Scenes & Sources: The Core Mental Model

OBS Studio

Chapter 2 · Scenes & Sources: The Core Mental Model

Chapter 1 introduced OBS Studio as a tool. This chapter is the actual mental model everything else in the software builds on — genuinely the most important concept in this entire course.

The Core Idea: Scenes Contain Sources

A Scene is a saved arrangement — a specific composition of content. A Source is one individual input feeding into that arrangement: a webcam, a screen capture, an image, a browser overlay, and so on. A single OBS setup can hold multiple Scenes, each with its own different combination of Sources, switched between live at any moment.

Common Source Types

Video Capture Device — a webcam. Display Capture — an entire screen. Window Capture — one specific application window. Image and Text — static overlays. Browser Source — renders a live web page or URL directly inside OBS, commonly used for on-screen alerts and overlays. Audio Input Capture — a microphone. Each type serves a genuinely different purpose, not interchangeable variations of the same thing.

Layering & Positioning Sources Within a Scene

Sources within a Scene stack in an order, similar in spirit to layers in Raster Editing Fundamentals' own material — order matters, and a webcam Source placed above a Display Capture Source appears as a picture-in-picture overlay rather than hidden behind it. Each Source can be freely resized and repositioned directly on the canvas.

Switching Between Scenes Live

Clicking a different Scene in the Scenes list switches the entire visible output instantly — genuinely useful for a "Starting Soon" Scene, a "Main Content" Scene, and a "Be Right Back" Scene, each with a completely different Source arrangement of its own. Chapter 6's own Scene Transitions material goes further into making this switch look smooth rather than an abrupt hard cut.

Source Type	Captures	Typical use
Video Capture Device	A webcam	Face cam
Display Capture	The whole screen	General screen recording
Window Capture	One specific app window	Recording only one application
Browser Source	A live web page/URL	Alerts, on-screen overlays

A mental model that's genuinely reusable

Sources within a Scene behave conceptually the same way layers behave in Raster Editing Fundamentals' own material — ordered top to bottom, with what's higher in the stack visually covering what's below it. The same layering mental model transfers directly across two completely different pieces of software.

Reusing a Source across Scenes vs. creating a duplicate

Adding the same, actual literal Source across multiple Scenes keeps them genuinely linked — adjusting it in one place updates it everywhere it appears, a real, useful feature. A common beginner mistake: instead of reusing an existing Source, adding a fresh new webcam Source of the same type separately in each new Scene, which creates entirely separate, unlinked Sources that merely look similar. Adjusting one afterward then does nothing to the others, producing confusing inconsistencies between Scenes that look like they should behave identically but don't. Understanding the difference between reusing an existing Source and creating a brand-new one is a genuinely common early point of confusion.

Hands-On Exercises

Exercise 1

You want your webcam to appear as a small picture-in-picture overlay in the corner of your screen recording, not hidden behind it. Using this chapter's own material, explain what determines whether the webcam appears on top or gets hidden.

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Exercise 2

A streamer adjusts their webcam's position in their "Main Content" Scene, then switches to their "Be Right Back" Scene and notices the webcam there is still in its old position, unaffected. Using this chapter's own warning box, explain the most likely reason.

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Exercise 3

Explain, using this chapter's own material, why a Browser Source is a genuinely different kind of tool than a Display Capture or Window Capture source, rather than just another way to capture a screen.

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Chapter 2 Quick Reference

A Scene is a saved arrangement of Sources — the core mental model underlying all of OBS
Common Sources: Video Capture Device (webcam), Display/Window Capture, Browser Source (overlays), Audio Input Capture
Sources stack within a Scene like layers — order determines what covers what
Switching Scenes changes the entire visible output instantly
Reusing the same Source across Scenes keeps them linked; creating a new one per Scene does not — a common source of confusing inconsistency