I didn't know where to post this, so I'm asking for an indulgence, a dispensation, to post it here.
Yes, this thread is for screen shots. But this is a video.
Yes, it's "Screenshots USA". It is set in the USA, though it is a model railroad. It is a steam locomotive, but European, though it has been Americanized by the fitting of North American knuckle couplers and a North American whistle.
Best watched full screen and at 1080p or 1440p (the higher resolution is notably better, though it does depend on Internet connection and monitor resolution):
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For those interested:
The locomotive:
The locomotive is by togog.
I used one of Peter Villaume PEVSoft tools, "Attachment Maker", to make an attachment mesh for the knuckle couplers on the locomotive and tender.
The whistle is by K&L Trainz.
I made some of the textures of the locomotive and tender 20% brighter using Faststone Image Viewer. This allows the wonderful details in the mesh to become visible. And the two tone greys look nice too.
The video:
For a long time I have been using FAPS (payware) to record videos and more recently Shotcut (freeware) to edit the videos, adding the transitions, the fade ins and outs, adding the text, adding the music.
But FRAPS is just not cutting it anymore. The maximum resolution is 1080p and it introduces lots of stuttering.
I've tried OBS Studio (freeware) and Bandicam (payware). Both are excellent. Both allow high resolution recording with only a slight impact on frame rates and only minor stuttering.
However and despite numerous requests in the OBS Forums, OBS does not give any on screen indication that a recording is being made.
Eventually The Dispatcher pointed me to a web site predating Roman times for a solution. The Despatcher deciphered the ancient hieroglyphics as "Use the Scroll Lock key as the keyboard shortcut for recording -- then although you will still not have an on screen indication, you will have an indication light on your keyboard". I've also used the Caps Lock key for screen grabs.
Bandicam is similar to FRAPS. The frame rate indicator changes from green to red while recording.
The disadvantage of Bandicam, apart from the cost, is that it does not record at a constant bit rate, which seems to be essential for Shotcut.
Anyway, for the video I thought Bandicam was marginally better than OBS, Shotcut made a constant bit rate version of the Bandicam video (which blew out in size from 14.8GB to 88.7GB), and the edited and compressed version that I uploaded to youtube finished at a more manageable 4.6GB.
Phil
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Edit --
I've received a PM pointing out that these locomotives were actually built in North America and sent to Europe to overcome a shortage of motive power after WW2. This Wikipedia article confirms this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNCF_Class_141R
Over 1,000 locomotives were delivered.
For a North American locomotive they look extremely graceful: