• Fabian Wetzel
  • 2013-11-14
  • 3 min. read

Checklist For Recording Let's Plays

My new hobby is to make let’s plays myself. Let’s plays are basically recordings of someone playing a video game and commenting on it at the same time. I really like doing it, because it is consuming media and producing content at the same time.

In my first parts, I had a learning curve which let me build up a checklist to avoid doing the same error again in the future:

Preparation before the recording

  • Camera
    • Are all the lights on? The normal webcams make better video images if there is much light around, so switch them on.
    • Do you look great (acceptable)? Many people will see you, so check yourself.
    • What is behind you? If you are not doing green screen, than you should remove everything behind you, which you do not want anyone to see.
  • Audio
    • Are there any noises? Close the windows, disable the ventilation, close the room door, wait until the children are asleep.
    • Is the mic positioning good? Try to place the mic as near to you as possible, but do not breath directly into it. Position your pop filter between you and mic (if you have one).
    • Prevent distractions! Switch off the phone, close Skype, close browser tabs which could make sounds like Facebook. Some pages have advertising with sounds as well and outlook will also receive a mail everytime Zwinkerndes Smiley
  • Setup
    • XSplit: Open it, load the right presentation for the game you are going to play. Test your shortcuts, setup sound volume and check if the correct microphone is selected.
    • The game: Start it!! Load the last save game and remember what has happened in the last part.
    • Setup the timer.

In-between the recording

  • Start the timer and the recording
  • Greet your audience
  • Tell them what has happened and what they should expect in this part but keep it short.
  • Start playing!
  • keep an eye on the timer.
  • When the time is over, find a good spot in your game to make a break and say goodbye to your audience. If you are needy, ask for thumbs up or for subscriptions Zwinkerndes Smiley
  • Wait 3 seconds after your last word and stop the recording

After the recording

  • Re-enable all distractions and open the window again, but do not wake up any children Zwinkerndes Smiley
  • Check whether the recording is appropriate for a public audience. Did someone else speak password or sensitive data? Was your desktop visible? In this case you may want to edit the movie.
  • Upload it to Youtube, but do not worry, it will not be visible right away even if your internet connection is fast.
  • Setup the title, the description and all other metadata of video.
  • Paint the video cover image and upload it to youtube as well
  • Set it to public right away or setup a scheduled release
  • Get yourself a short break and repeat with the next part

If you want to, you can have a look at me playing XCOM: Enemy Unknown (German!):