Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Screencast Best Practices

I'm definitely still learning when it comes to screencasting, but I have picked up a few things that make my life easier.

  • Use a decent mic/headset. And, if using said decent mic, point it at my forehead so I don't sound like Darth Vader.
  • If I know it is going to be short and not too involved, Jing is a more streamlined choice. I find the process of uploading to Blip to be kind of tiresome and taxing on my computer.
  • Slooooow down. I struggle with this in my daily life, and it seems to be amplified a zillion times on screencasts. I realize that not only do I talk too fast, but I'm moving the cursor around really fast too. Obviously, I know what I'm thinking, but a person watching the screencast might be a second or two behind in following my instructions and I've headed off into the wild blue yonder alone.
  • Plan on doing it at least twice. That way, I find I can flush out the mistakes and I don't feel pressure to get it perfect. It almost always gets better each time I re-record.
  • If it is going badly or you need time to think, hit the pause button, take a deep breath, and try again.

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