I use a tool called "Camtasia" to put my vids together. It's mainly meant as a post-production tool for turning presentations into videos. But it works if you have video source too.
Note: If you want to get high-def, record at 1280x720. That's really the max resolution Youtube will accept.
I don't recommend using any tools that allow for half-resolution capture while playing at higher resolutions. You lose too much video quality in the final conversion process.
As for the general style of the vid? It was fine.
Also, what is this 3GB limit? Max for how much iMovie will handle in a given project?
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
It was more or less an issue with loading and uploading than anything else. I can easily produce the 3 gig version, but uploading it to youtube would've taken nearly four hours. Downloading the video into flash would've also taken forever. I use this computer a lot, and as a network to some other computers for internet access. The only time I can upload a video and tie up this machine for 230 minutes is when it won't be used for that timeframe, and I will be awake to monitor the progress.
As it happens, right now is one of those times. Now that I know the resolution that youtube allows, I can just export the video to fit that resolution. The video was originally recorded at 1440 x 900, so I will see if exporting it at 1280 x 720 makes it any prettier.
TPN trial guide video / MoM trial guide video / DD trial guide video / BAF trial guide video
/ Lambda trial guide video / Keyes trial guide video / Magisterium trial guide video / Underground trial guide
UPDATE! The MoM trial guide is now uploaded! All viewers may now bathe in it's warm glow of slightly-above-averageness!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68wW3gEJK6M
Even though the thing is over 5 gigs it is still is only meh quality. I wish I had a better screen recording program than Quicktime, but those cost money and I can't afford to blow cash on what is going to be just a so-so video.
TPN trial guide video / MoM trial guide video / DD trial guide video / BAF trial guide video
/ Lambda trial guide video / Keyes trial guide video / Magisterium trial guide video / Underground trial guide
UPDATE:
MoDD trial guide his here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU_eqHET6sA
The trial was originally 37 minutes long. I had no idea that it took that long to do an MoDD! I thought the second to longest trial next to the UG would be TPN or something. Guess it is this one. To get it to a manageable size, I had to cut it down out a lot of the lengthy AV fights and enemy fights. The team I ran this with, while quite successful, was also an unusually slow one. And I have to say, after running all of these trials, I can't believe how luck I was with them. There were a couple of... strange things that both happened and didn't happen.
First, I only received rare/vr reward components at the end of the trials. This is on a toon that is essentially already finished, so it is less about me being lucky and more about God's sense of humor. I'm still waiting for people to hate me over it.
Second, throughout all of these runs I have never died once. Granted, my PB is quite durable, but normally something happens that makes me kiss pavement. During this run I came close two or three times or so (I believe only one wasn't cut due to time constraints). I was very lucky from a cinematic point of view, since the protagonist here doesn't die, and usually death's greatest effect is the harshing of one's mellow.
TPN trial guide video / MoM trial guide video / DD trial guide video / BAF trial guide video
/ Lambda trial guide video / Keyes trial guide video / Magisterium trial guide video / Underground trial guide
Hey, I've only watched your TPN video so far, but it looks very good, and you hit pretty much all the important instructions.
All I would say is that when you're going to record these videos I would play more zoomed out so that viewers not only get a better sense of what is going, where you are, and what other people are doing, but that all those graphical effects won't be blowing up over the whole screen.
Ah, the ole' conflict of how zoomed I should be. Originally when recorded I would perform the action zoomed up, then later in the trial I would zoom back to show the going ons. Those zoomed out parts usually end up getting cut for time/size, though, since they don't actually show anything really new to the procedure. The zoom-in part is a throwback to a problem in the old times where I didn't learn to tie my shoes until the late into the 4th grade, because whenever someone would show me they would do it so quickly that I never got past the "fiddle their hands randomly" part of tying shoes.
TPN trial guide video / MoM trial guide video / DD trial guide video / BAF trial guide video
/ Lambda trial guide video / Keyes trial guide video / Magisterium trial guide video / Underground trial guide
You thought you were rid of me, but you're WRONG!
I have uploaded a new video, and likewise have also decided to make trial guides for ALL of the trials instead of the hard ones. This leaves me with Lambda, Keyes, and the Magisterium to do.
Originally I was going to do the Magi first, but I just can't get a good recording of one. All the special Magi's I tried to join would fail miserably or not go well in any sense, thus making for a poor video guide. A certain level of success is needed to be a good guide on how to succeed, and they just didn't meet my expectations.
