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Screencasting Tutorial
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.. contents::

.. authors:: 8, 71, 79, 709, 3253

start
=====
You've never made a screencast but you having something to share

goals
=====
You'll know how to make great screencasts on Windows, Mac and Linux and upload them to ShowMeDo

Background Knowledge
====================

The main instructions for `adding a screencast to ShowMeDo <http://showmedo.com/addVideoInstructions>`_ are the ones you need to read.  All the necessary background on the type of videos we need in the site is there, along with links to all the right tools and screencasting applications.

The short story is - we want original content that teaches users about open-source tools and subjects.    

.. series:: 097

Making the Screencast
=====================

Techniques
----------

The wiki has pages for `editing on Windows <http://wiki.showmedo.com/index.php/Video_editing_XP>`_ and `editing on Linux <http://wiki.showmedo.com/index.php/Video_editing_Ubuntu>`_ using open-source tools.

ProCasts has blog entries on `choosing your screencast application <http://blog.procasts.co.uk/2009/03/choosing-your-screencast-software/>`_ and `editing your screencast <http://blog.procasts.co.uk/2009/03/editing-your-screencast/>`_.  The series is 9-parts in total and contains a lot of techniques for making clear screencasts.

If you'd like to hear how others make screencasts, including several of the main ShowMeDo authors, see this collection of `screencaster interviews <http://blog.procasts.co.uk/2009/01/screencaster-interviews-and-articles/>`_.

Windows
-------

CamStudio is an excellent open-source tool for Windows, there are further `CamStudio notes <http://wiki.showmedo.com/index.php/Configuring_CamStudio>`_ for configuration in the wiki.

.. series:: 065, 119    

Alternatives are `HyperCam <http://www.hyperionics.com/hc/>`_ (shareware) and `CamTasia <http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp>`_ (commercial, includes excellent editor).  TechSmith offer a `CamTasia First Steps <http://download.techsmith.com/camtasiastudio/docs/cswalkthrough.pdf>`_ pdf.

Mac
---

For the Mac there are several applications including `iShowU <http://shinywhitebox.com/home/home.html>`_, `ScreenFlow <http://www.telestream.net/screen-flow/overview.htm>`_ and `Snapz Pro <http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/>`_.

.. series:: 076        

Linux
-----

The main tool for recording on Linux seems to be `RecordMyDesktop <http://recordmydesktop.sourceforge.net/about.php>`_.

.. series:: 182, 123, 010    

Web-based
---------

Several tools now exist for recording screencasts via the Internet.  Typically these are Java applications, they start from the web-site, you use them to record your desktop and then they present the recorded video (available for downloading) in their site.

The main tools are `ScreenToaster <http://www.screentoaster.com/>`_, `Jing <http://www.jingproject.com/>`_, `ScreenCastle <http://screencastle.com/>`_ and `Screencast-o-matic <http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/>`_.

Audio
-----
.. video:: 1396

Audio editing
-------------

Sometimes your audio won't be brilliant and some edits are required.  The commercial screencasting tools typically have a built-in editor but the free tools don't.  `Audacity <http://audacity.sourceforge.net>`_ is a great open-source audio editor, learn how to use it to fix volume, edit out breaths and lip smacks, make 'esses' softer and remove background noise:

.. video:: 1380

Adding the screencast to ShowMeDo
=================================

Now all you need to do is record your screencast, do any editing and then visit My Page (see the navigation bar at the top of each page) to Add a Video.    

All screencasts are previewed before being published so expect to wait a day or so before your first video is released.  Once we've published a few you'll be granted self-publishing rights.  This ensures that only the good material gets released (because we don't want any spam in ShowMeDo!).