Are Some People On Youtube Miming?

[RobKay]

Over the last few weeks i've been youtubing acoustic guitar recordings, some of the quality of the recordings and of course the playing is terrific where some of the recordings are average(sound wise) at best.....
I know there's sometimes sync problems with utube but some of the playing(on some tracks) doesn't quite match whats recorded in the audio, extra notes played, not played etc.....So this brings me to the question are some of these super sounding recordings done in a pro studio and then the op sits in their front room or kitchen with a mic and camera and says well listen to this and mimes to the pre recorded track, i'm not saying it isn't them playing the song originally in the studio recording....
Just to say this is not aimed at anyone on these forums but just a general observation....
Perhaps i'm just getting a bit too old and cynical..
Rob

[deltoid]

I'm sure some people do. I've seen plenty of videos where there's no mic in sight or a cable plugged into the guitar, but the sound is rich and full, definitely not recorded by the video cam.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by RobKay

...Perhaps i'm just getting a bit too old and cynical..
Rob

Hi Rob...
Millions of videos a day uploaded to YouTube, so some are bound to be faked.

But YouTube also often misaligns the audio from the video slightly.

I don't care if some are faking it, because I'm not likely to be drawn to their videos anyway. I read hands to see what I can learn, and frankly they probably have nothing to pass on to me.

As to not seeing mics, and assuming it's faked - it's easy to set a decent condenser mic just out of camera range (even a Zoom H2) and record stellar audio. I often record the audio via a second source and then import and overlay the original audio (delete the original and replace it). Though it's perfectly aligned on my master, the YouTube engines sometimes manage to get it misaligned slightly


Here's a link to my first attempt done that way w/ a Zoom H2 recorder on a camera tripod just out of camera range (directly even w/ and aimed at the neck/body joint from beneath).

Replace audio test - CLiCK

Here was another where I describe the setup and then play…

Test 2 - CLIck

[Bob1131]

Absolutely! If I were ever to put a clip on YouTube, that's what I would do, too, or at least record the audio separately and try to sync the audio and video post recording. Many pop star performances on television (and some concerts) from the mid 60s to present have been lip-sycn'd or mimed, and I see nothing wrong with that at all. I can understand wanting to present the best sound and image possible.

A recording can be examined over and over, so it is a record of performance! I want it to be a flawless example of my work, rather than let it be a record of a so-so or flawed performance. A recording serves as part of your resume. How successful would you be at obtaining work by putting your mistakes and failures on your resume instead of your accomplishments and successes?

[napman]

Originally Posted by Bob1131

A recording serves as part of your resume. How successful would you be at obtaining work by putting your mistakes and failures on your resume instead of your accomplishments and successes?

Well thought, got me thinking

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Bob1131

...A recording serves as part of your resume. How successful would you be at obtaining work by putting your mistakes and failures on your resume instead of your accomplishments and successes?

Hi Bob...
It certainly could and if I were using it thusly, I'd be more concerned about perfection.

I use YouTube to post ideas for students, and capture ideas for later and to experiment w/ equipment, so I'm not particularly concerned if people see a mistake or two or hear me mumble about the need to practice.

If I were using it for audition purposes, I'd certainly record the audio separately from video and replace the original audio. I'd also have a separate account reserved for only that type of recording.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by RobKay

So this brings me to the question are some of these super sounding recordings done in a pro studio and then the op sits in their front room or kitchen with a mic and camera and says well listen to this and mimes to the pre recorded track

I've seen a few that were pretty obviously "fingersynching", but it's not hard to record the audio separately, and to keep mics just out of sight of the cameras. Sometimes I let my mics be seen, other times I'm careful to put them just out of the camera view (which of course compromises the sound a bit since I'm optimizing for the look, not the sound). I've never tried "fingersynching", but it seems like it'd require a lot of practice to do well!

Of course, if you watch real pro videos - MTV style videos, it's virtually all lip/fingersynched. Scene changes, clothes changes, singing on top of a mountain, or on a treadmill, or whatever, we accept that as watchers with no problem, right?

[mchalebk]

As already mentioned, it's no problem to put a good condenser mic out of the camera view and record separately. I have used as many as 3 mics, all out of view (or plugged into Mama Bear for an additional guitar track to help balance my voice and guitar). For the videos I've recorded, I use iMovie to record the video and Garageband the audio. So, I can get a pretty decent sound without relying on the camera mic.

While I'm sure there are people out there miming on YouTube, it's worth keeping in mind that some people simply do overdubs. There's no reason everything has to be live and a single take.

[Bob1131]

There must be as many reasons for posting a music video to YouTube as there are people posting to YouTube. And that is cool. However, everyone should be aware that although we might intend a YT post just for friends or as a joke or an impromptu jam or whatever, the fact remains that if we make it available to the world, then we can never be sure how it will be perceived or used and, therefore, whether or not we might have missed an offer or opportunity because of poor quality or performance. I can tell you that I have looked for local artist YouTubes to determine whether or not to go see them live at a local night spot so, I assume I am not the only one making use of the internet and YouTube for that purpose.