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Although I’ve been recording podcasts for fifteen years now, I never really got into creating videos. The last time I tried, I found the process to be a time consuming nightmare. I thought creating videos would be as simple as turning on a camera, pressing record, and uploading the results to YouTube. In reality it’s a lot harder than that. For starters, it’s almost impossible to get great audio from the microphones build into most cameras — doubly so if you’re trying to match audio levels with insert shots. This led me to recording my audio from a separate microphone, which meant syncing audio and video tracks in a video editing suite followed by lengthy rendering times. Things like pick up shots and overlaid graphics added more complexity and more time. It didn’t take long for me to lose interest in all the work required to create free videos to go with my free podcasts.<\/p>\n

Recently my friends Boat (John) and Aaron, the hosts of the popular Amigos Podcast, asked if I wanted to add my Commodore 64 podcast Sprite Castle<\/a> to their network of retrocomputing-themed shows. I’ve been a fan of their podcast since it started, and jumped at the opportunity. Boat also suggested I add some videos to their YouTube channel to promote my show as well.<\/p>\n

I’ve spent the past month playing with Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), a free program that more or less turns your computer into a video broadcast station. OBS allows you to set up multiple “scenes” using different inputs from programs or cameras, and control everything on the fly. It’s definitely been a learning curve, but I’m getting the hang of it. My favorite aspect is that everything can be done in real time — you hit record, do your show, and when you’re done, you have a video file that can be uploaded directly to YouTube without the need for lengthy post-production rendering.<\/p>\n

To accompany my Sprite Castle podcast, I’ve added a new series of videos on YouTube called Sprite Castle Plays<\/a>. These videos are not meant to replace my podcast, but rather supplement it with video footage of the games being played. As someone who grew up in the 80s it is hard for me to remember that not everyone has seen games like Yie Ar Kung-Fu or Lode Runner in action. Uploading the videos is a way for my audio listeners to check out video game play footage, and hopefully lead YouTube viewers to my audio podcast. <\/p>\n