Minecraft Forums

Whether you succeed or not, I appreciate it the effort.

I've updated the OP with an additional video recorder.

Alright guys, I've had this idea tossing around in my head today after visiting the Mod forum. They have a nice series of symbols to put in the topic titles to indicate the content. Should we have them here as well? Such as [HD] for HD, [M] for modded, [IM] for iron man, etc. It would help with identifying the content...

Let me know what you guys think.

I suppose putting something like [TUT] at the start of the topic would be a good idea. It catches peoples attention.

For Linux users

Recording: Kazam

Editing: KDEnlive

The OP has been updated to include those. Thank you for your contribution!

I'm re-encoding my 2 eps at the moment - after being thoroughly disgusted with the quality (Sony Vegas added motionblur) and couldn't figure out for the life of me how to make it look better. Then it hit me, you may want to point this out when doing your encodes, to on each clip, if you right click, under 'switches' - disable resample. That makes sure that you don't get any motion blur and things look crystal clear. (It's also in the properties)

Just a heads up. Makes a world of difference if anyone is having the problem I was. xD

I'm guessing the sticky attempt failed which is unfortunate. I'm going to bump here again.

I might be able to make a video for WMM and uploading videos (Depending on Fraps cooperation/them not being too large to interrupt my uploading my LP series).

I'm planning on making an attempt at a short intro for debut video capture this weekend. what kind of stuff should it include? Going trough every function would make it a very long tutorial since it's a function rich program. Should I just talk about the most basic stuff like configuring recording quality and getting started recording or is there something else that is important enough to put into the basic intro tutorial?

I'l make a second vid for sound setup. that part is not the same for everyone since it's computer dependant, and debut is not the only program that has to use the mixer trick to be able to capture both game and mic sounds.

Going over the basics and perhaps the most commonly used features would be nice. It doesn't have to be all-inclusive, but enough to understand the basics of how to use it and how to figure out how to use the rest would be nice.

Something else.

Don't skip nights. Nights can be wonderful times for adventure and action. Skipping it deprives your let's play of this.

This is some good stuff. Especially about the need to stand out. The only LP I ever watch is the Yogscast. That is because right from the top they stood out. They had humor and inflected their voices well. Both people demonstrate unique personalities that go well together. I don't know of many instances where they had silence for more than a few seconds. How many LPs start off the same way? "Hello this is my Minecraft Let's Play. Here we go!" then they load up a world and talk about breaking down trees, surviving the first night... I get it.

What I liked, and was kinda irritated by Yogscast with, was how they didn't focus on educating and instead did entertaining. I wanted to scream at them for fumbling around so much. But they got better, and that's something else that's needed: progression, character development. I wonder how many people remain static characters in their own LPs? They begin already knowledgeable and don't continue to get better? Alternatively, and SeaNanners is guilty of this IMO - it's the same old, "I'm totally new to this, here we go!" storyline. Make something fresh.

Concerning lighting: Some people will say, "Please excuse the bad lighting, it's a dark cave and I've run out of torches." Look, it's understandable if you prepared en masse beforehand then ran out due to amazingly unforeseen events but otherwise you don't really have much of an excuse. I didn't come to watch a black screen with apologies from the streamer, after all.

If you have theme music - and to me, it's preferable to do so - make it something that really suits your video. But don't make it too long. Again, I call upon Yogscast as a reference. They have a splash and usually but not always have a quick intro song. If your video is meant to be casual and calming then go ahead, use a song with a soft beat. Likewise, don't mess up your concluding music or speech. Yogscast simply has their splash fade into view in the last few seconds. The opinion of Youssarian is this: don't announce that you'll be ending your video until you're actually near the end. Refrain from splurging on the phrase, "So I got this far, once I finish doing ____ I'll end this video," especially when it's likely that won't be for several more minutes. Try to segue it into your speech when you are finishing up doing the last thing you want to accomplish in the video.

Yes yogscast. Textbook on how to make a good lets play. I'm planning to do a story based let's play soon, and I hope it is half of what that let's play is.

Character development is a great point. People love seeing people get better at minecraft and progress. It's very helpful.

Quote from Youssarian »

This is some good stuff. Especially about the need to stand out. The only LP I ever watch is the Yogscast. That is because right from the top they stood out. They had humor and inflected their voices well. Both people demonstrate unique personalities that go well together. I don't know of many instances where they had silence for more than a few seconds. How many LPs start off the same way? "Hello this is my Minecraft Let's Play. Here we go!" then they load up a world and talk about breaking down trees, surviving the first night... I get it.

