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!

There are a couple elements that can make screencasts interesting and engaging. Motion from drawing on the screen with something like a Tablet PC or Wacom tablet make a screencast dynamic and can focus viewers attention. And, the Picture-In-Picture (PIP) option in Camtasia makes screencasts lively and shows off the presenter's personality. Typically PIP usually shows a webcam recording or sometimes an image.

Some researchers at Microsoft have done something really creative for their screencasts using PIP! Using an eBeam interactive whiteboard (which can capture the pen strokes on any whiteboard) they created some PIP Whiteboard recordings! So, you'll see all the detail of what they're writing on the whiteboard up front and center in the screencast, plus you view the presenter in the PIP window. And, as an added bonus, when you record the whiteboard with the eBeam, you get a hard copy with what you wrote on the whiteboard that you can print out as a .pdf or .pptx. This is an easy way to add a handout to your screencast. You can read a blog post on Peli's Farm blog all about how they create whiteboard screencasts with Camtasia Studio and an eBeam.

Microsoft Research used the following setup: a camera plus a tripod to record the person at the whiteboard, the eBeam capture software running and Camtasia recording the computer screen.

Check out the whiteboard screencast below of their new show, The Verification Corner.

Great use of technology! Anyone else need to make screencasts like this or have found other ways to do something similar?

Any nominations for next week's Screencast of the Week? Email or post in the comments!

Ever wish you could go to class and learn all about Camtasia Studio? Well, you can! There are a couple upcoming classes I wanted to make sure everyone knew about.

Camtasia Studio expert, Kevin Siegel, will be leading an online class all about Camtasia Studio on February 10 and March 10. Kevin has also written a Camtasia Studio book and if you sign up for the class, you will get a copy of the book, Camtasia Studio 6: The Essentials (note: you can purchase the book by itself)! You can learn more about Kevin and IconLogic here. And, Kevin kindly shared a sample from the book which you can read here.

If you're across the pond in the UK and would like some Camtasia Studio training, the wonderful Stewart Milton from BlueOrange will have a 1 day class in London. You can see the details here. I attended Stewart's Camtasia Studio training class last year and it was wonderful. They are small classes so you get the attention you need and will learn everything you need to prep for your project and create your screencast.

Interested in where else we'll be or other training events? We post the shows we're attending and training events on our calendar here!

Say you were working on a series of Camtasia Studio screencasts for a big project at work. And, you create 20 videos. Your project manager requested the videos be in the SWF format to put on the intranet.

But, then the Sales team just all got iPods for training purposes. And, now your project manager wants all of your screencasts in a different file format and scaled down in size to play on the iPod... oh and they want to distribute the files at the next sales meeting in less than 24 hours! Ah, changing specs and short deadlines.

No need to worry or pull an all nighter to re-produce all 20 screencasts one by one. Camtasia Studio has a batch processing option that saves you time by allowing you easily produce multiple Camtasia Studio projects at the same time using production presets. Set your preferences, start the 20 files batch processing, walk out the door and let Camtasia Studio do all the work.

See these instructions here about how to set up the Batch Processing options in Camtasia Studio.

What tips do you have for Time Saver Tuesday? A limited edition Snagit sweatshirt could be yours if you share your tips!

I recently had a request by email to share a list of suggested books for screencasters. So, I asked a few people around the office like Daniel Foster, our newsletter editor, Matt Pierce, our Customer Engagement Manager, and Dave McCollom, TechSmith's Education Evangelist.

And, I was also thinking about different elements of a screencast: preparation, planning, writing, graphics, presentation, storytelling and promotion.

Based on that, here are some of the books we came up on our suggested reading list for screencasters:

Prep:

• Made to Stick, by Chip Heath, Dan Heath - This book gives you tips on how to keep your screencast viewers attention and make your ideas stick.
• The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam - A picture is worth a thousand words. This book helps you create compelling graphics and visuals for your screencasts.
• Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark - this is a useful book for any writer. Great screencasts start with great writing.

