Screencasting tips from Jon Udell
Posted on Thursday March 8, 2007 by Betsy Weber
Screencast expert Jon Udell recently posted a great screencast here and had a blog post with his screencasting tips here.
I love his point about resizing the application window that you will be recording down to 800x600. It not only helps with file size but it also helps your viewers focus on the action. If you think about it, most of the action on your screen takes place in a very small area. Plus, don't you hate having to use the scroll bars when trying to view a video? The Zoom and Pan feature in Camtasia can be particularly useful when recording a smaller screen. In Camtasia, you can zoom and pan while recording or after you've recorded the screencast during editing. I prefer to zoom and pan during editing - the less I have to do at record time, the better.
I also love his tip about editing. Cut off the extra footage and take the video down to the essentials. The longer the screencast we make, the fewer viewers. I have a hard time keeping our screencasts short, but I'm working on it. I have to learn to shut up! :-)
I also agree with Jon's tip to make screencasts more interactive. I find screencasting with someone is easier and more entertaining. That's how I usually do our screencasts. I prefer not to screencast solo. Plus, you get to hear more than my point of view. I prefer to watch and make interview-style screencasts.
You can read all of Jon's tips here. What tips do you have after watching or creating some screencasts?
Comments (4)
I never use the auto zoom and pan in Camtasia because I want to be in full control.
Usually I record an area of 640x480 of my screen and try to setup the applications so that they fit within that area.
Then afterwards I add zoom for menu actions. For the zoom I then always use 320x240.
The reason for that is that I (usually) export to Flash, MOV and WMV on 640x480 but also to MP4 (iPod compatible) and WMV (Pocket PC compatible) format in 320x240. This way the zooms are very readable even on those small screens.
I tried the auto zoom and pan but felt I was unable to control it. Because I record only part of my screen (and the rest I *don't* want to show up in the screencast) I need the outer area of recording to be fixed.
What would help (me at least) was if I could more easily switch between just those two zoom levels (full view and 320x240). I think it now remembers the last zoom setting, but since I switch from 640x480 -> 320x240 -> 640x480 -> ... it displays 640x480 as the last size used when I want to switch back to 320x240 again for the second time.
Using markers (and navigation options) in the video can help cut a longer screencast into smaller bits. It allows the viewer to skip ahead or back an essentially cuts your long story up into smaller stories.
Posted by Pierre | March 9, 2007 2:05 AM
Posted on March 9, 2007 02:05
I also never use the Auto Zoom/Pan. Its not smooth at all and makes me sick to watch.
Posted by John | March 9, 2007 9:22 AM
Posted on March 9, 2007 09:22
I'm more likely to use zoom vs. pan. I use it sparingly. You're right - it can make you almost seasick.
I just prefer to scale the window.
Posted by Betsy Weber | March 9, 2007 9:51 AM
Posted on March 9, 2007 09:51
We have been doing our screencast or Round Tables as we call them in 1024x768 and have had wild success with the large size. People have told us they appreciate not having to squint. The latest one we did at TechPodcasts.com was an hour and has received about 75,000 views in less than a week.
Posted by Todd Cochrane | March 9, 2007 1:08 PM
Posted on March 9, 2007 13:08