Screencasting Tips for Beginners
Betsy Weber, Chief Evangelist, TechSmith Corporation
Presenters at all levels are frequently faced with the challenge of communicating technical terminology to a less technological audience as technology increasingly touches every facet of our lives. And when the spoken word isn’t enough, presenters turn to the written word, which also has its limitations -- unless you’re Shakespeare. Professional presenters, trainers, and marketers are spending more time explaining what technical words mean only to end up boring their audiences, confusing them further, and losing the effectiveness of the presentation. Believe it or not, technology -- the very thing that has been the bane of a presenter's existence for years -- might finally be useful. There is a new rich medium emerging that empowers presenters and greatly simplifies the complexity of presenting technical topics. It's called a screencast.
Screencasts, to use the word, and a title coined by InfoWorld magazine’s Blogger in Chief, Jon Udell, are online “movies of software.” For that matter, screencasts could be movies of Web sites, business processes, PowerPoint presentations, or anything else on a computer screen. A screencast is a recorded, edited, and produced video accompanied by narration of what happens on a computer desktop. It is then put online so an audience can watch it. So instead of presenting to a room full of people, a screencast allows presenters to speak to the whole world. Obviously, not everyone can attend a live presentation, and those who do frequently don’t remember as much as they would like. It would be very useful for these people to have access to the presentation at a later date to refresh their memory or to share with a colleague. The great thing about screencasts is they can be shared on blogs, Web sites, e-newsletters, intranets, and content management systems like Blackboard. Screencasts are online videos that are informative, not online video that’s, well … Desperate Housewives. Thank you, Apple.
Right now, there is a considerable grassroots screencasting movement afoot. Initially, it was confined to something called the blogosphere, and was done primarily by technophiles. They were creating screencasts about 0’s and 1’s, software code, DIV tags, and many other things most people will never understand. But that's changed recently. Screencasting is moving into the mainstream because it works so effectively. It's catching on among teachers, trainers, salespeople, marketers, and anyone who speaks in public or wants to communicate with a wide audience. Viewers don’t need to know anything about the technology, they just need to see and hear the screencasts. In fact, they can watch screencasts on their iPods. If Shakespeare were alive today, I’d like to think he, too, would be creating screencasts.
I’ve collected tips from screencasters who know first-hand how effective “movies of software” can be. One screencaster even made an actual screencast of his top 10 tips. Regardless of the screencasting software you use, these tips apply across the board, especially when it comes to presentation style, topic-selection, technical preparedness, and look and feel.
One overwhelming response nearly every screencaster offered was to be yourself. When it comes to online presentations, “reality” is critical. Real, authentic screencasts are far more engaging and effective than overproduced, overscripted, robotic ones. The other resounding tip was to use a USB microphone to get rid of the “filth” that comes along with speaking into a microphone. A presenter’s voice is what’s real. It’s what is engaging.
Here are tips from the experts and examples of their screencasts:
Andy Walker, LabRats.tv co-host and author of the Cyberwalker newsletter:
Screencast: http://www.cyberwalker.com/newsletters/dvdcloner/newsletter6.html
• Try to do it all in one take as it makes production faster...don't worry about your verbal mistakes, acknowledge them and move on. It makes the presentation authentic and human.
• Record your dry runs if you do them, sometimes they are great.
• Record the full screen and use zooms to bring detail into focus.
• If you send your audience to a URL redirect at the end of the screencast - tell them you are going to with lots of notice and give them a chance to hit pause.
• Try to use a bit of humor in your presentation. Dry screencasts won't keep people's attention.
• Demonstrate and summarize then repeat - reinforces information.
• I’ve also tried handwriting points with a Wacom tablet, which people seemed to like.
Jean-Claude Bradley, Drexel University
Screencast: http://showme.physics.drexel.edu/bradley/DrexelCoAS034-Villanova.html
• Keep it Simple.
• Don't over think it, instead - Just Do It. I know many faculty who are curious about trying screecasting but want things to be perfect so they don't pull the trigger.
• You can always edit or delete your recording.
Thom Robbins, Technical Evangelist at Microsoft, Author, Visual Studio newsletter
Screencast: http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=160867
• Keep it short – The best screencasts are between 5-8 minutes in length
• Keep in informative – Don’t spend a lot of time introducing yourself and your topic. You have about 30 seconds to interest people in your topic
• Show it – The best part of screencasts are that you can show what you see on your screen. Make sure your viewers see it as well.
• Edit your audio – Edit the audio to make sure you remove presentation flaws like “ums” and heavy breathing from sensitive microphones.
• Use Graphics to stress the point – Just because you can use a graphic doesn’t mean you should. Use graphics to stress your point or call attention to something.
Anthony Garcia, Senior Persuasion Architect, Future Now Inc.
