Note: This post originally appeared at http://www.macscreencasting.com/using-transparent-png-files-in-screencasts on 6.21.2010. Due to recent WordPress hacks, I’m consolidating my sites and I’ll be moving the MacScreencasting posts over to SkillCasting. Then I’ll shut down MacScreencasting.

Using transparent PNG files is a great way to make call outs or watermarks for your screencast videos. It’s a pretty common question that comes up all the times on screencasting boards and Twitter.

Use this technique if you want to add creativity to your screencasts. It’s perfect for call out’s and visual reminders. It’s also a great solution for adding a watermark for protection or branding.

This screencast shows how easy it is to add a transparent png file to your project.

[View iPhone version]

I’ve had several people ask me which tools I use to create my transparent .pngs. I use Pixelmator and you can find it in Apple’s App Store.

Note: This post originally appeared at http://www.macscreencasting.com/jing-introduction-with-screencast-com on 6.21.2010. Due to recent WordPress hacks, I’m consolidating my sites and I’ll be moving the MacScreencasting posts over to SkillCasting. Then I’ll shut down MacScreencasting.

There are just a handful of tools in my tool bag that I swear by. Jing is one of them.

Jing allows you to capture screen images and quick, down & dirty, screencasts on your computer. Jing is from TechSmith, the makers of SnagIt and Camtasia. There is a free version and a Pro version that enables MP4 video capture, YouTube uploads, and Webcam capture. What really sets Jing apart though is it’s tight integration with Screencast.com for hosting. This makes sharing your screen captures and screencasts, super easy.

This video introduces you to Jing. I share 5 simple ideas for using Jing, show you how to use it, and provide 5 best practices for recording a screencast with Jing.

I think you’ll find Jing to be a worthy addition to your tool bag.

[View iPhone version]

As an update, even a year later, I swear by Jing. It’s just one of those utilities that works. If you need to create a quick screencast without all the production values, Jing works great. I definitely recommend the Pro upgrade for $14.95 so you can create a MP4 version.

Note: This post originally appeared at http://www.macscreencasting.com/screencast-development-process-for-localization on 6.21.2010. Due to recent WordPress hacks, I’m consolidating my sites and I’ll be moving the MacScreencasting posts over to SkillCasting. Then I’ll shut down MacScreencasting.

Creating a few one-off screencasts is no big deal. But what happens when you have a hundred to create? At that point, you better have a process.

Here is a 5-step screencast development process. This will enable you to consistently produce screencasts in an efficient manner. An added benefit is the ability to localize, or customize your screencast for different markets. When you follow a consistent methodology, it’s easier to re-purpose and re-use your content. It’s also easier to swap out elements.

For example, if you need to create English and Spanish versions of your screencasts, it’s easy to swap out the title slides and audio track if developed in a modular fashion.

The video below shows you one process I’ve employed.

[View iPhone version]

If you have questions on how to mass produce screencasts, even remote creation of screencasts, contact me. I maybe able to help.

I’ve been working with a client who needs to update a couple of hundred screencasts. In addition, they need to make Spanish and Chinese versions. This is no small undertaking by any means!

The original versions were narrated Camtasia videos. If we were going to localize these for different audiences, we had to develop a better process. We needed to make sure we could translate the video narration and easily swap out the language track. I put together a simple 5-step process to bring consistency to our development efforts.

I was reminded of this by what Mozilla faces with their screencasts. In a post, they talked about having to provide support in 70 languages. I commented on my process for my customer and realize this process isn’t feasible for 70 different markets. But if you need to customize your business screencasts into a couple of different languages, this works well.

If you’re developing screencasts, you’ll find this process standardizes your workflow.

[View iPhone version]

Screencasting is a useful tool to show people what you see on your computer screen. It’s also a great way to record PowerPoint & Keynote presentations. Therefore, screencasting is an essential element to what I call SkillCasting and sharing your knowledge.

TechSmith has introduced their premier screencasting software Camtasia:Mac. The current reigning champ for the Mac is ScreenFlow from Telestream.

Comparisons between the two are natural so I think it’s time for a good old fashion smackdown featuring the two top dogs for Mac screencasting.

Round 1: Company
Both products come from mature, stable companies. TechSmith is a leader on the PC side and Camtasia is arguably the best screen recording software for the PC. In addition to Camtasia, TechSmith also makes SnagIt which is another standard for screen captures.

ScreenFlow, previously from Vara Software, is now available from TeleStream. They’re the makers of several media applications with the most notable being Flip4Mac and Wirecast.

What I like about both companies is that their support is top notch. Both companies are active and quite responsive on Twitter and to emails. You’ll find ScreenFlow tutorials quite good and informative. I’ll give the nod to TechSmith though because their Learning Center is a little better organized.

Winner: Camtasia

Round 2: Recording
Recording from both applications is straightforward. Recording options include webcams and microphones. Both interfaces are clean.

It’s interesting to note that both applications record the entire computer screen and not just a window. I find this very helpful because it includes any new windows that might pop up or an application I may have to switch to during the recording. This means you’ll narrow the focus during the editing phase.

My experience shows both capture good video. They both allow you to record system sounds (like audio from a movie or Flash application) along with your microphone. You can use the internal microphone, or better yet, a high quality USB microphone.

One thing I did notice, is that Camtasia has a more difficult time capturing video that’s playing on your screen. So for example, if you wanted to capture part of a QuickTime video with Camtasia so your could edit parts of it, you’ll get a noticeably slower frame rate for the video.

