Time Saver Tuesday - 10 Tips - Before You Record
Posted on Tuesday June 15, 2010 by Betsy Weber
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Anyone can make a screencast, right? I mean, you just hit the big red button and start recording.
But, what sets apart an average screencast from a masterpiece? With a little planning, you can take your screencast to the next level. There a few small things you can do before you hit the record button to get a higher quality screecast.
I asked around the office today for tips about what to do before you record a screencast. Since I like Top 10 lists, here is list of the "Top 10 tips to do before you hit the record button!"
1. Put a sign on the door to keep unwanted visitors out, mute phones, disable all other possible sources of noise - Dave McCollom, Education Evangelist
2. Clean up your desktop! This will keep your viewers attention and they won't be distracted by your icons. I like to use something like Fences from Stardock on the PC or Ryan Eash, an Instructional Designer from TechSmith's Training Department, has two monitors. So, he drags any icons/files/etc that he doesn't want to show to the monitor he's not recording.
3. Clean your Apps and Browser - Don't want people seeing your browser history? Have sensitive documents, account information or past projects you don't want your viewers to see? Make sure you clean up your history, past projects or Camtasia Library so it doesn't show information you want to keep private. If you forget something and it ends up in your recording, well, that's where the blur callout in Camtasia Studio comes in handy. :-)
4. Set the stage - After you've cleaned up your desktop, set your desktop color. For our Camtasia Studio screencasts we set the desktop color for our videos to RGB of 51, 51, 51. Pick something that is not too distracting...if the desktop is being shown - Ryan Eash
5. Script it out - Ryan Eash shared an example of one of the scripts they used in a recent project. Follow along the final screencast here with the script here. It will show you how the screencast was put togehter. The script shows the narration on the right and either some screenshots or text on the left that illustrates what's going to be shown on the screen at that time.
6. Get Feedback - Run your script or storyboards by others before you record. Get feedback on your language and the clarity of what you're showing - Conan Heiselt, Instructional Designer
7. Check 1, 2, 3 - Do a quick sound check - record a few minutes of audio and test for quality - Walter Pelowski, Customer Solutions Engineer
8. Dress rehearsal - Do a quick Jing screencast to make a prototype of your screencast. You can see what worked well or needs to be changed before you record your screencast - Conan Heiselt
9. Record and edit your audio - It's easier to record your screencast if you don't have to worry about recording the audio at the same time. You can play your audio while you record the screen. That way you have your timing down and it is easy to sync the audio and video together. - Conan Heiselt
10. Set your recording area - Set your recording area (either full screen resolution, or custom region) to an aspect ratio of what you plan to edit and produce to. For the Camtasia Studio 7 Learning Center videos, the final video dimensions were 800×450 (16:9), so Ryan Eash made his custom region for recording set to 1376×774 (16:9) and it resized nicely into the 800×450 dimensions for editing and production.
This is where I need your help! I need your tips! What do you do before you record your screencast?
We'll compile all the tips into an ebook and share them with you.
Prefer to post your tip on Twitter? Please use the hashtag of #screencasttip so I can find your tip.
Comments (11)
Howdy Bets,
One thing I always do is what I call my dry run. After getting my audio levels setup correctly I then make sure whatever software I am recording is fitting into the dimensions I record them at before I even think about clicking the record button. After everything is setup I then record my video.
One other thing I do is to record my audio separate or just record it right into the Camtasia Recorder and after saving I extract my audio out and save in the wave format. Then I can edit the audio in Audacity, Adobe Audition, or whatever audio software you are familiar with. After cleaning the audio up and adding my Sound FX, etc. I then save it as a wave and import it back into Track 1. By doing it this way I do not have to really work to hard to sink my audio up with my video because I do that after importing it back in. This way when you delete a section of video with audio it stays pretty much synchronized.
This is just one tip from me. I have several more that I use too. Hope this helps and you can feel free to use it if you would like to.
Thanks
Fred G.
Posted by Fred G. | June 16, 2010 2:42 AM
Posted on June 16, 2010 02:42
In addition to #3:
Most browsers have a portable version. Comes in very handy if you really want to strip down the browser for a recording without messing up the browser you use on a daily basis.
