Video tutorial settings?

[IMI]

Hello. :)

These days with so many in the tutorial writing business going video, I know a whole lot of us have seen many, not just for LW, but for alot of our favorite apps.
I was wondering, what do people prefer for the format?

If I knew how to create a poll, I'd do that, but I don't, so obviously that's not happening. ;)

How about video format? Everybody seems to use either Qt .mov or Flash .swf. I'm wondering if that's just a preference, or because of the available codecs and file compression.
Embedded in html or standalone, for download?
How about screen cursor highlights that can be seen all the time?
Keyboard and click sounds? Personally, I don't mind the mouse click sounds, but I'm not big on keyboard typing sounds, unless they're edited down to barely audible. At the same time, though, it's not a big deal, and I can live with it.

I'm hoping to hear from a few people on what they personally like and dislike about video tutorials, and for those of you who actually make them, it'd be great if you had some opinions and tips to share regarding screen resolution, format, and codecs.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions of what would be a good but not-prohibitively-expensive microphone/headset combo to use for such a thing, that'd be cool too.

Thanks. :)

[dballesg]

Hi,

For me the mouse clicks and keyboard key sounds are a NO.

Another thing I hate (if it is a commercial tutorial, on free or amateur ones, you can forgive them) is those moments where the guy stops and "Uh, oooo, well yes, no, it is not this option, ok let me check, opps, no it is not!" And half a minute later they found their way through the menu or app :( Aside looks not very promising from someone doing commercial tutorials :tongue:

They aren't heard about "video editing" :D

About the format, I quite like .mov or swf. In my Vista .avis are giving me headaches with some of the compressors, but it is a personal preference.

Hope it helps,
David

[IMI]

Thank you, David. :)

Well, then, if you ever see any of mine which I'm producing into videos from Camtasia Studio projects I've saved, you might not like some of the ""Uh, oooo, well yes, no..." stuff in there. :D Not alot of it, but I'm planning on only doing freebies anyway. :)

Funny thing about doing videos - Some of the ones, including the Modeler series I'm currently working on I've loosely "rehearsed" a few times beforehand. I can sit here talking to myself, explaining my intentions and actions all day long without any of that indecisiveness, but once the recording starts, I get too self-conscious or something. Weird.

Far as format goes, I just produced a 5 minute test video as .mov with the Sorenson codec @ 26 MB. With the Sorenson 3 codec, it was 22 MB. With the TechSmith codec, it came in at about 20 MB., but wouldn't play in the VLC Player for some reason.
However, with Flash .swf at 75% JPEG compression, it came in under 3 MB. Good quality for video and voice, too. Almost indestiguishable from the .mov versions in quality.

[Matt]

I prefer:

- Quicktime

- Downloadable

- NO cursor highlighting or annoying keyboard / mouse sounds

SWF is okay, so long as the aspect ratio is locked down

[Dodgy]

Is there a free desktop recorder? I'd like to do some tutes, but the techsmith stuff is too expensive.

[IMI]

Is there a free desktop recorder? I'd like to do some tutes, but the techsmith stuff is too expensive.

I don't know of any. I looked before I bought Camtasia Studio, but didn't come up with anything. At the time, I had to have it for a project. Now I'm trying to find other uses for it. ;)

With all the freeware and open source stuff out there, you'd think someone would have come up with something by now, especially considering the popularity of screen capture video. Maybe someone else will chime in if it exists.

[prospector]

Don't know the quality but they are free;
http://www.download.com/Mediachase-Screen-Capture/3000-13633_4-10721097.html?tag=lst-0-10
http://www.download.com/CamStudio/3000-13633_4-10743277.html?tag=lst-0-8
http://www.download.com/Webinaria/3000-13633_4-10724744.html?tag=lst-0-10
http://www.download.com/Free-YouTube-Uploader/3000-13633_4-10715348.html?tag=lst-0-6

[Dodgy]

Thanks prospector!

[colkai]

CamStudio Mike, that's the one - it's effectively a 'cutdown' Camtasia Studio utilising the Techsmith Codec. Very cool.

[cresshead]

also 'wink' is free

when i make my 'amateur videos' i use camtasia that i got free on the cover of pcformat a few years back...
i ususally have cursor hilighting so that people can 'follow' where i'm at if it's been youtubed which is what i do mostly thesedays to null out any bandwidth issues and also 'get it out there quickly'...

i always add a narration audio track...persnally if i see a 'tutorial' without audio i kill it and move on to someone who wants people to learn
properly and not just show off and you have to guess what's going on...that's ANNOYING!...


people who add TEXT rather than audio REALLY **ss me off...it takes more effort and makes the tutorial harder to follow!