Screencast: http://snipurl.com/p6yb
• A natural and 'organic' approach to screencasting is best.
• If you need a script, split the difference, and use an outline so you have a reference but are still able to inject your own style.
• Screencast about what YOU are passionate about, passion is contagious.
• When posting a screencast online include the following information; file/video
format, length, and file size at the point where you link to your screencast.
• Produce in the Flash format, as nearly anyone can watch a Flash movie.
Yoz Grahame, Ning
Screencast: http://cheerleader.yoz.com/a/20060227cast/ (ala Monty Python)
• Don't get the viewer dizzy! Keep your mouse movements steady and firm, and if you're going to scroll a window, do it by grabbing the scrollbar and dragging.
• Bear in mind that the user's eyes will follow the active cursor, so if you're switching from clicking to typing, have the mouse pointer stop near where the text cursor starts.
• Just relax and let your natural charisma come through.
Bill Myers, Hamilton New Media, MemberGate
• You’ll find Bill’s Top Ten Screencasting Tips here – as a screencast: http://www.bmyers.com/public/1107.cfm
Will Richardson, Hunterdon Central Regional High School
Screencast: http://www.weblogg-ed.com/
• I'd say the key thing for me when I do professional development screencasts is to not be too scripted.
• Try to cover things that can be done in 3-4 minutes tops
• Run through the process a number of times before recording to make sure your screencast is most effective and efficient.
Troy Chollar – TLC Creative, PPT MVP
Screencast: http://www.tlccreative.com/images/ppt_samples/ColorPicker/
• Use a good microphone and recording setup. This does not have to be expensive or complicated but use a dedicated microphone, not the one on a webcam.
• Use a USB based microphone. This will eliminate many of the recording problems with the microphone picking up internal computer operation noise (hum, clicks, static, etc.).
• The second option is to use a USB audio adaptor that has a microphone jack.
• Use a wind screen or foam ‘sock’ to limit the harsh ‘s’ sounds and ‘pops’ that are common in narrations.
• Position the microphone so it is close and at the same height as your mouth.
• Avoid having to bend down to talk and look up to see the computer monitor.
Hans Mestrum, Sr. Strategic Business Developer, Tulip Computers
Screencast: http://www.hansonexperience.com/, http://screencasting.blogs.com
• Be informal
• An interview between two persons with a webcam recording is great for introducing a company
• Screencasts for video iPods are great when using zoom and pan. You will need to produce your screencast to an iPod compatible format.
• Begin with an introduction sheet (made in PPT and saved as jpg) and add introduction music. Do the same thing for the closing sheet if you mention credits.
• Use a USB microphone on a standard with a pop filter and spin.
• Considering uploading the videos to shared video services.
• Have a separate screencast Web feed available when produced on a blog and put it in several aggregators (such as iTunes) so that interested people can subscribe just to your screencasts when they like.
• Keep the screencast length short – if it has to be long, its better to use web menus with separate screencasts
• Produce several formats e.g. Flash and QuickTime because people use different media players.
“The Team”: Tim Fahlberg, Rev. Graeme MacNeil, Dr. Linda Fahlberg-Stojanovska, www.coolschooltools.com (Some of these are specific to math screencasts/mathcasts.)
Screencast: http://www.coolschooltools.com/wm/moviestf.html
• Strive for professionalism but not perfection in your movies. You’ll create a lot more movies this way and you’ll encourage your students and colleagues to make movies of their own.
• Make sure the problem is appropriate. If it’s too long break it into multiple screencasts or create a menu so students can view different sections at their own pace and time.
• Work problems out on screen ahead of time with your annotation software and rehearse what you’re going to say. “Park” your solution outside of the recorded area so that you can refer to it while recording.
• Be yourself and have a little fun! Surprise your audience with an occasional joke or story.
• Experiment with different annotation software and input devices (graphics tablets, Tablet PCs, and interactive whiteboards) to see which combination works best for you.
• Use colored pens, arrows, and shapes to highlight different aspects.
• Speak clearly and slowly.
• Make sure your microphone is actually turned on!
Rob Howard, Telligent, MVP
Screencast: http://communityserver.org/blogs/videos/archive/2006/01/31/512568.aspx
• Don’t try to record the entire screencast in a single session – it’s easier to break it up into small chunks and edit it back together.
• Buy a good microphone.
• Record in a screen size that is easily viewable.
Online video is exploding due to the ubiquity of broadband. Presenters have at their disposal an extremely powerful stage to reach who they want. The reach of that stage is unlike anything ever previously available. The next time your fellow office worker is watching an online movie, it just might be your screencast they’re watching -- not Desperate Housewives.
Learn more about Betsy Weber in our Contributor's section.
