New Media Research Studio

I was about to write a tutorial for you guys but found existing ones to be much better. This one is pretty extensive with tips and references. Some tips I found here:

1. Write a script. The public firebug screencast was probably take fifteen or so – the first ten of which I tried to do without a script. Let’s just say those ten takes included a good bit of French (in the “pardon my French” sort of way) as a result of my frustration. After I wrote a script, printed it out in large type, and set it by my monitor, things went much smoother.
2. Memorize the script. The next five tossed takes were the result of me not looking at the screen while I was recording the screencast, but rather looking at the script. Once the script is memorized, you’re free to focus on what’s happening on the screen.
3. Enunciate. If you’ve never recorded your voice for any published work, take a look at Ryan’s Training Your Voice for Podcasting guide. His tips are right on the money, especially this one: “Overcompensate. You’ll probably think you sound weird, but that’s when you’re doing it correctly.”
4. Go for it! Enable Mouseposé, invoke Snapz Pro X, and give it a whirl. Expect to repeat this step several times until you’re happy with the end result.
5. Publish. Compress your final take using Quicktime Pro, upload it to your favorite (preferably un-metered) webhost, and blog about it.

For the more ambitious, here are some more tips: How to Master Screencasts in Seven Step.

Some tools:

• 12 Screencasting Tools For Creating Video Tutorials
• CamStudio – Free (PC)
• ScreenFlow – Free trial, includes editing, looks impressive (Mac)
• Snapz Pro X – Free trial (Mac) – that’s what I use.

I recommend you start getting into it, and share your experiences (in the comments or in individual posts).

Enjoy!