''timelapse 'tutorials'' on the whole is find these a waste of time as a tutorial but nice to watch...

the main thing i try n do when making a tutorial is SAY what i'm doing and where i'm going at all times [doesn't always workout but i try!] mainly
because i'm outputting to a small screen res so the audio is very important
and the video is really a guide for the audio.

[riki]

Yeah I prefer downloadable Quicktime (hate Flash Video) and at least 1024 wide.

[cresshead]

free vids are okay on youtube but for commercial tutorials then QT is THE prefered delivery format as you can go frame by frame forwards and back if you need too
something that avi, divx, wmv turn to visual slush with....

also of course DVD is fine too.

[IMI]

Thanks for the input. :)
Since anything I make would in fact be for download, I'm thinking about making them in QT and Flash versions, both standalone. (Irfan View plays swf videos nicely, if you get the iview plugin pack.)
It's just that those Flash formats are such good quality and such small files sizes.
Resolution would probably be 1280 x 1024.

Does anyone have any good suggestions for a headset/mic combo? The one I've been using is OK, but I can't get the input on the mic high enough, and it picks up alot of background noise.

[cresshead]

for mic gain use the mic boost radio button

[IMI]

I've got everything cranked up as it is. It's just a cheapo to begin with - only about 30 dollars. I only got it for playing Call of Duty 2 online. :D
But anyway, it's USB and the Windows controls don't affect the mic, nor do the mic settings on my Soundblaster PCI card - I have to have it set to "USB audio device" to even be able to use it.

I just need to sink some money into something better, but thanks anyway. :)

[cresshead]

Hmm...sounds like your el cheapo usb headset is rather poo then!

i use a mic boom/ earphones set up that cost £30...non brand but works really well, i just plug it into my laptop mic/earphones mini jacks

same thing for my mac mini except i use a usb 'imic' to connect the headset to the mac mini.

[IMI]

Yeah, "poo" would be a good way to describe it. I suppose all the abuse it's gone through hasn't helped much, like forgetting I have it on and getting up and walking away. or, setting it on my chair and coming back and sitting on it. I'm amazed it still works at all. :D

I just ordered one from New Egg though - looks good enough, got good reviews and has an option for 3.5mm sound card connection, or USB.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826106164

[LightWuv]

Thanks for the mic gain tip, Cresshead :)

Good luck, IMI.

Wuv

[Thomas M.]

Has anything changed regarding the programs for this purpose? Is it still camtasia (and free)? I also wonder about the workflow. Can I cut the material recorded and put an audiotrack onto it afterwards (AfterFX, Premiere) without loosing quality?

Cheers
Thomas

[Hopper]

Has anything changed regarding the programs for this purpose? Is it still camtasia (and free)? I also wonder about the workflow. Can I cut the material recorded and put an audiotrack onto it afterwards (AfterFX, Premiere) without loosing quality?
CamStudio is free, Camtasia is commercial. I loaded CamStudio and preferred not to use it - then bought Camtasia and like it a lot. You can indeed modify, add, and remove audio after you have recorded the video.

I purchased mine because I could expense it. I'm sure I would have gotten CamStudio to work just fine otherwise. It works well for what it is and what it costs - nada.

[Hopper]

Check these out. I've been using LTB for some time now and have never had any problems. I have had several compliments on the quality of the microphones (via Ventrillo, TeamSpeak, and CamStudio productions). I have several of these and they rock as far as sound goes too. (They are the all enclosing type). My favorite is the MG-AC97. It's a 5.1 surround headset and the mic is clear as crystal (it's a noise-cancelling mic so you don't get the breathing through the nose noises :D).

I have two professional Sony headsets for studio recording work and these are almost as good (not the same frequency range, but close).

LTB (http://www.ltbaudio.com/aboutproducts.html)

They go for about $65-$80 and worth every penny.

[Thomas M.]

O.k., just downloaded CamStudio and it works. But the file sizes I get are ridiculous. Can I add a Codec to the programm or what compressions settings are recommended for a LW tutorial?

Or do I record the video with a maximum quality and let AfterFX or PRemiere do the compression. Also which program do I use to record the sound afterwards? Do I get the TecSmith codec for free or would I need to buy Camtasia.

I got the CS3 Master collection, but except from PS didn't use any of the programs.

So, if somebody would be willing to point out the workflow for the whole thing with some specific settings for the compression, I'd be glad to share some tutorials on LW.

Cheers
Thomas

[Cageman]

Techsmith had a run where they offered a free version of Camtasia Studio 3.1.3 and that is the one I'm using. I'll check and see if they still offer Camtasia for free...

EDIT: http://www.labnol.org/software/download/download-camtasia-studio-free/1829/

Unfortunately, the free offer expired Jan 7... :/ The reason I found out about it was because someone posted about it on this forum!

