How to Make a Killer Screencast for Your Blog
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Photo by artm
From Michael: Corey used to run Blog by Design, a site which made great screencast reviews of blog designs (Including Pro Blog Design!). I’ve asked her to step in and share how she makes her videos.
First, let me explain a little about my setup. Even if the videos seemed “extremely professional,” the equipment was actually extremely lowtech. Here’s a look at the gear I used to create Blog by Design videos:
The Hardware
I personally rock a 13″ macbook from 2007, which is not the most powerful unit in the world but gets the job done. For recording, I simply use the in-sight camera and a $25 USB microphone from the retailer Best Buy. To make a screencast, you don’t need major recording equipment, just the right software.
The Software
For Mac Users, I highly recommend Screenflow. It is, hands down, the best screencasting software. It costs around $100. In addition, you’ll need some kind of image editor like Photoshop, and a media player, such as QuickTime or WMV.
For PC users, there is the ultra-expensive Camtasia ($299). A cheaper (Well, free) alternative to try out is CamStudio.
That’s all there is to say for the technical aspects. Not so bad, right? The magic comes with the actual development of your screencast. Here are some thoughts, step-by-step, for creating a successful screencast.
Pre-Production
When I first started Blog by Design, the review took me hours to complete. At its peak, I could cover a review in just under 30 minutes. The change? Preparation. Getting ready for the screencast is just as important as being professional on-air. Here are some thoughts for preparing to make a screencast:
1. Follow the 80/20 rule.
Spend 80% of your time preparing and 20% actually recording. You want to have everything in place so that when you hit record, you can focus on having fun and getting the job done.
2. Take Notes
Your screencast will go by much faster if you know what you’re going to talk about. Jotting down some notes and the order of topics will help you develop a more professional feeling, and make your transitions more natural. In addition, you won’t lose your place.
3. Do a Dry-Run
Before beginning, do a dry run of your recording and time yourself. Make sure you’re at the length you want to be at, and be sure to get all of your “umms” and “errms” out. A dry run will enhance your confidence for the live recording.
4. Wrap-Up the Screencast
At the end of the screencast, make sure you wrap up the episode with a quick summary, and a preview of what’s next to come. People like to see continuity, and this will help you remember what you want to talk about throughout your schedule.
5. Don’t Redo the Screencast
Unless you make a major mistake, there’s no reason to spend time on a re-shoot just because you feel “it could be better.” The quality of your screencast will go up with the amount you do, and spending too much time on one will simply make your production time slower.
Now that you’ve got the steps down to creating the screencast, let’s look at what you should be doing when taping is over.
Post-Production
Post production is probably the most important part of the process. There are a few tips I have for working with the video once it’s actually completed. Let’s go through the list in order:
Image by YuvalH
1. View the Entire Video
I hate listening to myself talk on camera. However, I have to preview each show in its entirety before posting it, to make sure everything runs smoothly. Sometimes things you thought would sound great on-the-fly actually sound horrible. Going back through the video for last minute editing is important to creating a high quality screencast.
2. Pick the Correct Movie Format
You want a format that is slim (not WMV) and quality. You want a file that is slim enough to upload to a video host, yet won’t get messed up in compression. Going for a resolution close to 800×600 will give you the best compression results. As for formats, I personally love .mov formats for uploading and storing copies on my laptop. That brings me to my next point:
3. Create a Copy in a Central Location
Always back-up your video production and final cut files. Make sure you store them in a folder specifically for your screencast, and make a regular back-up. Not only will this give you a library of past work, but also for recovering lost files if something unexpected happens.
4. Upload to a Quality Host
I picked Vimeo for my video uploads because they have a great looking video player and awesome hosting. Youtube compresses videos a little too much for my liking, and their limitations can be irritating for some. Finding a host that meets your needs in terms of length, quality, and upload limits is important for a healthy screencast.
5. Preview the Live Video
Make sure you watch the video through online once you’ve uploaded it, to make sure the quality is up to your standards. Even if another run-through is boring, it’s important to check that everything is working properly.
That’s all I have to say on the process. Here are a few last-ditch tips for you:
- Experiment. It’s how you end up with great ideas.
- Have fun or your audience won’t.
- Keep water nearby – your throat will start to hurt!
- Don’t get discouraged, it takes a few tries to get a good screencast going.
- Bloopers happen, roll with it.
So there you have it – my method for screencast production. Have you ever created a screencast? What do you do to prepare for a screencast?
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Interesting tips, but for anywhere near decent sound quality you’ll need a decent mic! I believe a condenser mic is the one you want.
Camtasia is excellent, I can highly recommend it – there’s a 30 day trial on the site.
.-= Alex Denning´s last blog ..Nometech relaunches! Introducing WPShout.com =-.
I’m afraid I’m not a professional screencaster so buying a super high quality mic was out of my price range, haha. However, you’re correct. If you want good audio, you need a good mic. The USB microphone worked well for me, though.
.-= Corey Freeman´s last blog ..7 Amazingly Useful Writing Quotes for Better Writing =-.
I remember Jeff Way (from Envato) with some tips, and he seemed to recommend a condenser mike.
I have a Macbook too, this should be pretty useful. Perhaps the only thing I’d change is, check out Blip.tv, they have good quality videos, and I’ve been impressed when viewing webdev casts by NETTUTS and Themeforest blog (both by Jeff).
