Want a simpler solution to creating youtube videos

[ny3299]

My goal is to record solo classical and solo acoustic fingerstyle guitar arrangements and create youtube videos. I have an Edirol R09 digital audio recorder and a Kodak Zi8 video camera. I have a new iMac with Garageband. Currently I am taking the audio file, mixing it in Garageband, then importing it into iMovie with the video where I then try to synch them up. The result is okay, but I think its a real pain the butt and I spend an enormous amount of time just getting to that point (yes, I am technically challenged). So, I am looking for simpler solutions. Here are my questions, please:
1- is there an all in one product out there that shoots video along with digital audio where everything is synched and where you can also tweak the audio with EQ/Reverb, etc?? And then simply move the whole thing into a movie editor like iMovie?
2- I am confused about whether products like Tascam and Apogee MiC that seem to allow for digital audio recording simultaneously with an iPhone video - but does that mean the digital audio replaces the video's audio and everything is synched and ready to go - or do you still need to mix the audio separately and then move it into iMovie?
Thanks in advance for your assistance - please keep it simple - I do not want to buy expensive mics, digital audio interfaces, mixers, etc., but I am open to buying something, within reason, that will make the process very simple...:-)

[Fran Guidry]

In your current workflow, do you use a clap or other sharp noise to give yourself an easy point of synchronization? That's my first recommendation.

There are not very many video cameras with excellent audio circuitry and audio inputs. The Zoom Q3HD and Olympus LS20m are the low end cameras with clean audio and 1080 HD video. The Tascam VH1d shoots 720p HD. The Q3HD is out of production and the Q2HD does not have audio inputs. With one of the first two you could use your Olympus recorder headphone output to feed the audio into the camera so syncing would not be required.

You can try this same trick with your Zi8 although I found the audio captured this way to be pretty marginal.

http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/2010/...the-kodak-zi8/
http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/2010/...the-zoom-q3hd/

High end video cameras, that is, those over $2000 or so, often have XLR mic inputs which would allow you to connect high quality mics directly.

With any of these solutions you could tweak the audio in Audacity or some other program (perhaps even Garageband) and it would line up in iMovie without any effort.

I'm surprised that iMovie doesn't offer any audio treatment features, many video programs do. I use the same VST plugins in REAPER and Edius, for instance. I'm not up on software for the Mac but I would think you could find a program that does audio as well as video. So my workflow with the Q3HD is to connect external mics and a preamp then adjust the audio at the same time that I trim and tweak the video. All the videos in this playlist were handled in this way: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...PH_Yw_6oVibMA3

Fran

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by Fran Guidry

I'm not up on software for the Mac but I would think you could find a program that does audio as well as video.

Final Cut X (iMovie on steroids) lets you use all VST/AU effects, and can handle basic editing. iMove seems to be a bit more limited to just basic volume adjustments and other built-in operations, tho I've never spent much time exploring it, so I might be missing something. I know you can export a movie from iMovie into GarageBand, where you have a lot more editing at your disposal. But I haven't found any video program that can match what a good audio editor can do. What I've been doing is creating the movie in Final Cut, then when I'm done, exporting the movie, and then opening it in Logic. There I can't edit the video, but I can see it while I work on the audio, and I have all the features of a real audio program available. it would certainly be nice to have it all in one, but this flow is pretty easy.

[ny3299]

Thank you very much!

[ny3299]

Excellent - thank you!

[Scotty12string]

I'm with Fran on the Zoom Q3HD -though it's out of production now, you'd pick one up on EBay - whatever, great sound repro, great 1080 video repro,you can't go wrong-no, I don't work for Zoom,I just have had such great results from this easy to use device,and like you,I'm not a techno-freak, I can't be doing with fiddling. -about with stuff, I just wanna play guitar!

[Alter]

don't know about the states, but plenty of stores in europe still carry the q3hd case someone decides to go this way. i bought one new this week, they didn't even know anything about it being discontinued..

[Scotch]

Looked at reviews of this Zoom Q3HD. I might actually buy it. Mainly for recording of instrumentals and a good way to help me improve on my vocals.

Just watched another video the quality of sound on it doesnt seem too good.