Help: Limited recording time for live gigs on Android phone

[Mnahopkins]

I'm using my old android phone to record audio and video of my live gigs to post on YouTube so I can send them to venues to try and get more gigs. I'm fine with the quality of the phone video for now, what I'm having a hard time with is that my phone will only record for about 33 minutes. It will start a new video automatically after the 33 minutes but then I have to upload four individual videos for a 2 hour gig. I am using an app called open camera and I've set the video maximum size to 9GB but it still has that limit. How do I get a full two hour recording from my phone?

Thanks in advance.

[KevWind]

I don't know about how to extend the phone battery life other than actually use the charging connection via extension chord .
BUT and this is a HUGE -BUT (Record the entire gig ? OK fine for your own archive purposes)

.....BUT You should not post a 2 hour gig on Youtube ---Post only one song at a time ,,, and you absolutely do not want to send a file or send an YT link for solicitation, of anything longer than maybe 2 - 4 minutes max , and it should be 10-to 15 second samples of the range of songs you play

The average audition listening time for AR or Publishing is about 10-15 seconds .
For live gig venues it is likely 30 seconds two a maybe a minute if they really like the first 15 seconds. Which is why for solicitation (or even most public listening) any intro longer than about 5 -8 seconds is usually bad idea (unless the intro is so stunning, unique, and compelling, that it is actually the hook of the song and can stand alone ...

[Chipotle]

I believe latest Android versions (11 or higher) have a 10GB max file size. Which, if you're recording 4K/30fps, is about... 33 minutes. If those are the settings you're using, reduce things to 1080p or even 720p, at 24fps, to get longer recording time.

However, to follow on to Kev's comment, if this is for promotional purposes, a full gig in 4K is way, way overkill. They want a quick sample, not to watch a concert. And 1080p is more than enough resolution.

Here's my version of that video. It's about two and a half minutes long total, with 5 song samples of about 25 seconds each. This is all you need.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Mnahopkins

I'm using my old android phone to record audio and video of my live gigs to post on YouTube so I can send them to venues to try and get more gigs. I'm fine with the quality of the phone video for now, what I'm having a hard time with is that my phone will only record for about 33 minutes. It will start a new video automatically after the 33 minutes but then I have to upload four individual videos for a 2 hour gig. I am using an app called open camera and I've set the video maximum size to 9GB but it still has that limit. How do I get a full two hour recording from my phone?

Thanks in advance.

I use Open Camera on my Android phone but do not use extended recording times, 10 or 15 minutes is all I would ever need before editing.

Do you have a secondary (large) memory card installed? Open Camera can be configured in the advanced setup options for porting your recording to the secondary card if I remember correctly. You might investigate that.

You might also consider setting the video resolution lower. If you have it set to the highest quality HD setting then your phone is going to limit the recording length because it will only allow a certain percentage of allotted memory space for app use. (Do NOT use 4K!!!) I believe that can be changed in your phone's advanced settings, not the Open Camera app settings.

I see Chipotle has already added very good recommendations as I was typing...

[Mnahopkins]

Wow! Ask and you shall receive, wish I would have asked you guys sooner. I am looking to record the whole gig for YouTube content so that when I send the link to a venue, they can see that I have actually played in front of an audience and the style of music that I play. On the other hand, I agree that we want to see the good stuff in less than 8 seconds otherwise we move on. So I believe that I should make an edited condensed version of a few song samples and use that as an EPK like Chipotle did. Not sure if I'll need editing software or if that's possible to do on YouTube.

In regards to the video quality, I did drop it down to 1080or even 740 and it still only records the 33 minutes. And I don't have a memory card in the phone other than the stock one. I have sole digging to do, and morelearnibg opportunities as well.

Thanks for your responses, I really appreciate the knowledge shared here!

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by Mnahopkins

In regards to the video quality, I did drop it down to 1080or even 740 and it still only records the 33 minutes.

You didn't say what phone you had... if it's older, older Android versions (pre-11) have a 4GB file size limit, so you may be hitting that. Either way, digital recorders have limits (much like in the old days you'd have to swap in a new videotape).

