The Visual Lounge lets you find out about TechSmith behind-the-scenes. Watch screencasts and videos from other customers, meet up with your fellow TechSmith users and staff, and get more tips and tricks!

Ever notice that small button in the Callouts section of Camtasia Studio? You know, the button that says, 'Custom Callouts'...Yes, you can create custom callouts in Camtasia Studio! I saw a screencast from Tim Heuer recently about custom callouts and was reminded that not everyone knows we have this option.

Custom call-outs are perfect if you want to add something beyond the standard arrows and other callouts we provide. Many people like to add their corporate or website logo to their screencast to brand them. Tim uses them to add a 'lower third' to his screencast

Watch Tim's video below and read his blog post about custom callouts in Camtasia Studio here.

And, there's a great tutorial on our website here all about custom callouts if you'd like step by step instructions.

As a kid, I always liked breaking the rules. I still do sometimes! I was watching my 2 year old nephew, Moose, the other evening and was quickly reminded that there is a reason behind many rules and they can be good (ask me about the 'Don't throw objects at Aunt Betsy' rule sometime)! After I finally got Moose to bed, I was thinking about what it takes to make great screencasts and videos. And, so I decided to compile a list of rules for screencasting!

1. You shall not bore your viewer.
2. You will include audio.
3. You will publish in Flash (99.9 of the time to keep it web friendly).
4. You shall check the recording dimensions.
5. You will keep the screencast short and to the point.
6. You will share the screencast with others who can benefit.
7. You shall not make me seasick with panning.
8. You will not film the screen with ones webcam.
9. You will use special effects sparingly.
10. You will watch the entire screencast before posting and sharing with others.
11. You will plan or storyboard your screencast...at least a little.
12. You will do a test recording to make sure everything is working properly.
13. You must have fun while you screencast. You are a rockstar!

What did I miss? Am I way off the mark? Which ones are made to be broken? Add your thoughts and rules in the comments!

My mother and sister are both teachers. So, over the last few weeks, I've heard all about school starting back up and what they have to do to prepare for it. It got me thinking back to those 'Back to School' shopping lists we had. I always looked forward to getting a new backpack, books, pens, notebooks, apple for the teacher... But, what about adding Jing to your 'Back to School' list of supplies?

I recently heard from Bonni Stachowiak from Vanguard University (pictured above). I thought I'd share with you how Bonni is using Jing in her college classroom. Below is an email I got from Bonni.

I am a college professor, among other things, and hadn’t really used Jing all that much - - until now that the semester has started. As of today, I am now Jing’s biggest fan. I teach a blended learning model for our business, management, and marketing classes. Mondays and Wednesdays we’re in class together. Fridays are online. The start to every semester is typically a big headache, trying to get the students comfortable with the online format. Despite my near-perfect syllabi, with beautiful SnagIt screen shots that describe how to login and use our elearning platform, there are inevitably questions that come racing through the first couple of weeks of school from students who are unfamiliar with this style of learning.

Today, I found such joy responding to their emails as I quickly grabbed screen shots, placed arrows on areas of emphasis, and in about 7 seconds was able to navigate to the right screen, grab the screen shot, upload it, and paste the link into the email.

I wonder what I’ll do with all this new found time? Plant a garden? Take more naps? No…

Thanks for everything TechSmith does to make us better, regardless what we do!

-Bonni S

If you haven't tried Jing, I hope you'll not only try it out but also give us feedback on how to improve it.

Has Jing helped you? How are you using it? Drop me an e-mail or post in the comments for everyone to see.

I don't know about you, but I use Excel a couple times a month. I don't use it enough to always remember how to do everything I need to do. So, every time I use it, I waste time digging around the internet looking for tips and tricks.

I was happy to hear from Bill Jelen, also known as Mr. Excel, this week. That's him pictured to the left. He has a comprehensive website all about Excel, complete with a video podcast.

Check out his blog with all the video podcasts here.

What I like about his videos is that they're 2 minutes long and he creates them daily! I have 2 minutes to spare every day to improve my Excel skills. Also, he makes his videos for the video iPod. So, I can subscribe to his feed in iTunes and take his screencasts with me wherever I go. You can read more about subscribing to his videos here.

Thanks Bill for helping to improve my Excel skills! I appreciate it!

Any nominations for next week's Screencast of the Week?