What I liked, and was kinda irritated by Yogscast with, was how they didn't focus on educating and instead did entertaining. I wanted to scream at them for fumbling around so much. But they got better, and that's something else that's needed: progression, character development. I wonder how many people remain static characters in their own LPs? They begin already knowledgeable and don't continue to get better? Alternatively, and SeaNanners is guilty of this IMO - it's the same old, "I'm totally new to this, here we go!" storyline. Make something fresh.

Concerning lighting: Some people will say, "Please excuse the bad lighting, it's a dark cave and I've run out of torches." Look, it's understandable if you prepared en masse beforehand then ran out due to amazingly unforeseen events but otherwise you don't really have much of an excuse. I didn't come to watch a black screen with apologies from the streamer, after all.

If you have theme music - and to me, it's preferable to do so - make it something that really suits your video. But don't make it too long. Again, I call upon Yogscast as a reference. They have a splash and usually but not always have a quick intro song. If your video is meant to be casual and calming then go ahead, use a song with a soft beat. Likewise, don't mess up your concluding music or speech. Yogscast simply has their splash fade into view in the last few seconds. The opinion of Youssarian is this: don't announce that you'll be ending your video until you're actually near the end. Refrain from splurging on the phrase, "So I got this far, once I finish doing ____ I'll end this video," especially when it's likely that won't be for several more minutes. Try to segue it into your speech when you are finishing up doing the last thing you want to accomplish in the video.

Very good points. I need to watch Yogcast at some point, everyone seems to like them a lot. I've only held off because I wasn't enthused by the idea of them making things and passing it off as the game having made it itself.

(Also subtly throwing out there that doesn't have any of the faults you listed...)

What might be good to consider is giving your LP a plot other than just "Survive and build stuff!"

Yogscast stands out because it quickly went from the typical "Watch me survive" series to having an actual storyline. With most video games this isn't necessary. But MC is a sandbox, open-ended game which can be used to do whatever you want. It's not required that you delve into RP to make a good LP.

When I say make a plot, I mean have a purpose. If you want to make a series that lasts a long time, then make sure it's a big purpose. For example, say you want to make a 1:1 replica of the Enterprise-E. At 685 meters long and 25-30 decks tall, that would constitute many, many videos. Once you have a purpose, make a detailed plan of how you're going to accomplish it. That can become your plot. Doing nothing but building is pretty boring to the viewer. Get excited and vocal about what you're doing. Inform what you're doing and how stuff relates to everything else. Throw in random trivia. When making the main bridge of the Enterprise-E, for instance, you can talk about how Picard sits in the middle chair, how the tactical station makes phasers go "Pew! Pew!" and so on. Then when you make the warp core explain that not only does it enable faster than light travel, also mention how it is the primary power source for ship functions and how there are backup reactors in case it's rendered inoperable.

I hope that makes sense...

Edit: More Random Thoughts:

1. Herobrine: don't mention him. Or if you do, please keep it brief and neutral. Otherwise trolls will jump on it and propagate the irritation even further. Plus some may generally believe that it's real and become curious/frightened. Yogscast mentioned it, I believe. However it followed the advice mentioned. They simply stated that he is supposedly Notch's dead brother that occasionally does weird things in the game. However they did not push the idea that it was real or fake.

2. Don't be sporadic: BlueXephos releases a new episode just about every 1-2 days. It's a very reliable setup and I like it. This requires a bit of commitment. Refrain from posting a video then three days later make another, then two weeks later make a "slightly delayed" one then wait another month before coming out with episode 4. Such instability isn't attractive.

3. Excess lag isn't helpful. While the occasional few seconds or minute of lag is acceptable, if the video is laggy and jumpy for more than that time, it's a good idea to either redo that part or remove it and integrate the omission gracefully.

4. Communicate with your audience: Another good mark for BlueXephos. He posts bulletins when there are delays in videos being uploaded, even if it's just for a day. He also announces when there will be downtime in the main story arc.

5. Organize into arcs. In lieu of starting every episode with something generic like "Minecraft LP - blah" or jumping straight into titles like "Surviving the First Night", "Building a House", unify the episodes in the list. I suggest this because people like me will simply glance at the titles in the lists, and most of the time titles are too long to be totally viewed unless you put your mouse over them. Instead, divide your videos into logically connected story arcs and preface them with a nice, short, arc/season name. Going back to the Enterprise example, I could put it into three arcs: "Saucer", "Stardrive" and "Warp Nacelles". Titles can be something like "Saucer 1: Main Bridge", "Stardrive 16: Warp Core Pt. 3", etc. This is for those like me who enjoy organizing things. :biggrin.gif:

6. Tread carefully with memes and fantasy. If there is one thing Yogscast goofed on, it was presenting fantasy as reality without giving some sort of little disclaimer somewhere. As a result there actually have been people who thought that Israphel and the other supposed AI's are real. Someone even tried editing the wiki because they thought it was true.