I'd just start/stop every few songs, if possible. If you're making a compilation (AFAIK you will need an editor to do that before uploading to YouTube--there are recent threads about that, and I think some info in the stickies at the top of this subforum) that will make it easier to find the particular songs you want to include, rather than one giant long video file.

[Mnahopkins]

Sorry for not clarifying, yes I'm using an older phone, I believe it's a Samsung Galaxy S6. Trying to find the setting for file sizes. Any recommendations for easy relatively inexpensive video editing software?

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Mnahopkins

Sorry for not clarifying, yes I'm using an older phone, I believe it's a Samsung Galaxy S6. Trying to find the setting for file sizes. Any recommendations for easy relatively inexpensive video editing software?

Reaper. It's free to download and try out and $60 for an individual license if you decide to keep it.

Basic video editing is easy and it would be very good for working with your audio, even if you only use what's recorded with the video on your phone.

Here's a brand new video I posted in the show and tell section to demonstrate doing quick Android phone videos for posting here on the forum.

Video shot with my phone and edited / rendered with Reaper.

[Mnahopkins]

I'll check out Reaper, thanks for the info. I just downloaded the app Capcut, going to play with it a little and see where it gets me. Anyone else have experience with this?

[Gordon Currie]

When I take video using FAT32-formatted cards, I get multiple 4 GB files named sequentially (since FAT32 has a 4 GB per file limit).

It is easy in your video editor to line them up so they play seamlessly.

I'm thinking something similar is happening here. Maybe the video recording app has a hard limit coded in.

As others have said, NO ONE is going to listen to your 7 or 8 30 minute files - nor would they listen to your 2 hour show.
Best to slice them into individual songs or 2-3 song segments.

You want the flexibility to OMIT any songs that don't make the cut (sound problems, performance issues, audience issues). Don't show the song where the mike fell off the stand.

Finally, upload these to YouTube and give potential bookers the URL(s) to segments you like best. Bookers tend to be savvy enough that they can get an idea of what you do in 3 songs max.

[Mnahopkins]

Thanks for the info, I ended up lowering the quality of video and it will now record the whole 2 hour gig. I like having the whole gig as one so I can pick and choose like you said, the good songs and cut out the bad songs. But it is great for watching how I play, body language and also audience reaction. I am trying to figure out how to cut and combine video clips in this app Capcut, no success with that yet.

[wood&wire]

Originally Posted by Mnahopkins

Any recommendations for easy relatively inexpensive video editing software?

I use a freeware version of Lightworks video editing software. It's not super intuitive BUT there are tons of youtube tutorials to guide you through the basics of cutting and arranging clips, adding fade-ins and fade-outs, placing titles and text on the screen, as well as other various effects and editing tools. There is also an audio editing portion of the software but I haven't delved into that yet as my cell phone videos are basic enough that I've never really needed to adjust audio for how I record videos.

Here is my latest youtube addition that is also posted in Show and Tell:

[Mnahopkins]

I appreciate you sharing that video wood&wire. I just got this video put together with Capcut for an EPK, quite a struggle with a phone but it is the first successful video compilation I've done. Thoughts? Things I should edit?

https://youtu.be/Envxf4ZaHI8

Cheers!

[wood&wire]

Originally Posted by Mnahopkins

I appreciate you sharing that video wood&wire. I just got this video put together with Capcut for an EPK, quite a struggle with a phone but it is the first successful video compilation I've done. Thoughts? Things I should edit?

https://youtu.be/Envxf4ZaHI8

Cheers!

I like what I saw and heard. Is Capcut an app where you edit within your phone or do you download the video to your computer and edit that way? Not that it matters, mainly just curious.

Other than an occasional open mic, I am not a gigging musician and really have no reason to put together an EPK. That said, if I were to do anything to your video compilation, I might follow what Chipotle did and add a title to each song excerpt. Maybe others can chime in for more constructive criticism.

[Mnahopkins]

Thanks for the constructive criticism on labeling the songs. The app is apparently best suited for a phone with the most versatility from what I've read. To use a computer you would need to upload videos to the cloud and then transfer them. But hey, free is always my first choice!