
Tips for Screencasting - kawera
http://brettterpstra.com/2015/12/10/tips-for-screencasting/
======
grendelt
One thing I've found that is handy is to record the video while narrating the
process (this will slow your actions to a comfortable pace) but only record
the video. Go back after that and focus on the narration/explanation. You'll
cut down on the "uh..." "um...". When you piece them together, the viewer
won't know and your delivery will be much smoother.

------
tomcam
A few other tips:

* If it's on YouTube, you can get an automatic transcription. That's not the best; you can use something like [https://speechtotextservice.com/](https://speechtotextservice.com/) (no relationship with them). Or hire someone on fiverr. Having searchable text is good for SEO but, more important, for visually impaired users.

* Though OP sort of poo-poos cool intros, brief ones (the best kind) can be done very cheaply on fiverr (again, no relationship) and help keep viewers awake and are simple to reuse.

* Watermarks are good if it has genuine editorial use, as should be the case, because it makes theft harder.

------
j_s
[http://www.hanselman.com/blog/TheGuideToCreatingQualityTechn...](http://www.hanselman.com/blog/TheGuideToCreatingQualityTechnicalScreencasts.aspx)
(2011)

------
Jedd
Another tip that can save viewers (or readers) a lot of frustration - if your
screencast (or blog) is specific to a particular technology, mention (or
write) that at the outset.

Interestingly the page doesn't contain the string 'apple' or 'osx'. Some of
the generic suggestions, early on, are almost platform agnostic, but by mid-
way through we're clearly in the realm of OS and application features, and
keyboard shortcuts, specific to one particular vendor.

~~~
ttscoff
For the record (from the author), 98% of my traffic is from Mac users, so I
don't usually specify. I do, however, state in the second paragraph that it's
very specific to ScreenFlow.

~~~
Jedd
Thanks. I was not intending to sound overly snarky. I think perhaps only
people outside a circle notice the assumptions made by people within it.

For example, it's usually easy to identify material written by people in the
USA - they're more likely to assume their readers are within the USA. People
in South America, Europe, and Asia seem to assume their readers could be
anywhere.

Similarly with tech, though I think we all assume everyone knows what we're
talking about, no matter where they are. : )

I had no idea what ScreenFlow is, other than a camelcased bonding of two
common words. Yes, you may say, I could have looked at that link, find that it
takes me to iTunes, and then intuit we're talking OSX ... but a) I was on
mobile so it wasn't a simple hover, b) as you note it's an en passant
reference in the second paragraph.

EDIT: Oh, and c) the page title is 'Tips for Screencasting'

~~~
ttscoff
Fair enough :).

------
Jerry2
Along the same lines, does anyone know of any guides/tips for recording
interviews over Skype or something like that? Telling your guest to turn off
downloads/torrents, quit other apps, use a good mic, and so on seems common
sense but I still notice these issues in screencasts on YT.

~~~
csydas
This requires buy-in from both the interviewer/interviewee, as well as any
other participants.

In general, you just need to take a few extra precautions.

\- Situate each member in an room with minimal distractions and isolated from
noises. If possible, go somewhere without pets - everyone loves pets, but
everyone also knows that they have no sense of privacy, will make noise when
they verily well feel, and in the case of dogs, their bladders know not the
meaning of "Do not disturb". They're just doing what they do, but it's just an
interruption that can maybe be avoided

\- Likewise, avoid being too close to a window especially during the day - the
sunlight may provide some really pretty back-lighting, but auto-color
correction on a lot of web cameras will be constantly fighting with the
sunlight should a cloud pass, shadows rise/fall, and so on

\- A wired connection is strongly recommended just to remove the variable of
WiFi interference kicking up unexpectedly

\- Headsets are strongly recommended, or at least a quality microphone with
the speaker having an earbud to isolate any possible feedback. Wired strongly
preferred

\- In a similar vein, fixed apparatuses are preferred (i.e., no in-line
microphones like what you get with cell-phones). They tend to brush against
fabric and make awful noises, or twist or turn

\- Take some time prior to the actual recording to just sound-check and also
get used to the tiny delays that often occur with interviews. 10-20 minutes is
often good enough just as a warm up

\- Make sure that all participants are used to speaking on video and through
mics. There is a bit of an art to doing it right with video chat, avoiding
either being too loud/blaring or too soft

\- Finally, test whatever screen recording software you're using multiple
times before the call and test it in a real call situation to ensure that
there are no audio goofs. This can be part of the 10-20 minute test. It goes
without saying, but you'll probably want to use a moderately modern machine
that won't chug when recording, and also have enough space to store the
recording

These are what we used for my workplace when we did Skype interviews and
needed to record them for review later on.

------
Asbostos
Pet peeve as a viewer - avoid disguisting body nioses - lip smacking and
sighing between sentences, sniffing and saliva sliding around the mouth. I
guess that last one is a microphone thing.