Actually me and some others are planning some sort of story.

We plan to have three survivors, and for the first 7-8 episodes have it be just normal survival (maybe small buildings or hints at a story), then we have builders and writers make a story for us to play through. The key point is we don't know the story, so we're going in completely blind. I think it will be very fun and I can't wait till we start filming (this weekend woo!).

Do you mind if I put the first videos or such on here?

If it pertains to the guide (Namely just following most the guidelines) then I suppose that is fine. I don't want the topic to degrade into a free for all of everyone posting episodes to their LPs, but a few quality ones here and there is fine.

I understand. I'll see if it does, and post it if so.

Another idea taken from the yogscast:
Texture packs. Use them to your advantage. Does you space ship need a high tech control panel? re-texture the stone pressure plate. Stuff like that.

Quote from Youssarian »

What might be good to consider is giving your LP a plot other than just "Survive and build stuff!"

Yogscast stands out because it quickly went from the typical "Watch me survive" series to having an actual storyline. With most video games this isn't necessary. But MC is a sandbox, open-ended game which can be used to do whatever you want. It's not required that you delve into RP to make a good LP.

When I say make a plot, I mean have a purpose. If you want to make a series that lasts a long time, then make sure it's a big purpose. For example, say you want to make a 1:1 replica of the Enterprise-E. At 685 meters long and 25-30 decks tall, that would constitute many, many videos. Once you have a purpose, make a detailed plan of how you're going to accomplish it. That can become your plot. Doing nothing but building is pretty boring to the viewer. Get excited and vocal about what you're doing. Inform what you're doing and how stuff relates to everything else. Throw in random trivia. When making the main bridge of the Enterprise-E, for instance, you can talk about how Picard sits in the middle chair, how the tactical station makes phasers go "Pew! Pew!" and so on. Then when you make the warp core explain that not only does it enable faster than light travel, also mention how it is the primary power source for ship functions and how there are backup reactors in case it's rendered inoperable.

I hope that makes sense...

//-Snip-//

I think this is partially a preference thing. Some people aren't really that organized themselves and enjoy a more chaotic progression. (I do so myself. too much orderliness is annoying to watch.) Also. it can be fun to see someone just design on the fly. mistakes is what gives the process some flavour. Most LP'ers tend to make their LP the way they like to watch them I think. but progression is still important. an episode that contains nothing but tree punching is boring. Being creative with whatever you decide to do is what I at least like to see.

as for posting vids regularly on a schedule. I think this is hard for many to manage. most people do have a real life and a job to take care of. for those who have only a few viewers this isn't really an important issue at all. better to focus on getting better at the technical aspects of making an LP. Like proper recording technique and post processing/editing rather than getting tangled up with hard to keep deadlines.

Oh. and my LP has a new multi-part episode up. I do need feedback. i know it's a bit laggy.. something in the last update caused the recording to be choppy even when it looks fine while recording it... dunno why yet. going to test some stuff later to figure it out. hopefully i will be able to fix it.

Ooooo I know!!

As much as people would enjoy watching HD videos, I think it's important to note that although it would be nice to record videos in HD, make sure that HD is indeed something that you're computer can handle recording. I can only speak for myself, but I find it much better to watch videos in smooth lower resolution than choppy HD resolution. Make sure to test the water with things your computer can or can't handle.

On the topic of testing, TEST YOUR EQUIPMENT BEFORE YOU RECORD!! Please pardon the caps, but if you only knew how many great recordings I've lost because of equipment failure that could have easily been prevented with a simple test, you'd understand my pain.

However, if something does indeed go wrong with your recording and you are forced to re-record a part, keep in mind that nobody wants to start watching a video where the creator is depressed and complaining about how great his first recording is. It's ok to mention it from time to time, but don't dwell on it. If you feel stressed, take a break from recording and come back to it later.

Hypercam2 is now a free program. If you can not afford a huge program at the moment, I would strongly suggest Hypercam2 over the other popular free CamStudio. It is very easy to lose recordings with CamStudio, and VERY hard to salvage the pieces.

Here is an example of a test recording.
It isn't a Minecraft recording, but its purpose is still valid. In the video, I was testing sound and video quality, screen position, background noise levels, and microphone inputs.


Anyway, closing thoughts:
Great topic here GrimSkellington.
I hope it helps many in their awesome recording journeys. :biggrin.gif: