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Learn How To Record Audio & Video Clips - It's Easy and Straightforward!
On this page:
How to Record Audio Clips
How to Record Video Clips
How To Record Audio Clips
To record an audio clip, you'll need to have the following:
- A microphone.
- Speakers
- A soundcard
- Audio capture software( available for FREE !)
If you're a Microsoft Windows user, you'll already have an audio capture program called 'Sound Recorder' installed on your PC. Microsoft has included this program with all versions of the Windows Operating System since 1995.
(If you're a Mac user, you can download a free audio capture program called Audio Recorder.)
Windows users can access 'Sound Recorder' in the following ways:
- In Windows XP, navigate to Start, All Programs, Accessories, Entertainment, and Sound Recorder
- In Windows 98 (Win98) or Win2000, navigate to Start, Programs, Accessories, Entertainment, and Sound Recorder.
- In Win95 or WinNT 4.0, navigate to Start, Programs, Accessories, Multimedia, and Sound Recorder.
First, make sure your microphone is plugged into your soundcard before you begin.
Using either Sound Recorder or Audio Recorder (if you're a MAC user) you'll be able to convert your audio into a standard "WAV" file (.wav) on a PC or an "AIFF" file on a Mac.
Remember that it's best to try to minimize the file sizes of your audio clips. This will make it easier for you to upload your content and easier for others to listen to it and rate it. To keep your files small, try to create them as 8-bit, 11KHz, monophonic (NOT stereo) sound files. With these sound properties, a 1 minute file will have a file size of 630 KB.
When using 'Sound Recorder', you can adjust the properties of your sound recordings by clicking on File> Properties>Convert Now. Then, in the 'Name' dropdown box, select 'Telephone Quality' from the dropdown list to create your clips as 8-bit, 11KHz, mono sound files.
If you would like a comprehensive tutorial on how to use 'Sound Recorder', you can reference these 2 free tutorials:
It's quite easy to record audio clips and it's a lot of fun too! Go ahead - give it a try!
How To Record Video Clips
You need two things to record video: (1) the right equipment to input your video and (2) the right software (available for FREE!) to capture your video in the desired format and edit it.
Equipment You'll Need:
You will need to have one of the following pieces of equipment:
- A Webcam: If you don't already own one, you can purchase one online for as little as $25.00. More feature rich models are priced at $80.00-$100.00. Click here for a list of webcams available through Amazon.com.
- A Digital Camera: Many digital cameras allow you to capture 15-30 second video clips. You can upload these movie files to your computer using the same software you use to upload your digital photos.
- A Camcorder: Many camcorders easily connect to PCs. Try it with yours. If it works, you'll be able to easily transfer your home videos to your computer. Remember to edit your videos so (i) they are reasonably short (not longer than a few minutes) and (ii) the recording settings are appropriately adjusted to keep your clips to a reasonable file size. More on this below.
Software You'll Need
Video capture/editing software is required to successfully record and format your video clips. You can get it for FREE!
For Windows XP Users:
You can capture your webcam or camcorder video using Microsoft Movie Maker. It's included FREE with copies of Windows XP. You should be able to locate it on your Win XP Program Menu, under 'Accessories'. Go to Start>All Programs>Accessories. There's even a more recent version, Microsoft Movie Maker 2.0, which you can upgrade to for free. It will only work with Windows XP, though. It's available here.
By default, MS Movie Maker will record a webcam video clip at 15 frames per second, in a 320*240 pixel frame, at 'medium quality' (128 kbps). These settings are perfect for webcam videos. A one minute clip will only result in a file size of 782 KB. This is excellent compression!
Microsoft Movie Maker is fairly intuitive and should only take you a few minutes to figure out. If needed, you can also access detailed video tutorials on how to use Movie Maker by clicking here. These are available for free.
If you have Windows XP, but would prefer not to use Microsoft Movie Maker, please read about the other options directly below. They are all applicable to XP users as well.
For Windows 98, ME, 2000, NT etc. Users:
If you have an earlier version of Windows, you can either:
- Use the video capture software which was bundled with your webcam.
- Download FREE software from the web which will allow you to capture video and audio from either a webcam or camcorder. VirtualDub is one example of a completely free video capture program. You can download it here. Here's a brief tutorial on it. Please read it before or after you download VirtualDub.
- Purchase or download a free trial of any of a variety of video capture programs available on the Internet. You can find a list of great options here.
General Tips On Recording Video
- Be aware of your file sizes. There are several ways to minimize them.
- In general, you'll have to keep your clips short, otherwise your video files will become unmanageably large. Remember, in a 30 second to 1 minute clip, you can fit quite a bit of compelling material if you're creative ;-). In this context, due to file size restrictions, a 'long clip' will run 5-10 minutes, depending on how it is formatted.
- If you're capturing video from a webcam, make sure you have decent lighting in the room. Also, to avoid frustration, make sure your webcam and mic are plugged in properly before you begin. Otherwise, you might mistakenly conclude your video capture software isn't working correctly, when in fact you haven't plugged in the 'input devices' required for the software to work.
Specific Tips To Minimize Your File Sizes
Factors to consider in reducing the size of your video clip files are as follows:
- Video frame size. The optimal size is 320*240.
- Color depth and compression. YVU9 will keep your files smaller.
- Bitrate per second (both video and audio). As an example, Microsoft Movie Maker defaults to '128' kilobytes per second (kbps).
- Actual length of your clip. Try to keep it to a few minutes of compelling content. Even a 30 second or 1 minute clip can be very exciting, if you're creative.
- Video frames per second (fps). You can reduce this to 15 frames per second and still produce a decent video. This is the recommended size for TT. At 30 frames per second, you immediately double the size of your file.
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