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Introducing...our 2011 ScreenChamps!

Be sure to watch the full episode of The Forge for in-depth comments from the judges on what they thought worked well and could be improved across each category. There was also some good conversation in the chat room. And you can still view all 15 finalist videos if you haven't seen them yet.

Entertainment Category Winner
Backyard FX FINALE Sword Stab Tutorial

Creator
Garrett Fallin, Grand Island, NY

Audience
Film, TV, and Video editors, creators, and enthusiasts.

Purpose
Teach viewers how to recreate popular digital effects from their favorite movies, TV shows, and videogames.

Tools Used
Quicktime 10 screen capture, Youtube, canon T2i, Rhode Shotgun Mic, After Effects CS5, and Final Cut Pro 7.

Watch on Vimeo

Judges' Comments

• So gross; I loved it.
• Clear audio.
• Mix of live action and screencast content helped me engage with the people and content.
• The how-to showed me exactly what they did.
• The pacing was good for people who know the tools; too fast for those who don't.
• Now I'm gonna go kill people...on video!
• Category advice: consider what's entertaining to the audience

Education Category Winner
Apple Distinguished Educator Application

Creator
Reg Nakoneshny, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Audience
Educators

Purpose
Application to Apple computers Distinguished Educator program

Watch on Vimeo

Judges' Comments

• Something that other teachers should try to aspire to.
• Really liked technique of framing content within devices
• I want to know how he did some of those effects!
• Category advice: chunk information, title and transcribe for SEO

Industry Category Winner
The new Facebook module on your Jimdo page

Creator
Kerstin Ebert, Hamburg, Germany

Audience
People who use the website building tool "Jimdo"

Purpose
Show users how to integrate and set up the Facebook module on their "Jimdo" website.

Tool used
Camtasia for Mac

Watch on Vimeo

Judges' Comments

• Kept it short, picked great music
• Fun approach made the tool seem accessible
• Worked well as a teaser, which could lead to a more in-depth tutorial
• Category advice: choose & mix music carefully, cut out fluff, use natural-sounding voice

Best in Show Winner
Aussie Football ScreenCast Presentation

Creator
Richard T.Whybrow, Essendon, Victoria, Australia

Audience
Anyone, sport enthusiasts, families

Purpose
Inform people about some of the key skills used to play Australia Football (AFL) and have a bit of fun along the way.

Tools used
Jing, ScreenChomp, Snagit, ScreenCast, iMovie11, Quicktime, PC & Mac

Watch on Vimeo

Congratulations to our four winners, 15 finalists, and a huge thank you to all who submitted videos and voted. This has been a ton of fun for us at TechSmith and, we hope, for screencasters everywhere.

People have asked whether we'll do the ScreenChamp Awards again next year. We'd like to hear your thoughts on that question. Please fill out this 3-question survey with your thoughts, and be entered to win a copy of Camtasia! (Already have Camtasia? You can gift it to someone who might become the next ScreenChamp!)

 

Daniel Foster is the "social media guy" for TechSmith. He enjoys iceboating, ice cream socials, and isosceles triangles. Tweet him up @fosteronomo or put him in a Google+ Circle.

It's the red carpet event of screencasting! You can tell by all the tuxedo (shirt)-wearing celebrities who will be on hand.

Join us Thursday, January 19, at 2pm (ET) for our monthly live web show, The Forge, where we will announce the winners of the 2011 ScreenChamp Awards. (Add to your calendar )

UPDATE: Click here to watch the live show at 2pm ET or view the recording later.

The ScreenChamp Awards recognize screencasting excellence in three categories: industry, education, and entertainment. On the show, our expert judges will announce the winner they chose in each category, and offer some erudite commentary on what they liked best and what could be improved across the submissions.

Plus we'll reveal the Best in Show winner, as selected by YOUR votes during the end of last year!

Will there be drumrolls? We can only hope!

Ridiculously cool trophies? Certainly!

Aforementioned tuxedo shirts? Being screenprinted this week!

See you Thursday right here on the blog...(no need to don your formal wear, though you certainly can if you're looking for an excuse)!

PS - As with every episode of The Forge...if you can't make the live show, we'll miss you! But you can watch the recording later. Just subscribe to the blog or our YouTube channel so you know when we post it.

Prizes for three category winners! Best in Show gets a trophy & MacBook Pro!

Voting is now closed! Please join us January 19 on The Forge to find out who wins the category prizes and best in show! Click here to watch live at 2pm ET or view the recording later.

We have an important job for you: determine which screencaster deserves a brand new MacBook Pro (and a bunch of other goodies).

Voting for our ScreenChamp Awards ends Friday, December 16 at 4:00pm ET (21:00 UTC). You can vote once per day, so depending on when you read this you still have 2-3 votes left!

Right now, the leading videos show how to use social media features of a website creation tool, how to operate a library app, and how to play Aussie football. We've got more than 2,300 votes from 42 different countries...but the top two vote-getters are separated by less than 200 votes...so your vote does matter!

Watch videos & vote for ScreenChamp Best in Show

Your votes will determine the Best in Show winner...and we'll also be announcing three category winners on The Forge January 19. (Save the date )

We've assembled a panel of expert judges to choose the winners in each of the three categories: education, industry, and entertainment. They are...

Our panel of expert judges

Let there be TROPHIES!

Bearded screencaster and renaissance man Dan Nunez (@ListenChump) is hard at work building trophies for the four lucky ScreenChamp Award winners. They're gonna be mantlepiece worthy!

 

Daniel Foster is the "social media guy" for TechSmith. He enjoys iceboating, ice cream socials, and isosceles triangles. Tweet him up @fosteronomo or put him in a Google+ Circle.

15 screencast videos... and only one winner! I need you to cast your vote and help pick the first ScreenChamp Awards winning screencast! Voting for Best in Show is now open!

Who do you think is best screencaster? Check out the 15 screencasts and cast your vote here: http://poll.fm/39hwj

Voting ends December 16th and you can vote once per day. What do you think of the entries? How did you decide who to vote for?

Fame. Glory. Groupies. Bragging rights. A really cool trophy. Oh, and some cool new technology (MacbookPro, Wacom Tablet and more)... These could all be yours if, and only if, you enter our ScreenChamp awards. We're looking for the best of the best screencasters.

Think you got what it takes? Here are some of the important details:

• You can find out all about the contest here.
• We're accepting submissions from 9/8/11 - 10/17/11. You can submit them here
• There are three different categories of Screencasts we're looking for: Education, Industry and Entertainment
• Submissions will be narrowed down to top 5 per category. 15 total top entries will be eligible to win Best in Show which will be voted on by the community
• Top winner in each of 3 categories selected by celebrity judges
• We'll announce the winners live on The Forge on 1/19/12
• Use the screencasting tool and hosting site of your choice. Of course we'd love to see you use Jing, Camtasia Studio, Camtasia for Mac, ScreenChomp (iPad) or Screencast.com, but it is certainly not required. :-)
• The hashtag we're using is: #screenchamp

Super official rules are posted here.

And, as Helen Rowland (English-American writer, 1876-1950) says, "You will never win if you never begin." So, let's get started! Show me what you got!