Create your first OBS scene with camera, logo and lower third
Let’s start from the simple ham sandwich. Three ingredients: the bread, the ham, and a salad leaf.
In presentation terms, you will now create your first scene including your camera, logo and lower third.
Step 1 - Rename the scene
Rename the default scene to a name of your choice, e.g. "webcam with logo and lower third"
Step 2 - Add the sources
Logo: Image source ➡ give it a name ➡ browse ➡ choose the image ➡ resize it and reposition it
Lower third: Text source ➡ give it a name ➡ type the text ➡ format font, color and background
Webcam: Video capture device ➡ give it a name ➡ select the camera from the list
Step 3 - Resize and reposition sources
Layers: sources work in layers. A source that is on top of another one with cover it. Rearrange the layer order by drag and drop the sources in the sources panel
Move a source: Select it and drag and drop it to move it around
Resize a source: Select it, then drag and drop the red handles to resize it
Crop a source: Select it, then ALT (Option on Mac) + drag and drop the handles to crop it
Step 4 - Send the OBS output to the videocall
The virtual camera
I have the pleasure to introduce you to the waiter of your restaurant: his name is “virtual camera”. The virtual camera takes the course from the kitchen (the output window content in OBS) and delivers it to the guest table (your videoconferencing platform) ready to be consumed by your audience.
Why is it called virtual camera? Let’s consider what your webcam does: it collects video information and sends it to the computer, so that you can use the video in any application like Zoom, Teams, or OBS. Your computer recognizes that there is a camera device connected to it and makes it available to all applications that can use it.
The virtual camera functions in a very similar way. The only difference is that it is not a real physical camera that captures video signal. Instead it’s a software (a virtual camera) that captures video signal from an application in your computer (OBS Studio) and makes it available to other applications. The virtual camera software is a kind of an impostor. It’s a software but it dresses like a camera, so the applications in your computer believe it’s a camera, even if it’s not. Magic isn’t it?
Click on Start Virtual Camera
Open your videocall and in the video devices list choose "OBS Virtual Camera"
If you are wondering about your audio, you can keep using your microphone as you’ve been doing so far, so you can REALLY use this OBS scene already from your next videocall! We'll learn everything about sending audio from OBS to the videcall later on in the course.
Create the following scene
Camera: add your camera, crop it, enlarge it and reposition it such that you appear in the middle of the preview window with little space above your head
Lower third: add your name with black text on a white background
Logo: add an image, resize it, and place on top of the camera source
Activate the virtual camera, open a video call and send the OBS output to it Congratulations, you've created your first OBS scene that you can use already at your next videocall. Let's check your knowledge and then move to the next section, where you are going to learn the OBS building blocks, i.e. all the source types that you can use to create an engaging presentation.
