I’m continuing the discussion from Darktable video tutorials here (I thought it deserved its own thread):
Originally written for @LightSweep, but applicable to anyone. Add any thoughts/tips/tricks/ideas please!
General
Some thoughts I had gathered when I consider video walkthroughs (high level):
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Storyboard. Storyboard. Storyboard.
Consider the flow of what you want to cover ahead of time, write it down. Script what you think you’d like to say, and try to break up the flow so that you have easy breakpoints (in case you mess up and have to re-record something - better to only have to do the last 30 seconds or so, vs. the last 5 minutes).
This is the place to write, edit, rewrite, and repeat the material - it’s like writing a tutorial, only a bigger pain in the ass!
If there’s a video/tutorial that you’ve personally found really helpful in the past - go back and determine what about it made it so effective - apply those things here. -
Get a good mic. This makes a world of difference when recording (try to dampen down room noise and echo if possible. I actually hang towels and stuff from the walls near me to keep them under control. Depending on how serious you want to be with recording videos, I would even be willing to either buy or send you a microphone.
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HD recording. Don’t bother recording at 1920x1080 at first. Unless there is a really good reason, in many cases I find that 1280x720 is plenty. Plus, your computer will thank me.
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Use a lossless codec if possible. You want to maintain quality while recording so that subsequent editing and export will stay as high quality as possible. You can use lossless x264 in ffmpeg, or even FFV1 (more on this later).
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Make notes, storyboards, etc., and keep them handy as you record (it will help - really!). I keep them on a pad of paper nearby as I work. Especially if there are points I want to remind myself to cover as I’m working. I’ll sometimes even put sticky notes around my monitor in sequence to remind me.
Recording
There are a few different options for recording screen casts, but I’m not super-familiar with them personally. I am comfortable with ffmpeg, though:
https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Capture/Desktop
That link has some ffmpeg options for all OS to record desktops. In particular, I’d probably consider recording a smaller area (1280x720 is a nice compromise between legibility and size). If you have the horsepower, by all means go 1920x1080…
Video Codec
If your machine is fast enough, you can capture and encode to a lossless x264:
ffmpeg -video_size 1920x1080 -framerate 30 -f x11grab -i :0.0 -c:v libx264 -qp 0 -preset ultrafast capture.mkv
You can also use the FFV1 lossless encoder, which may be faster (I haven’t run any tests lately).
I will test a couple of simple settings and post back here for others to try and test to see if we can get to a good, useful, option.
OSX
OSX can do native screen captures using Quicktime Player:
File → New Screen Recording
It will allow you to record the entire desktop, or simply a region. This is probably the fastest/easiest way to record screencasts on OSX.
Audio
Get a good microphone. It’ll be worth it’s weight in gold in the final result. Good audio makes all the difference in general impression and quality of the output.
Get the mic near your mouth, but not directly in the line of breathing (to minimize breathing sounds/popping/spitting). Off the side is best if you have a wearable mic (actually it’s true of a mic on a stand as well).
Editing
I personally tend to use Blender for my editing, but it’s not going to be intuitive for anyone now already familiar with it. I can’t speak for some of these, but a quick list off the top of my head:
- kdenlive was already mentioned by @darix on the previous thread. Well regarded, I think, by many.
- openshot looked like a nice option.
- pitivi has been catching up nicely to the others.
- Lightworks is a professional level NLE, but I think the free version has some limitations (haven’t checked on it in a while).
No matter which one you go with, you’ll basically be assembling the bits and takes onto a timeline, adding fades/transitions/etc, title cards, credits, possibly a soundtrack? Don’t worry about getting too fancy at first, just test the waters with a couple of takes and no transitions. Get a feel for how things work (it’s not so bad once you’ve gotten used to the editor a little bit).
Share the Editing
I’m personally around and able to help assemble things if you want. If you don’t want to bother with the video editing just yet, feel free to ping me and we’ll find a way for me to get the files from you and assemble it.