Presentation:

• Beyond Bullet Points by Cliff Atkinson - learn how to use storytelling and graphics to effectively communicate. I've seen Cliff speak several times - he has wonderful advice!
• slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte - effective visual communication for your screencasts. Make great graphics especially when recording PowerPoint. I've seen Nancy present several times - every time I see her speak, I am in awe.
• Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery by Garr Reynolds - make better presentations which makes for better screencasts.
• Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkun - learn techniques behind what great communicators do and how to effectively present ideas. Use these tricks to make better screencasts.

Tools:

• Camtasia Studio 6: The Definitive Guide by Daniel Park - Daniel's book takes you through using Camtasia Studio from start to finish of your screencast.
• The Screencasting Handbook by Ian Ozsvald - Ian has created hundreds of screencasts and his handbook reviews software and microphones, processes and techniques.

Promotion:

• Get Seen by Steve Garfield - now that you've created your screencast, make sure your screencasts are promoted and seen!

I've started a list on Amazon - Screencaster Suggested Reading List And, I'd love to add what's on your reading list.

Here's where I need your help... As a screencaster, what books have you found useful and why?

This week's Time Saver Tuesday tip comes from a comment by by Nina Volstad left on a blog post I did last year about using card stock for your scripts (eliminates shuffling noise which could be picked up by your microphone!).

For the great audio and less editing, it's best to do a little planning and prep before hitting record. Nina had a great tip about working with scripts. She uses two different hightlight-markers to mark the two different "actions" she has in her script. That way she can easily keep everything making it easier to record audio and video at the same time. The

Nina highlight the points in her manuscript where she needs to click, point or enter text in the screen that she's recording in one color. And, then highlights in a second color any points in the manuscript where she plans to add a callout in post production.

Using this system cuts down on accidents - you don't start pointing at something you would have marked with a callout. Plus there are no delayed clicks while you figure out what to do next.

Recording goes smoother and you end up with a more polished video with less editing time. A little prep can go a long way. And, I find the less I have to think about at record time, the better.

Now, I know many of you must have a great tip for a Time Saver Tuesday blog post! Please email it to me. I'd love to show off your tip and share your story!

And, to sweeten the deal, if I pick your Timer Saver tip, I'll send you one of these Snagit 9 hoodies. Very few people outside of TechSmith have one of these sweatshirts. You'd be a part of the inner circle. :-) I only have a few left, so first come, first serve.

And, by the way, modeling the sweatshirt is TechSmith's videographer, Kelly Rush! You've heard me talk about him a lot. Hopefully we can get him on the other side of the camera to share some of his time saving tips. :-)

It's time to get back into the Screencast of the Week!

I had a chance to catch up with screencaster, Tom Crawford from Visualization Network at CES recently. Tom helps people communicate more effectively plus use art and visuals to solve problems and sell ideas. Tom and I hopped in a gondola (Hey, only in Vegas!) and he shared how he's using Camtasia to help in his classes and also some of his tips and tricks. I have to say, making a video in a gondola is a first for me! It's a quick video - just over 2:30. You'll have to watch to see if we get seasick or not! :-)

Tom has several screencasts made with Camtasia Studio on his blog here. I like Tom's screencasts for several reasons. Tom uses a screencast to respond to a blog post. What better way to get your point across and share your knowledge than with a visual screencast. I also like the style of Tom's screencast. It's like I'm looking over his shoulder and that's how I like to learn.

Equipment and software used to create the gondola video:
* Kodak Zi8 camera
* Y-splitter (something like this one)
* 2 Lapel Microphones
* Camtasia for Mac
* Gondola

Any nominations for next week's Screencast of the Week? No gondola required...

If you love making tasty screencasts and delicious captures with Snagit, Camtasia Studio, Camtasia for Mac, Camtasia Relay, Jing and Morae, there's a Screennoms Monster waiting to meet you! Meet the TechSmith Screennoms Monster!

We've been invaded by a bunch of Screennoms Monsters and they need new homes. If you'd like your own free Screennoms Monster, please fill out this form and we'll mail one out to you. First 100 people to respond get a monster - US only.

