PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production How do I record vocals, guitar and jam track on my PC while videotaping the performance?

JohnJohnJohn <<< And you can mix it up a little to make it even better! Take your guitar and record next to a mountain stream or on a bus. Anywhere you want! Also you can easily change the scene during chorus or whatever. Maybe record the complete song several times always using the same produced recording in your ear. One video will have your closeup while another has a wide shot. Maybe a shot of you walking on a dusty trail. Then in the video editor you just combine the video parts being careful to line them up properly.

You could end up with a pretty cool "pro" video on a budget! >>>

Rokq22 <<< (G)etting the AUDIO recorded first is the way I'm going. However, if I use my Logitech webcam there is no "right and left in XLRs on the camera". Or are you saying it might be worth another few hundred(?) on a better camcorder than my Toshiba which have those? >>>

For nearly two decades, my son in law owned one of the largest DJ/Event/Festival/corporate entertainment companies in the southeast. I worked with him and help him learn about audio, live sound, video and photography from the beginning. I've personally had some type of home recording studio since 1960's and I've done a ton of field recording, video recording and recording 'live' events and some videos/commercials over the years. I've ran live sound for an Eagles Tribute Band for 1 1/2 year and still help them program their digital console when they need me to.

It is the easiest it's ever been to make 'pro' quality videos on a budget. That's good news, because if you watch any YouTube or Facebook music videos, you'll see the competition is fierce and filled with quality content. I'll offer a bit of my experiences and suggestions to add to the good suggestions and recommendations you've already received and also explain my reasons to some of the alternate hardware I'll make.

First and foremost, video and audio should be addressed separate from each other. They are two different format's with different elements. Video is visual and it's primary controlling component is light. Audio is sound and it's primary controlling component is aural. They should not be put together until they are in your video software program. The audio should be finished, mixed and mastered to stereo. Just treating each separately will improve your video noticeably better than 95% of videos that record video and audio at the same time if you don't do anything else in editing. This is especially true for a music video.

Addressing video and audio separately overcomes many limitations and allows much more creativity and control as well as taking full advantage of the strengths of each format's recording and editing software. For instance; Every video software has a storyboard. This is where the videographer develops, organizes and tells the story. In a music video, the song is the story. Unless you're making a static video in front of a single camera and the audio is being recorded straight into your DAW, you need a story for your music video. Every DAW has the tools, editing and plug-ins to make a DVD quality 48/24 stereo or in some cases, 5.1 surround sound audio file. You should tailor your videos to take advantage of these strengths.

You also have the freedom to develop each apart from each other. You can write and record a song after you've thought of a storyline for a video and filmed many scenes that will be included in the final video. You can create a video strictly from a song. Your video can be as simple as you standing before a mic in your living room. Even if that's the case, the two format's should be recorded and processed separately before being merged into a final video project.

You can make a 4:00 minute music video with only 10-15 seconds of synced (lip syncing, instruments synced, etc.) audio in the video. You can have 3:45 of video telling the story... Once you have a story, your video editing becomes a lot easier and so does the audio recording.


. The audio function of your camera is irrelevant.
. You can use any camera regardless if it has sound or not.
. You can record video out of sequence with what the audio will ultimately be.
. You can record your story scenes without need of the song audio except where synching is necessary.
. The camera placement and shot angles can be made without regard of the camera audio function and recording.
. Video recording can focus solely on lighting, visual content and not sound.
. Ambient noise is irrelevant.
. Multiple cameras can be used recording scenes (with caveats)

For recording music away from recording direct into an audio interface into the DAW, a discrete recorder is absolutely necessary. Advance amateurs, semi-pros and pros all use audio field recorders. Always. Most audio recording brands such as Zoom and Tascam make dedicated multi track field recorder that are rather expensive. Consumer/semi-pro/pro level devices such as the zoom H5 or H6 and the Tascam dr-5 or dr-40 are more than sufficient and are better suited for video sound than the Tascam Dp-008 or DP-03 units are.

That being said, I suggest for amateur use that will also serve as an all around video/audio studio/home video/school and church videographer, one of the Zoom R series stand alone multi track recorders is ideal. Here's why.

. They provide from 2-8 inputs.
. They provide phantom power.
. They provide two built in mics.
. They are battery powered.
. They are quite portable and solidly built.
. They can record up to 48/24 DVD quality audio.
. They are excellent field recorders.
. They are excellent studio recorders.

The H- Series of field recorders do all of the above including higher resolution audio capability. You don't need the higher recording resolutions.

The R- series are designed for more of the audio functions the music videographer will need for field AND studio recording plus they function as USB storage, USB audio interface, DAW Midi controller, guitar modeling, amp modeling, dynamics and timed effects and more. The R8 and R24 both also have looping and sampling capabilities. The R16 does not have those two features that I think are valuable assets to music video making. For instance, you've written a song with a train in the lyrics. While you can download a train sound from the internet, you can also create your own custom train sample that perfectly matches your video. It's not an absolute necessary feature but it is a very handy one. The same can be said for looping. With the Zoom R8, you get the audio recorder and audio interface and controller as All In One. The same for the R24 with the added benefit of 8 simultaneous inputs. If you don't think you'll make use of the sampling and looping functions, then the R16 will also give you the 8 inputs at a lower cost than the R24.

DSLR's with multiple lens are the best choice for video cameras. TV programs (House comes to mind), TV commercials and many music videos are made using DSLR's. However, you can get high quality results with any point/shoot camera if it has manual controls, specifically white balance and aperture control.

The bigger point/shoot have better lens, optical zoom and view finders and normally have more features. Look for manual controls and along with a small screen, a view finder. The view finder will greatly extend battery life plus it allows better framing of your views when out in sunlight. Many also can be connected to mains power supplies for when you're shooting indoors.

There are many more camera and audio recorder options out there and you can decide what best fits into the different type videos you'll make and the budget you need to meet. The bottom line is you can start with what you have, especially with video. I think for audio, a Zoom multi track is by far giving you the most bang for your buck.

Hope these ideas help you to decide.