To quote the great Steve Winwood...'Roll with it!'. I'm not sure, but Steve may have been talking about Screencast.com's new MediaRoll in that song. OK, just kidding...But seriously, have you noticed anything new on the blog lately? If you scroll down and look on the right-hand side, you'll notice I have a nice 'MediaRoll' posted there. I've included my MediaRoll in this post below too.

What's a MediaRoll? It's like a blogroll...but for media files. Screencast.com creates a Flash widget which I can embed on my blog or website that shows off my Screencast.com content. It organizes and presents my Screencast.com files in a way that I can easily share with everyone.

Here's why I like it...I like the MediaRoll because it makes it easier for you to find my older screencasts and gives them more exposure. Without the MediaRoll, good luck finding this video I did earlier in the year with Kathy Jacobs about PowerPoint Smart Art or this screencast we did about OneNote. Without the MediaRoll, you'd have to dig through my archives to find any of my screencasts. With the MediaRoll, all my videos are much easier to find on my blog's homepage.

And, here's where the MediaRoll gets really cool. Imagine if you wanted to keep others up to date on your Screencast.com content and screencasts...Maybe you were responsible for keeping the Sales Staff up to date for training or making sure your resellers had the latest and greatest information. Or, maybe you have a weekly screencast that you want others to see. You can allow others to embed your MediaRoll on their blog or website. And the MediaRoll will update itself whenever you add to or edit the contents of Screencast.com folders even if the MediaRoll is placed on someone else's blog or website. You don't need to email anyone new links or files, it does all the updating for them. Perfect to keep everyone up to date and they don't have to do any work!

Click here to watch a screencast about the MediaRoll. It runs just over 3 minutes and will show you how to set up your own MediaRoll on Screencast.com.

If you haven't tried Screencast.com, check it out. We've been adding new functionality and changes all the time like the MediaRoll. And, there's a free trial...you have nothing to lose.

So, what do you think about the MediaRoll? Will you use it?

Ever wonder what your website visitors think and do when they visit your website?

I heard from Stewart Milton (that's him to the left) of BlueOrange that he's conducting a Morae Boot Camp in London on October 16th! In this Boot Camp, Stewart will help answer exactly that question about your website visitors behavior. This event is perfect to attend if you've got questions about Morae and would like to see it in action. It is not a training event. But, you will walk away with some cool, free stuff and learn a lot about Morae along with how to understand and analyze your website visitors behavior.

Learn more about the event and RSVP here!

We released the Jing Project almost 2 months ago and we want to know what you think of it.

One of our original goals with Jing was to help improve your daily conversations. Did we do that? We also wanted Jing to be built on feedback from our users. So, help us improve Jing by giving your feedback in this quick 9 question survey.

Click here to take the survey

I really appreciate your input! Our products are better because of the feedback from you!

This week's Screencast of the Week is from Fog Creek Software!

Fog Creek made a screencast showing off their new release of FogBugz. What I like about this screencast is that it is not your typical serious, dry product demo. I really like the dynamic of having two narrators. Fog Creek's CEO and founder, Joel Spolsky and Babak Ghahremanpour, from their technical staff, narrated the screencast. Having two narrators is nice as it makes the demo interesting and conversational. The audio, which was recorded in a studio, is really high quaility too.

Click the screenshot below to watch the screencast. It runs close to 13 minutes.

Congrats to Fog Creek on the new release of FogBugz Version 6!

I have a problem...and I'm not alone. I'm addicted to screenshots. I imagine you might be too if you're reading this blog. I was happy to see Bryan Eisenberg's (that's him in the pic on the right) blog post, Confessions of a Screenshot Addict. Check out his blog post - Bryan talks about where his obsession came from, what he does with the screenshots and what you can do with screenshots.

Bryan also started a FaceBook group for all of you screenshot addicts. Join the Facebook group, I am a screen shot addict here. Hope to see you in there!

Guess what? Your feedback helps to shape the future of SnagIt. Want to give your feedback and opinions about SnagIt directly to the SnagIt development team? We're looking to grow the team of beta testers. And, you're invited to apply! Sign up here!

What's in it for you? You get to be apart of an elite group who help impact and test the latest and greatest SnagIt technology. And, you have direct access to the SnagIt development team. There is no pay involved, but you will have fun.

Keep up the good work and continue to send us feedback. SnagIt is better because of you! I hope you'll join us on the beta team.