Also useful if you want to create a browser recording with English menus while your regular browser is set to your local language (like Dutch in my case).
Posted by Pierre | June 16, 2010 2:59 AM
Posted on June 16, 2010 02:59
These are usefull tipps at all. But most of these "problems" can be avoided by just creating a new user account for PC or even better recording the screencast inside a virtual PC (if you have good hardware to run video recording and the virtual PC at same time).
If you understand german, you may be interested to read this article on my blog: http://screencastblog.net/2010/03/umgebung-fur-screencating/
Also sometimes I use a bookmarklet called "Printliminator" to hide some annoying elements like ads when I record a website or web application.
Posted by wapr | screencastblog.net | June 16, 2010 4:46 AM
Posted on June 16, 2010 04:46
Sorry for second post. But I miss a function to subscribe to comments to a specific topic. Is it somehow possible?
Thank you!
Posted by wapr | screencastblog.net | June 16, 2010 4:48 AM
Posted on June 16, 2010 04:48
I always script out my talk before I start, and I create a storyboard, as other people mentioned. But I also practice my script before recording. There is a big difference between what sounds normal in written language and what sounds normal for spoken language. Sometimes, the sentences are shorter, and sometimes they are built from run-on phrases. When you speak, it's all about the phrasing. Make sure you script sounds natural out loud before you start recording.
Posted by Charlene Kingston | June 16, 2010 11:48 AM
Posted on June 16, 2010 11:48
For PPT recordings, clean up your presentation. Change complicated backgrounds to simpler ones or solid colors, and remove distracting sound effects, animations, and transitions. This can help w/ file size. If you will be recording on a computer that isn't yours, make sure that you have all of the software that you need installed before you start. Also, make sure that you have something to transport your files, such as a Flash drive, CD-R, etc. Sometimes emailing a huge audio file isn't ideal. :)
Posted by Jenn P | June 16, 2010 1:53 PM
Posted on June 16, 2010 13:53
If I am recording a software demonstration I try to break the demo into multiple small steps. I may not present it that way, but it is for when I make a mistake. One of the mantras I use in my teaching, "Save Early, Save Often" so I use the save button as my "home location" for this trick. After each small step I save the file. When I make a mistake I have a place to rejoin from and I have the demonstration file up to then saved.
Posted by Bradford Benn | June 16, 2010 4:39 PM
Posted on June 16, 2010 16:39
I automate all the computer setup tasks with one of those macro recorder/player utilities (Macro Expert). It sets my screen resolution to a default size, sets the task bar to auto hide, shuts down all applications, turns off system tray notification bubbles, and configures Camtasia settings (via registry). I also have a "set back to normal macro"
Posted by Stuart McGarrity | June 17, 2010 11:52 AM
Posted on June 17, 2010 11:52
Many folks are overly concerned with hiding Desktop icons and configuring desktop color.
My method is to use something as a backdrop in much the same manner as you see at Olan Mills, Sears Portrait Studio, Glamour Shots, etc. Just open a maximized Windows Notepad for a plain white screen. Or if you want color, Microsoft Paint, then flood fill the canvas with the desired color. This is also an easy way to insert a company logo and have it be part of the recording.
When you are finished recording, close the backdrop app.
Posted by Rick Stone | June 25, 2010 4:24 PM
Posted on June 25, 2010 16:24
I remember to brush my teeth and comb my hair before a screencast. Moutwash doesn't hurt either. Dress up a little and sit with good posture.
Seriously. It improves how you sound: the depth and tone of your voice and how your commentary flow.
And remember to smile when you hit the record button: people can hear your smile and it can be great way to start your screencast.
Posted by Phil Wolff | June 30, 2010 11:22 AM
Posted on June 30, 2010 11:22
Great list of tips. I put up some of my own and collected from other resources here:
http://www.camtasia-guide.com/tips/tips-before-recording-camtasia/
Posted by Peter - Camtasia Guide | October 14, 2010 12:33 PM
Posted on October 14, 2010 12:33