User:Torley Linden/FAQ

Good questions I've been asked four or more times, hence FAQ. ;)

How do you make a Video Tutorial?

You wanna know all the gory details? Here's my workflow:

• Record raw footage inworld using FRAPS. Current hot key to start/stop is F8. I usually:
  • Set Second Life screen resolution to 1024x768.
  • Scale UI to 1.200.
  • Raise UI sounds to full volume.

• When recording is done, gather raw footage into a folder and rename it with the title of the tutorial.

• Load "Video Tutorial Template" in Sony Vegas, containing basic outline and track setup. (Continues to be revised over time.)

• Drag-and-drop movie clips on master video track. Trim ends and crossfade into each other as desired.

• Move around ending bumper to fit.

• Use "Video Event Pan/Crop" at appropriate places in the timeline to provide zoomed-in focus on UI elements.

• Ctrl-drag to copy text media template to appropriate places in timeline and customize it. (Sometimes I customize start + end titles at this point too.)

• Reword captions as I go along. Stretch text media if some needs to last longer. Other settings, like Placement, can also be changed to provide optimum visibility without impairing other stuff.

• Solo stereo audio voiceover track, export as mono WAV.

• Open audio in Sony Sound Forge, open "Torley's Video Tutorial processing" (currently rev. 8) and process the WAV.

• Drag-and-drop the WAV back into Vegas in the "MASTER" voiceover track, mute original (non-processed) voiceover.

• Add MP3 music (often one of my own compositions so I don't have to worry about licensing) to the -18 dB (I found this provides a good balance, audible without being too intrusive) audio track.

• Fade and trim ends as appropriate.

• Add some extra gloss (transition effects) — I like to experiment, sometimes obviously, sometimes more subtle, with different techniques in each vid.

• Re-watch vid a couple of times to make sure everything's in its right place. Polish anything else stray I find.

• Render vid to MainConcept AVC/AAC MP4 with these settings:
  • Video rendering quality = Best
  • Frame size = 640x480 (square pixel, meant to be played back on computer screens)
  • Profile = Main
  • Frame rate = 24
  • Use deblocking filter = ON
  • Variable bit rate = Maximum of 1,500,000 bps and Average of 750,000 bps
  • Two-pass = ON
  • Audio sample rate = 44,100 Hz
  • Audio bit rate = 128,000 Hz

• When rendering's done, upload it to my YouTube page. Keep in mind YouTube reduces resolution further, drops frame rate to 15 FPS, changes audio from stereo to mono (ugh!), etc. so I like to have a higher-rez version to distribute. Remember, you can easily degrade quality, but it isn't so easy to upsample.

• While uploading's happening, work on accompanying blog post or fill in other info that could usefully be multitasked.

• Shortly after uploading's done, I sometimes watch the vid to make sure things turned out alright, then I post to the blog or otherwise further communicate about my new vidtut.

The above is subject to iteration, but hopefully provides a wealth of insights into how I do what I do. :)

There's pictures of nude people on the left-hand side of the Official Linden Blog! What do I do?

That photostream comes from an external site, Flickr, by way of a WordPress widget and is moderated by Residents. It's rated PG, meaning there shouldn't be explicit nudity, gore, etc. Second Life's own website is also rated PG according to our Community Standards. By far and large, the vast majority of those pictures are appropriate, but in case you see one that isn't, here's what to do:

• Click on the image.
• Click the "Flag this photo" link on the right side.
• Check "Please review this photo's safety level" and click SAVE button.

The photo won't disappear immediately, but will be investigated by Flickr staff.

If you see someone repeatedly trying to post inappropriate pictures over time despite being reported, let a group admin know.

Submitting images to the group pool will also push other photos out of the stream.