Any advice on recording video and audio at same time?

General Music Discussion
#1

I have reaper and OBS.

I’d like to record the audio and video at same time. But reaper does not record video. So I think I’ll have to try record them at same time but in their own instances/both programs running.

Has anyone gone through this before? Any advice? I’m on pc.

#2

I gone the ‘video from phone’ and audio from my DAW route (record both at the same time). I used a basic video editing software to line up DAW audio with the phone audio…to match sound and picture…then I just erased the phone audio.

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#3

Do you get any sync issues?

#4

I do the same thing as Thegent - Guitar to Reaper, then video on my iphone. I pull both recordings into Davinci Resolve and let the software sync the audio tracks. Then I just disable the included audio from the video track.

From iphone there is an intermediate step because video is variable frame rate, it has to be converted to constant frame rate. Some phones allow you do this when recording, but iphones don’t. If you don’t convert to CFR, when you render the video, the audio from Reaper will fall out of sync with the video.

Good luck! It is way more complicated than it should be, but once you get it, it sticks…kinda like playing guitar!

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#5

I’ve done video from my phone, audio from DAW, and use video editing to add together. Turns out well as long as you have a good instance of “pseudo clapperboard”, like clapping in front of the camera.

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#6

I haven’t had any sync issues…thankfully.

#7

I like to record the video and audio to monitor my progress over time, so efficiency and ease are key (vs having to sync audio and video separately or spend any time editing). This may be different than OP’s purpose but in case useful for others:

If you want something better than phone audio, then here are some things that work for you my setup:

  • video source: webcam (Logitech Brio) or camcorder hooked up via El Gato cam link
  • audio source: axefx or standalone plugin (so I don’t even have to open my DAW) like neural dsp
  • capture tool: on Mac, Photobooth (easier than QuickTime because you only need to push one button and the files save automatically in the reel…)
  • my interface is Scarlet Solo, which doesn’t have its own software mixer so to actually capture the neural sounds (eg) vs just the DI signal, I use Rogue Amoeba Loopback software that allows me to specify the audio routing (amazingly simple piece of software to use!)
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#8

Just an FYI we use Final Cut and this isn’t necessary. Just sync them inside Final Cut and you are done.

For the OP, we record in Logic on Mac and film with phones, different cameras, and sometimes audio recorders like the Zoom H6 if we’re doing acoustic guitars. FCP doesn’t care, it happily takes all audio and video in any format or frame rate or sample rate from any device or media card or whatever, with no need to convert video formats or convert audio to project frame rate. Doesn’t get any easier.

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#9

I usually record them separately for my YT covers - first I record audio, then video and match them in some video editing software (DaVinci Resolve is the best one I tried so far).

But I guess recording them both at the same time would work, as long as you can play the whole song start to finish perfectly without any errors.

Whichever you prefer, here’s what I do:

  • I use my smartphone camera with AirMirror app to see on my PC screen what exactly is being recorded, i.e. if I fit in the frame and if there are any distracting objects - I do now more than one shot, trying to capture different angles for both lead and rythm
  • since all my tracks are already recorded I do not care for MINOR screw ups - as long as it is not too obvious I don’t bother recording whole thing again, some errors can be covered by simply cutting to another shot (I do like 6-8 of those so it is fairly easy)
  • if there are too many errors then I record whole shot again
  • once both audio and video are recorded I throw all shots in Resolve and put them on timeline - since camera picks audio from my strumming AND metronome clicks it’s fairly easy to align them all
  • then I add rendered recording from Reaper
  • cut all unnecessary bits, remove audio from camera. If you have more than one shot, now is the time to choose which goes when
  • throw in some filters/effects/whatever you like
  • render.
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#10

I’m sure this is an ‘obvious’ step for a lot of people but it was a ‘facepalm’ moment for me when I learned about it.

Before you start playing your instrument but AFTER you’ve armed and started recording from all sources, just snap your fingers or clap once in full view of the camera.

It’ll make any syncing up of audio/video a 5 second task using a sharp staccato sound and make everything else line up nearly automagically. Works especially well with multiple audio/video sources but even when you’re just aligning a sound to a movement it does wonders.

Good luck!

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#11

Yeah but you can’t have an audible snap if you record straight into interface.
But maybe having a chug or two before song starts would help.

Also it is quite important to know what samplerate your records are in.
If video is in 48kHz and audio is in 44.1kHz then you might have a problem syncing them. Just sayin’.

#12

If you have a video editing software and have record function,just use it to record the video and audio, then you can also edit video after you record a video.

#13

I use my mixing console to interface with my computer, that way I can run a mic, my guitar and control the levels and get some compression/EQ as needed. I can then select the console as the audio input when I record video. I haven’t had any syncing issues, and it’s been a huge time saver over re-syncing/importing the audio from a DAW.

For a little while, I was piping the audio from the DAW out to the video capture software, but it was kind of a hassle. Using a console is a bit heavy handed, but you just turn it on and go, which is nice.

#14

@DiJiSza What do you use for a mixing console? You mean like a basic Behringer USB mixer?

#15

I use a PreSonus StudioLive (it’s their first model, so it’s pretty old), but I would think any USB console should work. USB audio is a standardized thing, so you shouldn’t need any drivers, but you’d want to refer to the manufacturer’s instructions. The tricky part is routing. My Mac doesn’t have a way select specific channels as audio inputs/outputs, so I bought a software called Loopback to do it. It was a hundred bucks, which is way too expensive IMO, but it works really well and is super easy to use. Never tried it on a Windows/Linux machine.

I run my mixer s.t. I can send either an aux send or the master output to my computer, and receive a signal from the computer on a tape input, and I monitor from the master. I do that so if I want to run a backing track from my phone/computer, I can record it from the master, but if I want to do a zoom call, I can just send my stuff and playback both without sending everyone else’s audio back to them.

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