Creating Xiangqi Videos

Here is a guide for creating your own xiangqi videos such as this one, showing your face as you are speaking, but then also showing a large xiangqi.com board going over a game that you discuss.

This document will walk you through the process of setting up your computer for recording videos, and using the features available at Xiangqi.com to record instructional videos for others. We also describe some best practices to get high quality videos which you can then publish on Youtube or elsewhere.

Hardware Requirements

  • A computer (Mac/PC) with at least 4 GB of RAM

  • A decent processor (Intel Core i5 Gen-2 or higher and equivalent)

  • A good quality camera (built-in webcam is fine, but a good external webcam like Logitech c920 is preferred)

  • A sound input device (through the computer’s built-in microphone, or external mic)

  • A secondary/external display is recommended but not required

Software Requirements

  • Windows, Mac, or Linux

  • Google Chrome (recommended, but Firefox or any other modern browser is fine too)

  • Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) Studio (Free and Open Source, download here)

Installing and setting up OBS Studio

For this part of the guide, please follow this very useful tutorial. (Leave a like on the video to show your support for the creator)

Once OBS Studio is set up on your computer, create a few test recordings to see if it is working properly, before recording your actual video. Review your test recordings to see if the audio, video, and screen recording quality looks good, and then proceed to the next step.

Recording with the Xiangqi.com interface

  • Make sure OBS is recording, and is minimized.

  • Make sure any desktop notifications (from WhatsApp or other apps) are paused so that they don’t interrupt the video.

  • Make sure that you’ve framed the video properly, so that unnecessary elements like your browser window, or your operating system’s menu bar is out of the frame. For more information on how to make sure that the desktop is properly framed in the video, check the cropping section in the OBS tutorial video linked above.

  • Make sure the video doesn’t start abruptly, and there’s a nice introduction before you proceed to the game.

  • Make sure that your audio is clear and free of background noise.

  • Make sure that your webcam video is clear, and your face is properly framed.

  • If you wish, you can prepare a script if you want to refer to it while recording the video. Optionally, practice what you’re going to record, so that the video turns out to be well prepared.

Site-specific

  • In your browser, head over to Xiangqi.com and sign in to your account. From the lobby, start a new game or join an open game. You can choose to speak along the way if you want, or you can start recording when you’re in the game. Instead of recording an actual game, you can also use our Board Editor or Puzzle Editor.

  • If you’re recording with your webcam, place the webcam feed in a screen location where it doesn’t interfere with the parts which you want to emphasize in the video (e.g. the game board). A good location to place your webcam video is the chat area to the right of the board.

    • You can use the top half of the chat section if it’s an active/live game (because people may be chatting and new messages will pop up at the bottom). 

    • On the contrary, you may put the webcam video in the lower half of the chat section if you’re recording a past game analysis video, and use the empty space above for promotional text.

After recording a video, review to see if it meets the quality standards mentioned above. Then send it to help@xiangqi.com and we’ll get back to you on how we’ll utilize it, and credit you for the recording.