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Video Recording in the Music Room

Alejandro Cremaschi | March 2009


    Video recording technology has been readily available to the general public since the 1980s, when Amer­icans be­came fans of taping weddings, birth­days, holidays, pets, children, and vacation trips to view on their home VCRs. This technology has evolved since then as cameras became smaller, lighter, and cheaper. Video cameras now record pristine digital video and audio that can easily be imported, edited on personal computers with inexpensive software, and saved on DVDs or posted on the internet.
    People have found there is no need to pay professional studios to edit or add music and captions to their amateur videos because they can do it all themselves. This convenience has led to a virtual explosion of amateur-produced videos posted on websites like youtube, personal websites, and video blogs.
    Video technology is a powerful marketing and teaching tool for music teachers. Increasing numbers of educators are investing in camcorders and editing software for the studio because their ease of use and availability makes video and DVD production affordable and fairly straightforward.

Choosing a Camcorder
    With so many options and features and the rapid growth of camcorder technology, selecting the right camcorder can be confusing. For helpful advice, some of the best people to consult are store employees at large electronics stores because they receive training on how to use all the products displayed on the sales floor. Other good sources of information are consumer guides such as the Camcorder Buying Guide published on cnet.com, a website that features comprehensive reviews of tech products. A good-quality, reliable camcorder that records performances and lessons, which can be edited with a computer, can cost anywhere between $250 and $800 depending on its features. Stores sell only digital camcorders these days; the old, bulky VHS recorders are gone for the most part.

Camcorder Features
    When buying a camcorder be sure it has at least 680 Kilopixels (Kpix) of CCD video resolution. The higher this number, the crisper the image. (1 Megapixel = 1000 Kpix). The camcorder should also have a Firewire connector – IEEE 1394 or i.LINK in some camera brands – to move video to a computer for editing without losing quality. The computer will need a Firewire connector as well, and you may have to buy an inexpensive Firewire cable.
    A USB 2.0 connector allows some cameras to share video with a computer through a USB port, instead of the less common Firewire port. It is important to check the camera to be sure it can send video through the USB connector because some cameras send only still images through this connector. A microphone terminal will allow you to connect an external microphone to the camcorder. Although it is not essential, in some instances an external microphone will reproduce better sound quality than the built-in stereo microphones of the camcorder. Finally, look for an A/V terminal to connect the camcorder to a television or video tape recorder for dubbing through a cable that is usually bundled with the camera. Virtually all cameras include an A/V terminal.

Making a Video Recording
    The process of producing a video recording begins by recording the material using one or more video cameras. Several cameras will provide a variety of angles to choose from if you edit the video, but it makes the editing process more complex and time consuming. I suggest you mount the camcorder on a tripod for steady shots that give professional results.
    If your goal is to record a single lesson to give to a student, then your job is complete. If you wish to edit the material, however, you have to upload or import the recorded material onto the computer’s hard drive.
Editing recorded material can involve a number of steps, from selecting good takes and trimming unwanted material to adding captions, effects, titles, and transitions. You may want to modify the volume of the takes, mix video from more than one camera, mix external audio, and more. While some camera models let you to do simple editing without a computer, editing with a computer gives you a chance to make sophisticated changes and additions to the recorded material with equipment that is powerful and flexible. The inexpensive software now available makes this step easier than ever. Once you edit the final version of your recording, then it can be saved into a compressed file to post on the web or onto a DVD or VHS tape for viewing.

Create a VHS Video
    Dubbing a digital recording from a camcorder to the old VHS tape format is fairly easy. Because many households still have VHS video players, this format is a convenient way to create an unedited final product that students can take home and watch right away.
    The first step is to connect the camcorder to the VHS recorder/ player using a A/V cable. Look for the “In” terminals in the back of the VHS recorder/player. For most VHS players simply turn the channel of the VHS player to “Line 1” or “Line in.” Rewind, press Play in the digital camcorder, and press Record in the VHS player. You can watch the recorded digital material on the TV screen as it transfers to the VHS tape. The dubbing process takes as long as the recorded material. If you are recording a 45-minute rehearsal, it will take 45 minutes to transfer the recording from the camcorder to the VHS tape.