[Thomas M.]

Very unfortunate.

Well, the CamStudio program works. The only thing I need to know is how the whole workflow would take place. Is there a codec I could use from inside AfterFX? I just recorded some stuff yesterday with CamStudio and ten minutes ended up with 1,3GB on my hard disk. Would I record my tut at highest settings, edit it and then compress it or would I just record the stuff with a special codec (WHICH ONE; WHICH SETTINGS; PLEASE) and cut it afterwards and add sound to it without the need to recompress it? Is Soundbooth the software I would use to record my sounds?

If somebody could point out the right way, I'd be glad to share with the community, but I don't have the time to check CamStudio and the rest out in depth. So, hopefully somebody knows more about this stuff than I do.

What did Proton use, anyway?

Cheers
Thomas

[WilliamVaughan]

I use Camtasia...I prefer no highlight on the cursor and I absolutely loath the keyboard noise and clicking noises ....

I prefer Qt and I'm liking the 800x600 size.

Let me know if you guys have any questions...

[Cageman]

I'm recording in 1600x900, 10fps and then shrink it to 1200x675, using Sorenson Video 3 (QT). The audio is set to IMA4:1, 128Kbps 32000kHz MONO.

[userBrian]

I prefer Flash. It always works and loads much faster. Just today I shut off two Quicktime videos because they take so long to download sometimes. And half the time Quicktime videos don't even load at all for me. Ive bought books where the quicktime videos all don't work, just a green-pink jitter screen.
Months later I found some of those actually played thru Realplayer. It's a real pain. But never once a problem with Flash. I see them all quickly. And lately I read a couple of threads of people complaining about quicktime. Thanks for using flash. Sad when there are lots of videos with a program and you can't see them.

[Cageman]

I prefer Flash. It always works and loads much faster. Just today I shut off two Quicktime videos because they take so long to download sometimes. And half the time Quicktime videos don't even load at all for me. Ive bought books where the quicktime videos all don't work, just a green-pink jitter screen.
Months later I found some of those actually played thru Realplayer. It's a real pain. But never once a problem with Flash. I see them all quickly. And lately I read a couple of threads of people complaining about quicktime. Thanks for using flash. Sad when there are lots of videos with a program and you can't see them.

Never have had any problems whatsoever with QT. The good things about them is that I can download them and store them much easier than Flash. To be able to play Flash-movies localy, I need to have a special player to do so. Most QTs can be played using QuickTime, VLC and Mediaplayer Classic.

[Thomas M.]

These are the codecs which come with CamStudio. Is there one which works for the tutorial purpose or is there a way to add codecs to CamStudio? Quicktime is installed on the computer.

Cheers
Thomas

[Thomas M.]

So, how do I get the sorensen 3 codec? QT is installed on the computer. But Sonrensen doesn't show up in Camtasia.

[SBowie]

It does in my (older) version. Maybe you're looking in the wrong place? I've selected "Produce Video As" from the File menu, then selected Quicktime and clicked Settings:

[Hopper]

I prefer Flash. It always works and loads much faster. Just today I shut off two Quicktime videos because they take so long to download sometimes. ...
True .. normally the MOV mime type doesn't stream unless it's played through a stream wrapper, so it has to download the complete file to your browser before it plays. Flash is quite convenient for on-line media, but like many have mentioned, I like to simply right-click and use "Save Target As". Especially for large files so I can see a progress bar and keep it for later. I've found many really nice Flash tutorials that I've bookmarked only to find them gone later becaue the site is down, gone, etc...

[JeffrySG]

Yeah, I make all of my QT movies streaming so people can either watch them as they download, wait to download them, or just download directly. In QTPro there is an option to make the videos streaming or not... see bottom of pic.

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/5580/picture1fc6.png

[Hopper]

oooooooh nice! I'm glad they finally added the feature. I was wondering if there was some strange reason they kept ignoring the fact that just about everyone uses stream encoding these days. Bout time- but I'm glad it's there now.

[Von Polygon]

Just a quick note on the audio. it would be nice, if it would be nice and level and not too quiet compared to normal CD audio track for instance, I just hate it if you need to reach for the volume knob every time. Agree on those click and typewriter sounds (what where TechSmith people thinking setting them as defaults is beyond me).

As for commercial purpose video tutes one would expect some level of pre-rehearsal additionally umm's, erm's and mistakes can be edited out with a little effort. Also condenser mic in shock-mount with pop screen should be standard along with some level of audio post. Of course all of this is useless if the end product is heavily down-sampled in compression process.

Quicktime .mov seems to be the most accessible and preferred format although .swf compression rate given earlier sounds incredible. 5min @ 3MB what screen resolution was that with?