Record StepMania Movies

How to use a webcam + screen recorder to get dual-screen footage

Originally by belink posted in this thread: http://www.stepmania.com/forums/showthread.php?p=110904#post110904

First of all, the tools you will need:

• Sony Vegas 6+ Video Editor (not free)
• Youtube Downloader
• FLV to MPG converter
• CamStudio
• A YouTube account
• Finally, a Webcam.

(this guide took a little while to perfect and create, but once you get the knack of it it's easy!)

• Step 1. Install all the programs above.
• Step 2. Set up your Webcam to point at your dance mat or fingers
• Step 3. Open Stepmania in windowed mode. (this is because running Camstudio in fullscreen capture caused huge FPS drops for me)
• Step 4. In Camstudio, Go to Region -> Fixed Region and press 'Select'. Drag this to your SM window size.
• Step 5. In Youtube, Goto Upload video (the button) and use Direct Cam Upload. Enter in all the details.
• Step 6. Press 'Record' on the Direct Cam Upload.
• Step 7. Goto Camstudio and press the record button.
• Step 8. Go back to StepMania and play whatever song you want.
• Step 9. When you're finished, stop the recording on Camstudio (You'll be asked to save - do it) and Youtube (which will make a video on youtube of just your fingers/pad).
• Step 10. When the video is finished processing, go to your YouTube link and copy the URL.
• Step 11. Open Youtube Downloader, set it to download a video from YouTube and it should save a .flv file.
• Step 12. Open the FLV to MPG converter, drag and drop the FLV file into the list. Press the 'MPG' button at the bottom left.
• Step 13. Goto File -> Convert Checked Videos.
• Step 14. Once done, open Sony Vegas. Open both of the video files on different video tracks with the pad video on top and the actual SM footage below.
• Step 14. Press this button on the pad/kb video:
• Step 15. Zoom out using the mouse wheel downwards, and drag the bottom of the F outwards and position until it looks good:
• Step 16. Sync the two videos together (this can be a tricky process)
• Step 16a. To sync effeciently try and find the very first note on the SM video in Vegas, then move the pad/kb video so as soon as the first note comes into the receptor the pad video is synced perfectly.
• Step 17. (optional) Add the audio to the video if CamStudio didn't record it - open the audio file from your Stepmania/Songs directory in vegas and sync accordingly.
• Step 18. Goto File -> Render as and follow the steps in this picture in order of number:

(if you don't see XviD Mpeg-4 encoder, download the K-Lite Codec Pack here.)

• Step 18a. Press OK to everything then press Save in the first window.
• Step 19. Your video will be rendering - leave it until it is finished and it will create a .avi file.
• Step 20. Upload this avi file to YouTube! You are now done!

you can now delete the old video you used to capture the video from the webcam - if you don't know how, see here: http://www.jakeludington.com/youtube/20070404_delete_videos_from_youtube.html

Hopefully if all went well the end result will be something like this:

• (Destiny Medium (6)
• (Stop & Go Hard (8)