Glad to hear that Camtasia works well. I'll look at it more seriously.
I'm a contractor hired to provide documentation for software that
includes video tutorials. I provide my own production software, which is
why I was looking at free or cheap alternatives to Camtasia if they work
well. But my client's paying me well enough to spring for Camtasia if
it's worth it.
Good points about expectations for video. Fortunately my client knows
that shorter and well edited is better than long and rambling, and that
it takes time to produce a well-edited video.
One of my pet peeves about video tutorials is that often you're looking
for a single piece of information that's tucked somewhere in a long
tutorial that you have to wade through. If it's in text you can usually
scan and find it very quickly. Not so with video. On the plus side for
video, the steps that a writer might take for granted and leave out of
instructions are all evident in a video demonstration so you can follow
exactly and get the same results.
One thing I want to experiment with are two versions of each tutorial: a
quickie that steps through a process with minimal explanation so that
the viewer can quickly see how to do something accompanied by a longer
version that takes time to explain everything going on.
We'll see how it works.
Mike Boom
On 9/6/2013 7:50 AM, Edward Martin III wrote:
I use Camtasia for doing exactly that. I recommend it strongly.
Encourage your employer to spring the money for a license.
Have you done this kind of video before? I had a bit of an adjustment
curve in my situation because there was the sense that videos were
"real time," such that a 30-minute presentation took about 30 minutes
to make. There was also the perception that a concise 10-minute how-to
video couldn't be as good as a live recording of a GoTo Training session.
If your employer is hesitating at spending three hundred bucks for a
tool, then you might have these other battles ahead of you.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Edward
On Thursday, 5 September 2013, Mike Boom wrote:
Hi, all,
I'm working on a job where I'll create video tutorials for software
users. The source video will be captures of teaching sessions where I
use the software and narrate what I'm doing.
I know that most people use Camtasia for this kind of streaming
capture,
but am curious if anyone on the list has used any of the free
alternatives such as CamStudio: http://camstudio.org/. If so, can you
recommend them, or is it better to pop $300 for Camtasia?
Thanks,
Mike Boom
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