I'm off to PodCamp SoCal and the Podcast and New Media Expo next week in Ontario, California.

I'm really looking forward to seeing friends like Sean Carruthers and Andy Walker from the LabRats, Dan York, Jason Van Orden, Chris Brogan, Leesa Barnes, Paul Colligan and more plus meeting new friends!

And, I'd love to be your roving reporter at the show. Anything you'd like me to ask or find out for you?

If you're in the area or attending the show, I'd love to meet-up with you. My cell is 517.410.0030 or you can find me hanging out in the TechSmith booth. Stop by and do a screencast with me. :-)

I was digging around looking at screencasts last week and stumbled upon this mashup contest by the Sunlight Foundation. To enter the contest, you had to submit a screencast showing off your mashup!

There were several great Camtasia Studio screencasts entered in the contest which you can view here. Click the image below to watch the winning entry. It's a short screencast running less than 2 minutes. And, the winners won $2,000 for their mashup and screencast!

What great screencasts have you seen lately?

Just wanted to give you a quick update. We will be making some changes in the Forums (hopefully today). You may experience some downtime while we make the upgrades.

Also, we will be changing the topics to make the forums easier to navigate. No more Basic or Advanced topics. We'll have the following topics:

• Questions and Answers
• Tips, Tricks and Techniques
• Feature Requests
• Gallery (a place to show off your cool projects and work)

Thanks for using the forums. Feel free to e-mail me any feedback and requests or post in the comments here.

Did you know that Camtasia Studio will allow you to add your own graphics (BMP, GIF, PNG and JPG) as Custom Callouts?

Sometimes when making screencasts you want to graphically show the key being pressed especially when audio isn't an option. Showing the key can really help illustrate or reinforce your instructions.

And, you're in luck. AlanWho has created 104 standard PC Keyboard key icons that you can use in your Camtasia Studio screencasts. You can download and read more about them on AlanWho's blog here. No need to create your own Keyboard Callouts thanks to AlanWho.

Click here for a quick tutorial on how to create your own custom Callouts to Camtasia Studio.

Same thing goes for SnagIt. You can make any PNG, JPG, GIF, TIF or BMP your own custom SnagIt stamp. For more information about how to do that, click here. Don't feel like making your own SnagIt stamps? We have lots of SnagIt Stamps which you can download for free here.

Thanks AlanWho for not only creating the Keyboard Keys, but also sharing them with everyone! Now we just need AlanWho to create the 'Any' key icon for us to use. ;-)

Pssssst…I've got a secret to share. As a thank you for reading the blog, I wanted to give you a sneak peek at some of the new features in our upcoming release of Camtasia Studio v5. And, you, my fellow blog readers, get to see the inside scoop first!

The Camtasia Studio team has been hard at work and we're gearing up to release Camtasia Studio v5 on October 9. Since I'm a fan of top ten lists, I thought I'd take the next ten days before the release to off what's new in this release.

One of the major goals of Camtasia Studio v5 was to make it so any user – novice or expert – could create a high quality screencasts faster and with less effort.

You'll see over the next ten days how we’ve added major new features during each of the three stages of production - recording, editing and production – that have benefits for both the screencast creator and the viewers.

With that in mind, let's get started. Up first in our top ten countdown is a feature we've added on the editing side - SmartFocus!

SmartFocus intelligently tracks activity on the screen and zooms in to keep your viewers focused. This feature enables users to create smooth automatic zoom-n-pan action with the click of a mouse button, It focuses the viewer’s attention on important points of interest. This feature is nice because you record large areas of your screen and scale your screencast for smaller playback windows (think blogs and Apple iPods) and still provide visual clarity. There's a screenshot below of Camtasia Studio's timeline with the SmartFocus button below.

It is best to see SmartFocus in action. Troy Stein, the Camtasia Studio Product Manager, made this short screencast that runs a little over 4 minutes. You'll get more information about SmartFocus as well as see a comparison of a video with SmartFocus vs one without.

You'll be able to get your hands on Camtasia Studio v5 in two weeks and use SmartFocus yourself. But, fear not…until then, you can purchase and use Camtasia Studio v4 today. If you purchase Camtasia Studio 4 now, you will be sent a key that works for Camtasia Studio v5 (it will work with Camtasia Studio v4 too). That means you'll get a free upgrade on October 9 when Camtasia Studio v5 comes out.

Are we off to a good start? What do you think?