Can you show us how you record videos?

#56 · $145k/mo founder with an unorthodox take on college

Can you show us how you record videos?

I'm currently in OBS. I disabled the 'hide OBS from capture' feature so it appears in the recording. I have two scenes: 'main' (just my face) and 'screen share plus overlay'. The main scene has a single video input from my camera, stretched to match my display resolution (1920 pixels wide). I use this for talking head segments at the start of videos. When I need to make a point, I switch to the screen share scene. The screen share scene currently shows an infinite mirror effect because I'm screen recording a page that shows me screen recording a page, etc., due to showing OBS while recording. To fix it, I move the window off to the left so the mirroring stops and I see the comment feed. I've meticulously set up many sources because even a small visual improvement (about 2% better) gives me a competitive edge; it takes about 15 minutes to set up and requires no ongoing upkeep. I also have a camera feed, and I added a shadow under the camera to create visual separation from the background; toggling the shadow on/off shows the difference. The red lines you see indicate distance from the top of the screen to a bubble and appear only when I click the element. I also have controls to turn off screen capture, which then shows only the wallpaper and a shadow, and turning that off leaves just the background. Finally, I have microphone and background sources; turning the background off results in a black screen. This setup lets me record directly from my camera without transferring memory cards, saving time and friction, which lets me produce more content over the year, even though it's not the highest quality.

obsvideo setuprecording

Related answers

youtube ↗Marketing

How does your OBS setup work for recording videos?

To run my OBS setup, I use OBS Studio as the core platform. I have a scene configuration with a few sources: my camera (Sony A7C connected via HDMI), a shadow filter for depth, screen capture of my monitor, another shadow layer, and my microphone (a Samsung QTU). I use hotkeys—Command+Shift+1 to switch to screen capture and Command+Shift+2 to return to my talking‑head view—so I can jump between full‑head, screen‑share, and blurred‑screen scenes quickly. The monitor is set up with nice margins so the OBS UI doesn’t show ugly bars, and I adjust the display resolution as needed. I keep the production simple: minimal cuts, few edits, and mostly just me in my room. This approach lets me record content at a roughly one‑to‑one ratio—five to ten minutes of recording yields five to ten minutes of finished video—because I prioritize speed over flashy production. I believe that as AI makes stunning visuals easy, audiences will value human presence and authenticity more than polished effects, so I keep the setup straightforward and focus on delivering value quickly.

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youtube ↗Marketing

What’s your setup to record these videos?

I record with OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software) using a Sony A7C camera, a big softbox light, and a Samsung Q2U microphone. I have two OBS scenes: a talking‑head full‑face view and a screen‑share view with me in the bottom‑right corner. I export the OBS recording directly and upload it without additional post‑production.

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youtube ↗Other

What screen recording software do you use for these videos, including corner picture, picture-in-picture switching, and on-screen writing with a tablet?

It's called OBS Studio. I use it to record my screen; it creates an infinite window effect because I'm recording a screen that's recording a screen. I have two scenes: a talking head/full face scene and a bottom-right corner scene, switched via hotkeys (though my hotkeys are broken today). For writing on screen, I use Presentify, which I bought for $10, and I use my tablet like a mouse.

obs studioscreen recordingpresentifytablet

youtube ↗Other

Can you break down how you record your content — from idea to script to recording — including what equipment and tricks you use? Useful for agency owners trying to improve their own self-recording quality.

For daily updates specifically, I do zero preparation — I use a template: a short intro, ~15 minutes of Q&A, ~30 seconds of growth stats, then ~5 minutes of live strategy. I record with OBS Studio, using two scenes (main and screen-share overlay) that I switch between with a hotkey so I can show something on screen without staring at the camera the whole time — good for production value, and I don't need an editor to do that kind of cut in post since I control it live. The tradeoff: this setup isn't great for repurposing since my face is small and often blurry when zoomed into the corner, which editors have complained about wanting a separate dedicated face cam for.

content productionobsrecording setupvideo equipment