AND professiional sounding video inexpensively?
 
#2
You can do a lot with an iPhone
http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/13-of-the-best-ipad-iphone-ios-daws-and-workspaces-574065

There are bands that have done entire albums with only an iPhone. Just like people did with stereo tape decks.

For video, get a few cameras going then sync the audio to video using a PC. It's a lot of work but some DAWs let you sync several video tracks.

Not a bad simple demo is some photos of live performance then pan and scan the video against the photos while playing back the audio.
There's software to automatically do this kind of movement with slideshows. People's brains seem to fill in more excitement than just plain video of a band.
 
#3
I wouldn't use the built-in audio of any video camera and expect it to sound great. Record the audio separately and sync it later. Multi-track audio if you can, but even something as simple as a Zoom H6 (or comparable) will be better than just about any camcorder/phone.

Proper lighting will help, too. Doesn't have to be high-end, but most inexpensive cameras are terrible with low light. Clamp-on lights with CFL or LED bulbs cost little but can make a big difference. Use colored bulbs for stage effect.

I like the suggestion to use multiple cameras. Use one or two on a tripod and another hand-held. Mixing together later only requires modest software. I've had decent luck with CyberLink and Corel video editors, which are both pretty affordable. Not pro, but you wanted inexpensive.
 
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#5
Use a handheld audio recorder such as a Tascam DR-40 placed at front of house along with whichever cameras you're using for video and then combine them in something like Windows Movie Maker, iMovie, or Adobe Premier Elements.

If there's no front of house, just place it somewhere in front of the stage where the audio is good and you don't have to worry about anyone messing with it. On many handheld recorders, you can use the mics, XLR in, or both.

edit: Pretty much what INTP said.
 
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#6
PauFerro said:
One question -- can I run everything through a mixer and then feed that into a camera's audio input jack, if any?
Click to expand...
That should work, and it will be better than the built-in microphones. You won't be able to change the mix, though (multitrack audio would be better, if you can). You need to look at your particular camera, though. Some have mono input, which may or may not matter to you. Depending on the electronics (mixer, camera), it may or may not sound as good as a portable recorder like the Zoom or Tascam (or comparable).
 
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#7
If you care about quality, then see if you can borrow any newer-model DSLR camera (from the last few years), or even a higher-end point-and-shoot camera. The video quality those things generates will be superior to nearly any webcam, phone camera, or even sub-$1000 camcorder because the optics and CMOS sensor are just that much better. They will typically work better in lower light environments too.

For audio, I agree with the DR-40 recommendation. Hard to beat a portable, hand-held device with built-in microphones for that price. If you have some microphones and a mixer available, you can also hook it up to your laptop and record that way.
 
#8
Making the assumption, and it's a big one, that you are all mic'ed up to a FOH system, the least expensive way I can think of is to simply send your tape outputs to a USB audio interface and in turn to a PC with audacity. About $30.00 for a Behringer U-Control interface, and maybe $10.00 for a pair of RCA / RCA dual male patch cables.

Again, this assumes you are already mic'ed up and everything is going through a FOH setup, and you have a laptop you can use...

Syncing the audio to the video tracks is far easier if there is something distinct in the audio track recorded, and the video you are shooting to key against. The specifics on how to sync them will vary on your video software, but assuming you know what you are doing with that it is pretty easy...
 
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#9
Here's one I'm working on for a band using a mix of the sound board and camera audio. I used 3 cameras,2 dslr's and a regular Sony handicam. I set two cameras on tripods and hand held the third one and moved around with it. I miked everything (14 tracks) and ran the board audio into a laptop multi-track DAW.

Then I used each camera's audio to synch the video to the board audio on the Sony Vegas timeline. I mixed in a bit of one of the camera soundtracks for ambiance and crowd noise and came out with this:
 
#10
Big Hoss said:
Syncing the audio to the video tracks is far easier if there is something distinct in the audio track recorded, and the video you are shooting to key against. The specifics on how to sync them will vary on your video software, but assuming you know what you are doing with that it is pretty easy...
Click to expand...
Software has gotten quite good at syncing multiple audio tracks. I should have added in my previous post, though, that this requires recording the audio from the in-camera microphones. You don't actually use that audio as part of the finished product, but it is a great aid to syncing. If you record video without audio, it's harder, and you need something that you can both see and hear, like the clapper that we've all seen.

I have no personal interest in CyberLink, but it is one that I've used and it's fairly affordable. Here's how they handle multiple cameras in their software. (Warning: just because they use cheesy effects in their demo doesn't mean that you have to):
 
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#15
Excellent video above thanks. So, if I was to do this, this is what I have.

a) I have a DP-03 hard disk recorder by Tascam. It can only record two tracks simultaneously, although it can record tracks in separate takes.

b) I also have two Behringer mixers capable of receiving all instruments in my jazz group. Finally, my daughter has a brand new Canon Rebel T5 EOS camera with its own audio and pretty good quality video. She uses it primarily for photos, but the video quality was actually pretty good.

I could do this:

1. Run all of the instruments (sax, bass, keys, guitar and keys) into one mixer -- out to Channel A of my DP-03. Run all the other instruments through the other mixer (drums with kick, overhead, and snare mic) through the Behringer mixer.

2. Run the mixed signal through one channel of my Tascam recorder, and the other instruments through another channel in the recorder. This could allow me to make sure the drums are right, and well mixed together after the original recording. I find drums tend to overwhelm most of the recodings I have done with my DR-40.

3. Record the band in both audio and video, using the Canon camera as my recorder.

4. Import the finalized Tascam DP-03 tracks and the Canon video tracks into the editing software, and then synch up the video, add transitions and fadeouts/fade-ins during songs, etcetera.

This would only give me a straight-on, static shoot of the band, but it could be enough -- particularly if I shifted the camera angle for each song, so every 15 or twenty seconds, there is an effect (like a flipping-over graphic) that transitions to the next song, which is taken from a different angle.

Ultimately, I would have a 2-3 minute video showcasing the various songs the group does, with each song taken from a different angle).

Could this work? And what video editing software would you recommend for a beginner that is either free or cheap?
 
#16
Not familiar with that Tascam, but as long as it can be used as a "Tape Device" off of your mixer, you are good to go...

Yeah, record your audio / video separately, and sync them together, that will allow you to get everything in view / synced and then you can fade whatever audio / video in / out however you like, different angles, transitions between clips etc...
 
#19
Big Hoss said:
You don't send the audio signal to a camera. A camera is a video / audio source, not a destination. The mixed signal would replace the camera's audio track in software... It requires some minor editing.
Click to expand...
I'm not advocating going from a preamp/mixer to the camera for recording, but many people do it. It will work.

JuicedLink sells a microphone pre-amp that is made to record into the camera. Less complex than using a mixer, but the same basic idea. This is a sales video, so take it for what it is, but he discusses why you might want to record into the camera instead of an external recorder here. Weigh the trade-offs yourself, YMMV, and all that.
 
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