And, we'd love to see all the fun your Screennoms Monster has with you! Take him on an adventure, bring him to your office or take him around your hometown. Email us pics of his adventures or post them in our Flickr Group here. We've been using the hashtag #screennoms so its easy to find him.

The Screennoms Monster has already been to Scotland and met William Wallace, hung out in Ireland at the Guinness factory, visited Notre Dame in Paris, ran off to join the Blue Man Group in Las Vegas, hung out with the Laker Girls in Los Angeles, and has been spending lots of time around the TechSmith office.

You can also find the Screennoms Monster on Twitter at @screennoms. Follow him to find out about his adventures and the tasty screencasts and screencaptures he finds! Om nom nom!

Surfing Twitter today, reminded me of a little known feature in Snagit that can save you lots of time...

Snagit has a 'printer' capture option. Snagit shows up as a 'printer' that you can choose when you go to print an image or document. This is useful for several reasons - you can use Snagit as a virtual printer. You don't need to print out your critical documents that you need to archive because the Printer Capture will capture and save your output as a graphical file. It saves it exactly as it would print so you now have an electronic version of your document - no need to print and file your document.

OK, how many of you have ever been sent a PDF that you're expected to print, fill out by hand and fax back? I often travel so I don't always have access to a printer or a fax machine. And, I'll be honest, I'm lazy - that's far too many steps. I use Snagit's Printer Capture to virtually print the document and use Snagit's text options to fill out the needed fields. I can even add a watermark to the doc if needed. Then, I can save the document as a PDF and just email and share the document with anyone.

Check out the tutorial and more reasons to use Snagit's Printer Capture option here.

And, as Hal Rottenberg notes on Twitter, '"@TechSmith":http://twitter.com/techsmith I hate hand-writing forms. I have bad handwriting, that may have something to do with it. :)'. I have the same issue - if I fill out the form by hand, people might have a hard time reading it. It's far easier and faster for me to type out the fields.

Any tips you have to share for next week's 'Time Saver Tuesday'? Email me or post them in the comments!

Kelly Rush, our videographer and I still wandering the halls of TechSmith to get interviews with the people behind the products you use. We recently caught up with Mike Kujansuu, the Product Marketing Manager for Camtasia Studio, Camtasia for Mac, Camtasia Relay, Morae and UserVue. In this video, Mike explains how to pronounce his last name 'Kujansuu', what a Yooper is, how he got started at TechSmith as an intern, and what a day in the life of a Product Marketing Manager is like. It's a quick video that runs 4:40 minutes.

As Mike mentioned, he also helped organize the Ugly Sweater Day at TechSmith. Check him out him in his festive red blazer.

We also had a request from a previous blog post to interview someone from Tech Support. Kelly and I will be interviewing Support tomorrow. Any other requests? Any questions?

Also, you might notice that Mike's video is on YouTube. We started a new Channel TechSmith on YouTube. We're adding new videos all the time. To keep up with the latest and greatest videos, we'd love it if you friended us or subscribed to Channel TechSmith. Stay tuned!

I was at CES and CodeMash last week. I met with lots of User Group leaders and people conducting workshops. And, that reminded me that it's been awhile since I've mentioned our Presentation Materials.

If you run a local User Group or professional association, or are conducting a workshop, class or brownbag, and would like to show off Snagit, Camtasia Studio, Camtasia for Mac, Jing, or Morae... we are happy to support you!

Feel free to fill out this request form here and we will send you eval CDs, product booklets, and other materials you need for your event. You can also find a generic PowerPoint presentation, product logos and more here.

We also have materials you can print out for your participants like the First Walkthrough: Fundamentals of Camtasia Studio Guide (pdf), Camtasia for Mac Getting Started Guide (pdf), or many Morae Customer Research documents.

Give us about a week for shipping the materials to you in the US, and two weeks for international shipments.

And, we'd love to come visit you. Please email me if you'd like us to participate at your event. We'll try to coordinate with you. If we can't attend your meeting in person, we can always set up an online meeting with you.

We're always looking to provide you with the materials you need. Are there other items you need for your workshops or meetings?