OBS Beginner Series #4: Putting it Together

Overview

Last time we took a look at how to add some elements to our scene. Today we will learn how to put scenes together with transitions using OBS Studio mode.  This is used when you wish to set up something like a “Stream starting soon” or “on break” scene to use intermittently with your main scene.

You Will Need

• Scenes, a few.  See OBS Beginner Series #3 or the Guilded server for resources if necessary.

Let’s Get Started

1.  Method 1:  Hotkey Method
   1. With your multiple scenes in hand, Open up OBS and go to File and then Settings. 
   2. A new pane will appear, on the left hand side of this pane click Hotkeys.
   3. Scroll down to your scenes.  You can assign your scene to any hotkey you can think of. 
   4. Assign your scenes to hotkeys keeping in mind you want something memorable but also that isn’t going to be used for other purposes.  For example, using Ctrl + C is a bad idea.  Ctrl + Shift + Alt + C is fine though. 
   5. To actually assign the hotkey simply click the dark box next to the text “Switch to scene” and then press the desired key combination. 
   6. Before you move on look around this menu and consider applying other hotkeys if you so desire.
   7. Click OK or Apply and then OK. 
2. Method 2:  OBS Studio
   1. Click Studio Mode on the right side menu of the main OBS screen.
   2. The screen will split into Preview and Program.  Program is the current scene you are streaming, Preview is the “On Deck” scene. 
   3. Selecting a scene from your scene list will not change the scene.  In order to change the scene you will have to either click the Transition button located in between the two scenes or assign Transition to a hotkey in the hotkey menu (File > Settings > Hotkeys)
   4. Just remember that the preview pane is what is on deck.  This adds an element of protection so you don’t accidentally swap to a scene you don’t mean to. 
   5. If you assigned hotkeys to your Scenes you can use them in conjunction with OBS Studio Mode to put the hotkeyed scenes On Deck.
3. Transitions
   1. Whether you use hotkeys or OBS studio mode transitions are available to give your scene change a little flare. 
   2. For hotkey based scene changing OBS will use the default Scene Transitions.
   3. For OBS Studio the Transition button will allow you to use the default screen transition set under Scene Transitions.  You can add several additional options (you may wish to have different transitions depending on which scenes you’re changing to and from) by clicking the + icon next to “Quick Transitions”. 
   4. To use these additional transitions, simply click them insead of the Transition button.  You can, of course, also create hotkeys for these as well. 
   5. Play around with the different transitions to see what each of them does and which you like.  You can go full George Lucas here.