Home » Tips for Creating Engaging videos (From Camtasia)

Tips for Creating Engaging videos (From Camtasia)

This is an excerpt from Techsmith’s (makers of Camtasia Video Editing Software) guide, I really like it and agree with most of these, so

First, Be Prepared

Know your audience.
Will they be familiar with the terminology and concepts presented in the video?
Do you need to make a separate introductory video?
Are you motivating, teaching, or selling?
Do just one of these in your video and don’t attempt to do a combination of two or three at one time. Create appropriate content to fit your selected category.
Watch other videos to learn what makes them engaging, interesting, or bad.
Write a script – don’t wing it.
A good script contains the narrative and a description of what is happening on the screen during the narrative.
Following a script also helps eliminate unwanted um’s and ah’s in the audio.
Create a storyboard of your video.
A storyboard is a way to sketch your video. You should show where transitions, callouts, zooms, and other effects will go.
Decide and plan what you will record ahead of time.
What applications will you use? Do you need forms or fields filled out? Do you use graphics that should be created ahead of time?
It will take you longer than you think.
So, don’t wait until the last minute to start your video project.

Always, Brush Up on Your Public Speaking Skills

Be familiar with your video topic.
You should speak as though you are the expert on your subject.
Speak slowly and clearly, and follow the script.
Don’t ramble on or feel like you have to speak constantly.
Be yourself.

Make sure your personality shines through – use humor where fits

Speak naturally.
Practice saying your script out loud.
Listen to your recorded voice and become comfortable hearing yourself.

Study the basics of “Filmography”

Get familiar with the terminology and concepts of screen recording.
Read up a bit on video dimensions, video file formats, screencasting, etc.
Record big and produce small.
Camtasia Recorder automatically records SmartFocus zoom key frames. Add those zoom key frames during editing to keep the action in your video focused.
Tell a story.
What are you recording and why is it important?
Open with an introduction and close with a summary.
Do an introduction of what you will be demonstrating and give a closing summary.
Let the video do the talking.
You don’t need to talk about every detail or step. Instead, show the steps and talk about the importance of the process or workflow that you’re demonstrating.
Keep the video moving along.
Don’t linger in one place for too long. This can cause your viewers to lose interest.

Great Audio is Crucial!

Use the best microphone you can afford.
Sound is critical to screen recording videos. Quite often, if the sound is bad, people will not watch the video.
Use the Camtasia Recorder default settings for audio.
Do a test recording and make sure audio is being recorded.
Adjust the audio volume in Camtasia.
If your volume is too low or too loud, use the Audio Effects in Camtasia to adjust the audio up or down. Add audio points to enhance certain areas of the waveform.
Background music can add a nice touch if done correctly.
If you have background music playing while you are recording narration with a microphone, the background music appears on a separate track within Camtasia. Edit the background music to fit the narration using fade effects or volume adjustments.
Record the audio and video separately.
After you become familiar with using Camtasia, try recording the screen without the audio. Within Camtasia, do all of your video editing. When the video editing is complete, add the audio using the Voice Narration option. This is the preferred process for people who routinely create screen recordings.
Stop and listen to the sound in your recording area.
Record your screen with audio but don’t speak. Then, listen to the recording. You’ll be surprised how much noise is in a room. Is your chair squeaky or creaky? Is your phone ringer on? Is your keyboard loud when you type? Are there pets or kids in the background? Do you have a heating or cooling vent overhead that can be heard? Is your mic picking up the humming from your computer and other devices?
Record in a quiet location.
Try not to record your audio in a public location. Use an office or conference room away from high traffic areas. Place a note on the door letting others know you are recording.
Use Camtasia’s Audio Effects to enhance the audio.
Reduce noise, even out volume level, and eliminate white noise, um’s, and ah’s.

Recording the Screen

Clean up a cluttered or busy desktop.
It’s best to record a desktop that has a plain background and is free from lots of desktop icons and gadgets
Turn off all reminders and pop-ups.
Turn off all meeting reminders, email notifications, and other pop-up screens.
Look over your Internet browser window.
Do you have unnecessary toolbars showing? If so, turn them off or hide them. Do your bookmarks and recent history reveal too much information about you?
Open the applications you’ll be recording and close the ones you won’t.
Some applications take time to get up and going and there’s nothing worse than watching a video that records applications starting up. If it isn’t critical to show how to launch an application, have all your applications ready to go and use <ALT + TAB> on the keyboard to cycle through the applications. Also, close all applications that you don’t need such as emails, browser windows, etc.
Resize windows and applications to fit recording area.
Make sure when you switch to an application it displays in your selected recording area.
Record full screen using Camtasia Recorder’s default settings.
The default settings found in Recorder gives you a high resolution, master recording file that includes SmartFocus zoom and pan key frames. These key frames
automatically optimize the viewing experience when producing to a smaller dimension such as iPod.
Control your mouse movements by using slow movements across the screen.
Eliminate jerking or circling with the mouse to bring attention to an area on the screen as this can be very distracting and irritating to viewers. Instead, use Camtasia’s Cursor Effects to enhance the cursor after you record. Add highlights, animation, and more.
You don’t need to start over if you make a mistake.
If you make a mistake by clicking the wrong button or you stumble over a word – don’t stop and start over. Just quit speaking for 3 – 5 seconds and then begin where you left off. Then, use Camtasia to cut out the section where the mistake occurred. The silence on the timeline lets you know where the mistakes are.
If you’re showing text onscreen, make sure the font is readable.
Use a font size that is larger than you think you’ll need. This is especially true when recording a PowerPoint presentation.
Make several short recordings instead of one long recording.
If your video is longer than 5 minutes, break it up into separate videos.

Editing

If you need to preserve the audio and cut the video, separate the video and audio.
If you need to make edits that involve cutting out portions of your video but you don’t want to cut the audio, right-click the media and select Separate Audio and Video. Then, lock the audio track.
Choose to edit with dimensions that correspond to the dimensions your viewers will see in the final video.
So, if your video will be shared on an iPad, choose an iPad dimensions for editing.
Make all your video edits then add the callouts, title clips, etc.