Chip over at Absolute Presence makes the same distinction between Camtasia and ScreenFlow. He’s noticed that Camtasia handles audio capture & scrubbing better but ScreenFlow handles the video better.

Video and animation capture are pretty important to me so this is a key difference.

Winner: ScreenFlow

Round 3: Interface
You’ll notice striking similarities between the interfaces. They both utilize a dark, high-tech theme. This is similar to iMovie and most Mac users should feel right at home with either one. They both present the video canvas front and center with a timeline below it.

Camtasia interface is clean and intuitive. Effects on left are drag & drop actions for timeline.

ScreenFlow interface is equally as clean and intuitive.

Both ScreenFlow and Camtasia offer intuitive controls and are easy for a beginner to use.

Winner: Draw

Round 4: Editing
Okay lets face it, this is where the comparison gets interesting. I’ve led the production of hundreds of screencasts and everyone thinks (including me) that we should be able to create them faster. A good editing interface and set of tools will streamline the workflow and allow us to really crank out a screencast.

Right-click options make editing video in Camtasia quite speedy.

Camtasia introduces a new set of video effects including transitions, filters, and actions. You’ll notice these on the left side of the interface. These effects are applied by dragging and dropping them over the clip. The most talked about action is the Smart Focus. This automatically zooms into the section of the video where the cursor or action is taking place. In my experience, I feel I always need to manually adjust the Smart Focus so I’m not getting a whole lot of value from as a time saver.

Camtasia introduces new library callouts.

Camtasia does provide some quick actions by right-clicking while over a video. This attention to detail is a great time saver.

Camtasia also introduces a media library for arrows and callouts now. This makes adding clip art to your video very easy. I’d like to see a way to add scalable objects to your library because this would be a great way to add custom watermarks. Though one way to accomplish this in both programs is to use transparent png files on the top most layer.

ScreenFlow doesn’t offer as many effects. Their palette of tools is on the right side of canvas. There are two things that stand out to me though.

First, I find adding a video pan or zoom to be very easy in ScreenFlow. I go to the desired place in my video and click Add Video Action. ScreenFlow places a transition type box on my timeline where I then reposition my focus. This box then acts as the “tweening” action as I pan and zoom to a new location. This gives me a greater sense of control and I’m not cleaning up after a “smart focus” that I don’t agree with.

The second feature I find helpful on ScreenFlow is the cursor control and keyboard capture.

ScreenFlow options include cursor & keyboard enhancements.

I can record mouse clicks and highlight them with sonar type rings when I click or double-click. I can also create a magnifying glass around my cursor while dimming the background out. This allows a presenter to use their mouse as a pointer and focus the users attention even more than simply panning and zooming. In addition, ScreenFlow will automatically capture keyboard selections and show them on the screen. This is very useful for software training videos.

Winner: ScreenFlow

Round 5: Publishing
Both tools allow you to create export your video into different formats including MP4′s and QuickTime movies. However, Camtasia introduces direct uploads to YouTube and Screencasts.com for hosting. If you haven’t used Screencast.com, it is a hosting service by TechSmith and even gives you free space to start with. Upgrades are reasonable too so if you don’t have your own hosting, you may seriously want to consider it.

What both applications are lacking is a direct FLV output. This is necessary if you prefer to run your video in your own JW FLV Player or something. I do sometimes prefer to use a FLV file and have to use an external tool to convert my videos over. Camtasia for Windows offers this but not the Mac version.

Winner: Camtasia

Conclusions
TechSmith has introduced a strong 1.0 product to the Mac market. They are a great company and without a doubt, Camtasia will continue to get better and better. TeleStream has already announced a new upgrade for release in September ’09 that will introduce transitions, YouTube support and more. We may need to wait and compare them again in 30 days. In the meantime, I encourage you to download both applications and see which one you like best.

I’m inclined to call this dog fight a draw. But in the end the winners are all of us consumers.

I just discovered a new screencasting tool called Screenr. It’s from Articulate, a leader in the rapid e-learning space.

Screenr allows you to record anything on your desktop for up to 5 minutes. This is more than enough time to get your how-to or idea across. What I like about Screenr is that the quality is outstanding–even at full screen. In addition it produces an iPhone version so mobile playback isn’t crippled by the lack of Flash.

Screenr is tightly integrated with Twitter. Your Twitter credentials are your Screenr login. After you produce your movie, Screenr automatically creates a Twitter post with the URL to your movie. Add a brief description and hit publish. Your Twitter account will publish the post with a link to your movie. And yes, I tested it on my iPhone and it works just perfectly.

Here is my first Screenr screencast so you can see the quality of the output (the content itself leaves a bit to be desired because I didn’t plan it in advance.)

I see several opportunities for using Screenr:

1. Record Keynote & PowerPoint presentations to communicate key ideas.
2. Document computer how-to’s so friends & relatives quit pestering you.
3. Narrate slideshows and easily share them with others.

So what’s missing? I see two things that separate Screenr from more full featured applications like ScreenFlow and soon to be released Camtasia for the Mac. First, there isn’t any zoom. When your watching this on your computer the output is razor sharp. When it’s embedded on a small blog page or worse, on an iPhone, it’s difficult to see the detail. Second, there isn’t a way to really edit the video. In my example, I made a mistake on the URL for the Jing Project from TechSmith. I can’t go back and edit the video to get it right. Neither of these are show stoppers though for such a useful utility.

And oh, did I mention that it was free?!

I encourage you to try out Screenr. It’s simple and straightforward. It integrates well with Twitter and the quality is super sharp. I think you’ll like it.