I have expectations now. Expectations are cool.
So now I upload the BAF, and then I will get to work on the Lambda video I have. I still need a few good recordings of Keyes and the Magisterium. I also decided to do these trials in my other toons, since I've run out of combat outfits to showcase on my Peacebringer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ilsp81hrHBw
TPN trial guide video / MoM trial guide video / DD trial guide video / BAF trial guide video
/ Lambda trial guide video / Keyes trial guide video / Magisterium trial guide video / Underground trial guide
Thanks for these, B.R.A. they rock!
Virtue: Sistah Powah, Afrodizziac, NeutronBlonde,Distortionist,IonMaiden,BlindFaith,M adwoman, Vital Signs,Yzzorrdrex,Diesel Mage, Defend, Glasshouse,Rescue I, Bootytrap, The Experience, AE Virus, Drawback, Daytime, Nighttime, Chamberwraith, Invincible Ink, Monster Mitts, Hex Object, Hexperiment, Frightningbolt, Spooky Deville, Scream Weaver, Cackler, Shocktopus, Ogrekill,Road Hazard,Fahrenhate,Duotherm,Black Lung, Horrorculturalist,Foulmouth,
Ah yes. Curse the acronym that my name spells.
Anyway, I have two more videos uploaded.
Keyes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX9K0-osdCM
And Lambda:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nghYQJVgW4
Unfortunately I had to settle a bit for those videos, since my most recent string of recordings has been one accident after another. I think I did well enough in them, though.
I have the final two recordings already for Magisterium and Underground. I'm a little hesitant to do them, though, since uploading the Keyes trial to youtube took 8 hours, and the underground trial is going to be twice that length even with lengthy size cuts. Of course, during that whole time my internet connection runs slow and I can't do anything else but wait for them to upload... Also I am in a dilemma with whether or not I should respect a guy's request, or stomp all over it since it annoys me quite a bit with what he did. But, whether you see my mercy or my malice, I'll try to have all of the videos up by the 25th.
TPN trial guide video / MoM trial guide video / DD trial guide video / BAF trial guide video
/ Lambda trial guide video / Keyes trial guide video / Magisterium trial guide video / Underground trial guide
I guess this will be my final update for awhile, unless I decide to re-do some of the earlier runs. I have the final two videos:
Underground:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3_8BPWpjdY
and Magisterium:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0WafRzzgm4
And with that ends my project to make video guides of the trials. This is because there really isn't a trial left to do! I mean, sure, I can make a guide for Death from Below or Drowning in Blood, but those really don't warrant a guide since those are just grinding missions that aren't that difficult. So, until a new trial is released that needs a guide... Au revoir!
TPN trial guide video / MoM trial guide video / DD trial guide video / BAF trial guide video
/ Lambda trial guide video / Keyes trial guide video / Magisterium trial guide video / Underground trial guide
I am *really* new to the whole video making thing, however I decided to make some video guides on how to go through the trials.
Currently... I have all 8. One for the TPN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZDeApB7C9Q
One for the MoM:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68wW3gEJK6M
One for the DD (Mo run):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU_eqHET6sA
One for the BAF:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ilsp81hrHBw
One for Keyes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX9K0-osdCM
One for Lambda:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nghYQJVgW4
One for Underground:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3_8BPWpjdY
And finally the Magisterium:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0WafRzzgm4
I had to cut some quality so the video was less than 3 gigs. I went with the text in-boxes instead of a voiceover because, well, frankly, I am the king of stuttering forgetfulness. However, these videos aren't really meant to be super pretty. What I am trying to do is convey the necessary information for the trials through them.
Again, this is my first video, so I'll need a lot of honest feedback so I won't go shoving my mistakes down everyone's throat over and over again as I make more videos. Made with iMovie, which is IMO a very clunky program.
EDIT: I am also very new to uploading videos to Youtube. I am fairly certain I exported the video at a higher resolution than 480p, so if there are some tips and tricks that would be good to know, I would appreciate it.
EDIT AGAIN: I have updated it to have better graphics. The resolution is a byproduct of the recording device I use, and unfortunately I can't increase detail any further.
TPN trial guide video / MoM trial guide video / DD trial guide video / BAF trial guide video
/ Lambda trial guide video / Keyes trial guide video / Magisterium trial guide video / Underground trial guide