.-= Sumesh´s last blog ..Lost and Taken: Free, copyright-free stock textures =-.
I’ll have to give it a try. I hadn’t heard of Blip.tv when I was screencasting so I don’t know how the player looks/what the quality is. Thanks for the suggestion!
.-= Corey Freeman´s last blog ..7 Ways to Be More Productive =-.
Great article, i thought about making some tutorial as screencast so this article give me some good points to think before starting one.
thanks
.-= Luis Lopez´s last blog ..Video Of The Week # 06 – 9 Trailer Produced By Tim Burton =-.
Well done Corey, nice and short summary of the key areas to focus on, for a 17yr old you’ll go far!
1. Screenflow -spot on =)
2. Vimeo – spot on =) esp as they allow 10+ min videos as opposed to max 10 mins on YouTube, and yes compression is very disappointing after all the hard work you can put in to do a tut. This is esp relevant if you want viewers to read some of the type on your screen ( and zooming in/out takes some practice as I am sure you have experienced). However if you can keep below 10mins it’s very prudent to still have an extra copy on YouTube for great SEO, and if you jam pack your YouTube video description/title with key words you will be amazed at the traffic you can generate as screencasts are a huge search on YouTube.
3. Yes, Notes/Dry run crucial, and your 80/20 principle is so true. A dry run also significantly reduces the temptation to ramble on which can annoy viewers. However keeping your personality is also so important .. people need to connect with you just as much as listening to your expertise.
Lastly I believe creating the feel of a ‘series’ of tuts draws back readers and if they have enjoyed your first few they’ll be itching for more, particularly if you give away your best secrets. This way you can instantly become a leader in your field.
I have had a rest recently while I re launch my site but your post has reminded me of all the fun I have had and can’t wait to do more! Stick with it =)
Paul
Personality is definitely a key aspect! Dry runs sometimes have people cutting out their original jokes or voice, but you should always try to be as laid back as possible and enjoy yourself.
I’m glad you liked the article!
.-= Corey Freeman´s last blog ..7 Amazingly Useful Writing Quotes for Better Writing =-.
Corey — Great post and full of great tips and hints. I agree with your choice of ScreenFlow. I use it all the time and it is by far the best and easiest screencasting tool out there for the Mac.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post. I definitely tried out a couple of applications before settling on screenflow. The software makes screencasting easy. :)
.-= Corey Freeman´s last blog ..7 Amazingly Useful Writing Quotes for Better Writing =-.
Another good screencasting site that is FREE is http://www.screenjelly.com
You might want to check that out before spending money
:)
Hi,
All well summed up. The softwares for screen capturing comes from Adobe as well. I have been using ScreenJelly, and it’s kind of serving my purpose and is very good. No software, no processing, no uploading, private viewing – can send urls or can embed. It’s free.
But the only limitation is that you can record only 3 Minutes.
The other software that you can use is Jing from TechSmith. It’s good, and you can upload upto 2 GB of video for free. Then you get on to a paid version.
I wanted something without limitations that worked well, so I saved up and got Screenflow. There are plenty of free tools out there, but if you can find something that you can work with and only have to pay for once, I would get screenflow or the PC equivalent.
.-= Corey Freeman´s last blog ..7 Amazingly Useful Writing Quotes for Better Writing =-.
Awesome hardware :)
Post production is definitely the longest and most tedious part of the whole process. But yeah you’re right, experiment and have fun with it. You never know what ideas you can come up with by trying out different things. Thanks!
.-= UPrinting´s last blog ..UPrinting: @CubesAndCrayons sorry to hear about this. hope you can DM me the job order number so i can look into it. thanks. =-.
Some of the most awesome ideas come out of mistakes and experiments. Trying new things will make your show and quality evolve. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for stopping by. :)
.-= Corey Freeman´s last blog ..7 Amazingly Useful Writing Quotes for Better Writing =-.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Preparation is the most important part of just about any job. If you aren’t prepared, you succumb to Murphy’s Law.
.-= Corey Freeman´s last blog ..7 Amazingly Useful Writing Quotes for Better Writing =-.
Hi Cory,
Very nice article. CamStudio is a very good screencasting tool – I would say it is a poor man’s screencasting tool. But now a days, there are a number of websites that allow you to create screencasts of your desktop, recording sound and video. Once you have finished, it uploads the video on to the website and provides links to your screencast that you can share with others.
Check out http://screenr.com/
Hey nice tips..
I am also 17 year old.. will be starting my records this weekend.
Hope it would be a good start as i will keep all the things you told in mind.
Ishan
Corey,
Thanks for the tips on the screencast. I will be using these for my first screencast. I will be making a series of organic web design tutorials all for with the beginner in mind.
http://www.organicwebsitebasics.com/
Good post.
Corey, Nice post. Thanks. Another screen record program is Jing. http://www.jingproject.com/ I used it for tutorials on my site.
Very cool tips. I’m glad to see you mentioned CamStudio, because I was wondering if a 3rd alternative for PC’s existed, now I see the two I use are really it in terms of post production.
Your 80/20 rule is awesome, I totally agree. I’ve noticed that when I’m most prepared our Internet TV show goes much smoother.
Thanks for this great post.
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Great tips! thank you very much!!!
It is a great help for me in creating a money making blog. Thank you for the general tips on how to make a killer screencast of the blog.