Making videos isn't rocket science. It's not a science at all. It's an artform that will differ from person to person. Every individual creator has their own unique styles of editing and presentation. I'm going to provide you with the general step-by-step process I use, but what you create and which of these steps you choose to follow will ultimately be up to you.
The way I make videos is tedious, time-consuming, and likely inefficient. I implore you to experiment with your own tools, software, and methods.
Step 1: Write the script
Tools/Software:
The first thing I do is write a script for a video. You can use Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or good ol' fashioned Notepad. It's ultimately up to you.
For my speaking cadence and editing, I find that around 1,500 words is about 10 minutes — I try to aim for at least this much script.
Step 2: Record the audio
Tools/Software:
- Samson Q2U microphone ($60)
- Adobe Audition ($23/mo)
I record my audio before I do any sort of editing/video work. I use a totally-not-pirated version of Adobe Audition. But realistically, you can use any cheap or free software to record audio. I used the free software Audacity for my earliest videos.
I use a custom preset in Adobe Audition to reduce noise and sibilance. Some would say that my sound quality is good, and others would disagree. Again, making videos is like an art. Regardless, you'd be surprised how far presets and editing can take a cheap microphone. You can find YouTube tutorials on how to refine your sound quality if you wish.
But if you want the settings for the effects I use, here they are:
After I record a paragraph, I manually edit out pauses or awkward spaces and then resume the recording.
When I'm finished, I apply the presets and save the file as a .wav.
Step 3: Configure avatar with Veadotube Mini
Tools/Software:
Veadotube mini is the software the animates my avatar while I speak. It's very easy to use.
My avatar is simple — it's composed of two extremely high resolution gifs: one talking and one not talking. Yours doesn't have to be animated. As long as you have both a "closed mouth" and an "open mouth" image, you're good to go. You can make yours more complex by adding blinking images as well.
Most people use Veadotube Mini with their microphone to animate their avatar while they're speaking. But that doesn't work for me since my script is pre-recorded, edited, and processed first. So I set the microphone to "Stereo Mix" which animates my avatar using sounds from my PC instead of my microphone. If you don't have "Stereo Mix" enabled on your PC for some reason, then Google how to enable it.
I set the background color to a blue color because my avatar doesn't use any blue.
Adjust other settings like delay, cutoff, and additional animations as you see fit.
Step 4: Configure OBS Studio
Tools/Software:
OBS Studio is how I record my avatar from Veadotube Mini.
I record with a 1920x1080 resolution.
In Settings -> Output, I have "Recording Quality" set to "Indistinguishable Quality" or larger. This is very important.
For a simple video with only one avatar size, I have have one scene with two sources: a window capture of Veadotube Mini and a color source that matches the same exact color as the Veadotube Mini background.
I record with Desktop Audio on and Mic/Aux muted.
Step 5: Record
Open up Veadotube Mini, OBS Studio, and the original audio file you recorded in Step 2. Press "Start Recording" in OBS and press play on your audio file. If you've done everything correctly, you should be recording your avatar speaking your script. When the audio is done playing, stop the recording in OBS.
Step 6: Edit with Kdenlive
Tools/Software:
Start a new 1920x1080 ("HD 1080p") project in Kdenlive with as many video and audio tracks as you'd like. I use 8 of each.
Import your original audio file, the video recording from OBS, and any other files you want to use.
Place both the original audio file and the OBS recording onto the tracks. Trim the start of the OBS recording until the audio on both match each other. Then, mute the OBS recording by right clicking the audio track, -> Insert effect -> Volume, and setting the gain to -100. I do this for two reasons: 1) so the video is perfectly in sync with the audio and 2) the original audio recording has less imperfections than the audio from the OBS recording.
Next, it's time to configure the video. Since you'll want your avatar to be on top of everything else, make sure the OBS recording is on the very top video track.
But you have a problem. It's all blue (or whatever color you chose)! You'll need to use the effect Chroma Key: Advanced (Color Selection) to remove the color.
Here are the settings I use:
And then the rest... is up to you. Add pictures, videos, or whatever else you want in the tracks below.
When you're done, just hit Render (I render as an MP4).
