Screencasting Like a Pro: Solutions for Three of the Most Common Amateur Production Mistakes
Screencasting Like a Pro: Solutions for Three of the Most Common Amateur Production Mistakes
Article by Jana Stewart
One of the hottest and most effective means of communication today is the internet-distributed “screen cast” presentation. Screen casts use screen capture software such as Camtasia on the PC or ScreenFlow on the Mac to record the contents of a presenter’s computer screen. The technique has long been a favorite of educators creating follow-along software tutorials, but today some of the most popular and effective screen casts involve recording unique slideshow presentations on a wide range of subjects beyond how to use computer software. In fact, videos created using this technique by amateur videogame enthusiasts and internet marketers are a booming trend throughout the web. This article addresses the top five mistakes or shortcomings amateur producers make and provides solutions on how to fix or avoid these mistakes.
Mistake #1: Bad audio. No matter how compelling the visuals presented, an audience is likely to turn off a presentation if it is difficult to listen to because of distorted audio, popping, or an annoying hiss. The solution: buy a decent USB headset microphone with noise cancellation. A very good USB microphone will cost around $ 100, but a Logitech microphone can be purchased for $ 29.95 that is often more than good enough to produce serviceable audio. I frequently see screen casters who have clearly spent significant sums of money on clipart and premium PowerPoint templates in order to create their work, but have bundled the video with narration using a built-in laptop microphone. Just remember, there are plenty of professional productions with little to no glossy clipart, but it’s very rare, indeed, to find a professional production with obvious hiss or popping in the soundtrack. Poor audio immediately brands your work as amateur.Mistake #2: Unreadable Text and screen features. Far too many amateur screen cast producers record their screen at different sizes or dimensions then they intend for their production to be displayed at. The process of shrinking the recording to fit the viewing area will often result in text that is too small to be read. Furthermore, if the original recording does not match the orientation of the output file, additional distortion may occur. Solution: before beginning the production of your screen cast, determine what size you would like your finished product to be displayed at. You may want to consider the standard display sizes for YouTube or Vimeo before ultimately making up your mind, but you should make up your mind. When you have an output in mind, make sure that you record at exactly the desired output size or as close as possible in order to obtain the least distorted image. If you are not able to match input with output exactly, make sure that your input shares the same orientation as your final outputted file. You can do this by determining whether the output will be SD (4:3) or HD (16:9) and checking through simple division to make sure that the ratio in your input file is the same.Mistake #3: Unedited footage.It amazes us, but far too many screen cast producers create work that is riddled with obvious mistakes. And by obvious, I don’t mean obvious in the sense that the audience knows about them and the producer should have known about them, but somehow overlooked them, I mean that many screen cast producers misspeak, stutter, cough, sneeze, answer the telephone, or say “oops” at some point in the final distributed screen cast presentation. Solution: Edit. One of the advantages of screen cast production is that you don’t need to learn a powerful, but complicated nonlinear editor to start producing quality work. However, screen cast producers do need to learn the basic editors that often come with their screen cast software or with their computers. Camtasia produces excellent tutorial videos on how to use the editor in their screen cast software and makes them freely available at their website. In 30 minutes to 45 minutes, it’s easy for someone to master the essentials of editing a screen cast. So, don’t worry about coughing or making a brief mistake during a presentation. Simply redo and then edit out the original. How often do you see professional media content in which someone stops and starts over in a final production? It can happen, but it is unlikely because of editing. Obvious mistakes detract from your credibility and can make great content seem “amateurish.”
There are no doubt many other glaring content mistakes that amateur screen cast producers make on a regular basis, but eliminating the three mistakes above goes a long way towards distinguishing a screen cast from the multitude of productions that contain one, two, or all three of these glaring production flaws. Screen casting can be a great means of getting your point across if you provide decent audio, ensure readable graphics and text with a minimum of distortion, and edit your final product before uploading to the internet for distribution.
Jana has been writing articles for nearly four years. She writes on matters of general consumer interest from cell phones to women’s shoes. Come visit her latest website, Cheap Shoes for Women for tips on shopping for affordable footwear online including the quest for attractive and wide fitting shoes for women.












