Screencast Videos: Making How-To Videos Without a Camera!

DaveArthur
Member

Recently I have seen not one but two producers release very good
video productions in which they did not shoot a single frame of
video. Using screencast software, a presentation program and some
stock images, these producers created good instructional videos.

Doing some research on the topic, I put together a list of some resources if you want to do the same:

Screencast Software:

Camtasia (Windows)
http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia
iShowU (Mac)
http://www.shinywhitebox.com/
SnapzProX (Windows)
http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/

Presentation Software:

ConceptDraw MindMap (Windows)
http://www.conceptdraw.com/en/products/mindmap/main.php
PowerPoint (Windows)
http://office.microsoft.com/
Keynote (Mac)
http://www.apple.com/iwork/

Simply record your on-screen visual presentation as you click
through it, add some stock photos, add your narration, and your
video is finished! :D

Posted 4 years ago #
tonsofpcs
Member

I have used Scala iPlay Studio for presentations for video and they work quite well as well as allowing for some interesting video-type customizations that PowerPoint doesn't (I haven't tried the other two suggested)

Posted 4 years ago #
DaveArthur
Member

Scala iPlay looks like a great resource for Windows presentations! What is the current price? The Scala website does not list it.

I also noticed that I listed SnapzProX by Ambrosia as a Windows program. My error, it is for Mac only.

Dave
http://www.HowToDVDPro.com

Posted 4 years ago #
On a Roll
Member

Here's one I'll add:

The program is called Kidpad, and can be found here:

http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/kiddesign/kidpad.shtml

I saw a presentation delivered on this program on Google's YouTube space. Here's the link to that:

Get the Flash Videos

It's a very interesting program, and may or may not be useful for this type of video, but it is surprisingly powerful and intuitive, and it's free for non-commercial use! (I have no clue what they charge for commercial use.)

I've not used it enough to know if it would work as well as the other solutions listed here, but if nothing else, it's fun to look at.

Posted 4 years ago #
bigyellowflamingharley
Member

Several posts hit near what I need: I want to transition in between pictures using music.......as the speed of the beat of the song speeds up or slows down so does the rate at which the pictures change. Is there a video editing program that does that?

Posted 4 years ago #
DaveArthur
Member

The specifics of doing this will vary slightly with the nonlinear editing program you are using, but most good editors will give you the tools to do this...

First, lay the music tack you want to use down. Next, locate the "marker" function of your editor. Many editing programs will allow you to place reference markers into your timeline. These markers have no effect on the video or audio, they are just for the editor's reference. Play back your audio, tapping the marker key combination in time with the beat. The resulting marker placement will tell you where you need to place a transition. For many music cuts you will probably want to choose to use every other beat, every downbeat, etc. It depends on the overall effect you are going for.

The cheapest and easiest to use editing program that can do this effectively (that I know of) is the old version of iMovie HD from Apple. The newest iMovie will not give you the control you want. iMovie HD is available from Apple as a free download if you have a Mac.

I think that Sony Vegas has a function like this as well--do some research on that before spending the money though.

Hope this helps,

Posted 4 years ago #