Need advice how to make FSX videos

[WebMaximus 372]

I've just started using FS Recorder to record flights in the NGX where all animations work like the spoilers, flaps etc during replay and now I'm thinking of maybe also buying FRAPS to be able to watch my flights outside FSX with the sound included.

 

Problem with this though is I won't be able to swtich views like I'm able to inside FSX and a substitute for this would be if I could come up with a video where I will see the flight from several different views at the same time on the same screen just like you often do in professionally made cockpit/in-flight movies by combining several FRAPS recordings in the same video.

 

Any input what video editing software you would recommend to accomplish this much appreciated and preferably freeware. Speaking about freeware...I found out that to be able to record more than 30 seconds using FRAPS I need to register it for almost $40 which I find a bit steep so maybe there's a good freeware alternative to FRAPS that will still let me do the same thing?

 

Thanks in advance!

[bennyboy75 100]

There are plenty, FRAPS, Bandicam, DXtory etc. Some are cheaper than others but all of them will hurt your frame rate in the game. The processing power needed to burn those huge raw video files to your hard drive pulls a good 10fps off FSX on my system and I'm running a Core i7 3970X at 4.8ghz with a 6gb Titan, so a lesser system will be hit even harder. It can make the difference between 30FPS at a complex airport in the NGX and frames in the high teens which feels a bit yucky.

 

There are other ways to capture video with external modules that do all the processing outside windows so there's no FPS impact but they all cost a lot more than the software options.

 

A common trick is to run the game at a slow rate and then speed it up at the editing stage to smooth it out or edit scenes with popping scenery and flashes. That's why you see such a huge difference in films from the top guys on YouTube and people who just fly and run tape over the whole thing.

[Jean-Jacques 120]

As a long-time user of FRAPS, I recently switched to BANDICAM and have not regretted my move. The utility has less of an impact on frame rates and resuling video files are much smaller than with FRAPS. Also, the utility serves two purposes: first, it allows the recording of FSX and other games in full screen mode; second, it also allows the recording of your desktop or part of it for recording instructional videos.

 

Quote from Bandicam web page: "Bandicam makes it possible to record a certain area on a PC screen, or a program that uses the DirectX/OpenGL graphic technologies. Bandicam will help you carry out a video record with high compression ratio, while keeping the video quality closer to the original work, and provides performance far superior to other programs that provide similar functions."

 

See http://www.bandicam.com/

 

Well worth the $39 in my opinion.

 

JJ

[Pineapple_Wizard 42]

I use the "Render Video" feature in FsRecorder version 2.17 or something like that. It records your playback at half speed, and then it speeds it up to a framerate that you can set. The default is 25, so you'll end up with a really smooth video no matter how much fps you got while actually flying the part you wanted to record. Keep in mind if you up the render fps in FsRecorder, I'll record even slower, and also there will be no sound from it either, which doesn't personally bother me because I always use sounds from real flights on youtube videos. Hope that helped

[Captain Kevin 586]

I use the "Render Video" feature in FsRecorder version 2.17 or something like that. It records your playback at half speed, and then it speeds it up to a framerate that you can set. The default is 25, so you'll end up with a really smooth video no matter how much fps you got while actually flying the part you wanted to record. Keep in mind if you up the render fps in FsRecorder, I'll record even slower, and also there will be no sound from it either, which doesn't personally bother me because I always use sounds from real flights on youtube videos. Hope that helped

I did pretty much the same thing, and ended up running the playback again through FS Recorder just to record the sounds. Results can be seen here.

 

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/411514-jfk-action/

[P*Funk 9]

 Keep in mind if you up the render fps in FsRecorder, I'll record even slower, and also there will be no sound from it either, which doesn't personally bother me because I always use sounds from real flights on youtube videos. Hope that helped

Its a well known fact about the film industry that when they film things, often enough in post production the sounds you're hearing are greatly, if not entirely, enhanced or created in a sound booth and overlaid on the visuals. There's no reason you couldn't record the sounds absent the video on a normal play back and just splice those into the rendered, soundless, video. You could also manufacture a soundtrack from real sounds from the plane but cut them in to emphasize things that aren't noticeable from the camera angle's sounds you normally get. Classic filmmakers technique. 

 

 

I did pretty much the same thing, and ended up running the playback again through FS Recorder just to record the sounds. Results can be seen here.

 

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/411514-jfk-action/

 

Basically what I said.

 

The real question really becomes, how much effort are you willing or interested in making to produce your video? The real gems are usually made up of multiple layers of different work, thus consuming significantly more time than a nice quick "shake n bake" job.

[Captain Kevin 586]

The real question really becomes, how much effort are you willing or interested in making to produce your video? The real gems are usually made up of multiple layers of different work, thus consuming significantly more time than a nice quick "shake n bake" job.

Those two videos I did took me no less than eight hours total, between recording the clips with FS Recorder, rendering said clips, getting the sound, and then putting everything together.

[P*Funk 9]

Those two videos I did took me no less than eight hours total, between recording the clips with FS Recorder, rendering said clips, getting the sound, and then putting everything together.

 

Yea, its surprising how time consuming these things can become. Longer to render a video of it than to fly the actual procefures. This is why I don't begrudge serious youtubers their advertizing hits that pay them out for their efforts. 5 minutes for us is probably 8 hours plus for video makers, so why not give them the 4 seconds then "skip" so they have a reason to make more.

 

I mostly use FSRecorder to review my landings, but its nice to know that the render at reduced speed option makes it very possible for someone with a crap rig like mine to consider one day producing something of half decent quality.