Specific tips and tricks for making screencast videos

Screencapture or screencast videos are video lessons using tools that allow you to record and capture the action on your computer screen while you’re recording a voice-over explanation. They are an incredibly easy and powerful tool to teach about computer software packages and techniques, general computer setup, as well as Internet tutorials. To produce a screen capture video, you will need to utilize a screencapture program, but as we’ll explain in these forums, there are many inexpensive (<$40) for both PCs and Macs. These screencast videos can be produced as standalone lessons, or incorporated with camcorder produced videos.

This forum will focus on the specific tools, tips and tricks for producing screencast video lessons.

Hey Kids,

So, being the first user to post in this forum, I’ll make mention of a favorite program of mine used to create screencasts. It’s called iShowU and I believe it’s only available for Mac, sorry PC friends. Anyway it’s fairly easy to use, one click record and set-up, and it allows for the screencast to be recorded in an array of formats, which works well for MindBite oriented users who wish to create a lesson that is both small in size and of a certain quality that information can be properly conveyed. The program isn’t free, I think it costs $20 or thereabouts, but it’s a program I’ve used a few times now and recommend in regards to ease of interface and quality of product.

Secondly, I wish to recommend the use of video in your screencast lessons. It’s more than likely that there will be some visual downtime in your lesson, when you are speaking about something and the cursor is just lying in wait on the desktop screen. An easy way to remedy these boring pauses is to set up a still video camera, focused on you, and let it record during the entire lesson. Then, once you’ve finished recording, take both the screencast feed and the video of you into an editing program and cut between the two when it seems appropriate. this will give viewers something to watch when you are speaking about something that does not include an on screen visual. Also it will allow your adoring fans to gaze upon you in all your glory, which is, generally, a good thing.

Good idea. Yeah, that blinking cursor can be a bit dull. With iShowU I’ve found that the TeachMac setting works pretty well. I’ve also gotten into the habbit of going back in and getting “close-ups”—tighter shots of important details and editing them in.