Make video for YouTube

[Qqmike]

General:
I want to learn how to make a video in 18.04, using PC's Logitech webcam, and upload it to my YouTube channel. Videos would be brief, like 2 to 5 minutes or so, with sound, of course.
Caution: I'm not an A/V guy! KISS. These videos would be me talking or showing something to the camera like a poster, or some object, or a photograph.

I've played a little with Cheese, making a brief .webm video, and it actually worked.
(I have not yet done any YT uploading, but that looks doable once I get a viewable video.)

Question:
Any other suggested, easy-to-use (free as in beer) software for 18.04 for making videos using the webcam on the PC?
Any other comments regarding this endeavor?

Supported file formats for YouTube videos are the following; but, of course, I'd like to stick with just the very most common ones:

• .MOV
• .MPEG4
• .MP4
• .AVI
• .WMV
• .MPEGPS
• .FLV
• 3GPP
• WebM
• DNxHR
• ProRes
• CineForm
• HEVC (h265)

[GreyGeek]

obs-studio
The best FOSS version available, IMO. It is in the repository.

EDIT: forgot to say that you need to install ffmpeg first.
Also, I prefer the appimage:
https://www.appimagehub.com/p/1409898

[claydoh]

If you are just uploading a recording made with cheese, and need to trim or otherwise edit it, a good editor is Openshot. Much more stable than kdenlive, and a bit simpler to use - fewer bells and whistles, but still can be 'fancy'.
Appimages or PPA will get you the current version, much improved over what you have in 18.04's repos.
Avidemux is another, even simpler edit tool to consider as well


OBS is more for broadcasting and live streaming, and while it does record, it might be more than you need when just getting started, and does not have editing features.

Export the edited file with the highest resolution possible - the same as it was recorded at - don't downsize it, youtube will do that after uploading, and it will generally look better at lower revolutions if the viewer chooses one of these.

Don't forget to consider using your phone to record video, if you have one. It could very well have a much better camera than the webcam, and will have useful bits like autofocus/zoom and better color. And for your purposes, you could very easily shoot, trim, and upload directly from the mobile device.

[Qqmike]

Interesting, excellent. Many thanks!

[jglen490]

Phones work well for recording. They also result in amateurish presentation, if the person doing the recording moves around.

Just consider the environment and purpose of the recording. If all you are doing is staying in one place and always talking towards the camera and or microphone and have decent lighting, a simple phone by itself will produce a Youtube-ready file.

I do a recording weekly with a camcorder and sound from a "house" mixer having several sound sources. I mix the sound from the board to a device that merges that into the video stream from the camcorder. That stream goes to a PC, through a video card, that uses OBS which records and can also live stream to the 'net and Youtube or Facebook.

Of course, if you use a Logitech camera, it probably has a built-in mic that will work just fine for merging sound and video without lags. From there to the PC and your choice of recording/streaming software. It's all good. Just create a video source and an audio source, and join them so that they are synchronized.

[Qqmike]

with a camcorder and sound from a "house" mixer having several sound sources. I mix the sound from the board to a device that merges that into the video stream from the camcorder. That stream goes to a PC, through a video card, that uses OBS which records and can also live stream to the 'net and Youtube or Facebook.

jglen490, what part of KISS did you not understand? Ha! :-) just kidding you ... Yeah, I gotta learn some things about how to best shoot the vid with webcam/phone, lighting and such. Doesn't have to be perfect. We are the same age (based on one of your recent posts). I need to do a search on, how to look younger on your homemade video ... ;-)

[jglen490]

The last part is simple - hire a stand in

[GreyGeek]

https://www.flexclip.com/video-editor.html