Video in the Music Room
    Teachers can use video to record rehearsals or lessons, which students can review at home during practice. Many camera models record directly to a DVD that students can watch on a DVD player at home. Usually there is no need to edit these recordings. Other cameras record either to a digital tape or a hard drive, which can be transferred to a computer or burned to a DVD.
    Teachers can also record concerts or student recitals and use these videos to recruit beginners. You can edit the video to include captions, titles or introductory clips, making it more attractive. DVDs of concerts make great fundraisers or gifts, and the files can be posted on the web for students to view. In addition, teachers can create videos of teaching material for students to take home or access online when practicing.

Types of Digital Media
    Current digital camcorders record video onto four different types of digital media: miniDV tapes, mini DVD discs, hard disk drives, and memory cards. There are advantages and disadvantages to each medium and choosing which to use will depend on how you plan to use the camcorder.

Memory cards
    Camcorders that record directly to a memory card such as a SD card are small, light pieces of equipment, but there are many disadvantages to using them. The video is highly compressed and loses quality, making it difficult to import and edit on a computer. The recording times are usually short for higher-quality video and audio. In general, it is best to avoid camcorders that use memory cards exclusively; some are able to use both memory card and mini DVD or miniDV.

Mini DVD Discs
    For teachers who want to record short lessons to give to students after a lesson without any editing, camcorders with mini DVD discs are the most convenient format. These small DVDs are compatible with most DVD players.
    The only drawback of mini DVDs is the short recording time: most have a maximum of 60 minutes in compressed format, which is difficult to edit in a computer, and 30 minutes in high-resolution format. Only rewriteable (RW) DVDs can be reused. Further, a single bad bit can render an entire disc unreadable.

Mini DV Tapes
    If you plan to use a computer to edit, add titles and captions to the recorded material, and then store the final product on a regular DVD or to a website, then a miniDV recorder is the best choice. MiniDV tapes (DV=Digital Video) are compact tapes that last 60 to 90 minutes and store video in an uncompressed format that is easier to import and edit. These tapes can be used multiple times. I use a miniDV camcorder and dub the tape into an old VHS tape for my students when no editing is needed. If I want to edit the material, I save the final product to a DVD, VHS tape, or electronic file.
    The disadvantage is that miniDV tapes can only be played back with a miniDV camcorder. To watch recordings on a television, the camcorder has to be connected to the television with the A/V cable that is provided with the camera. This makes it difficult to lend tapes to students because they have to borrow the camcorder or you will need to dub the tape to a DVD or VHS for him.

Hard Disk Drives
    Recent camcorders have built-in hard disk drives (HDD) of up to 60 gigabytes that allow for up to 14 hours of high-quality video. These cameras usually include sophisticated menus that make recording easy and allow editing within the camera. An obvious advantage is the length of quality recording: if you plan to record a concert that extends beyond 60 minutes, this camera will record it and you won’t have to switch mini DVDs or tapes.
    A disadvantage is that teachers cannot give recordings to their students right away, unless they are dubbed onto a VHS tape or imported onto a computer and burned to a DVD. Once the hard drive is full, it has to be emptied before you continue to tape because you can’t insert a blank hard drive into the camera.
    MiniDV tapes and mini DVDs tend to be the most practical in this area because they can record numerous lessons onto tapes that teachers can  archive for viewing or editing later; once a hard drive has reached its maximum capacity after 7 or 14 hours, its contents need to be moved to another medium and erased. Another disadvantage is that hard drives can fail.
    In general, if you want to record pullout lessons and give the DVDs to the students for viewing without editing, a camera that records mini DVDs is useful. If teachers plan on editing the recorded material and burning the final product onto a regular DVD or web file, a camera that records miniDVs is the best choice. I personally use miniDVs and dub the tape into an old VHS tape for students when no editing is needed.