This video is a tutorial on Screencasting secrets – how to make a great screen capture or screencast presentations on your Mac.

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Full transcript below the fold -

Screencasting is using screen captures (stills and movies) from your computer to create video content. We’re starting to see these pop up all over the web in the form of podcasts, website tours, software tutorials and viral videos.

The first step is capturing the footage from your Mac. There are some good programs out there . . . I use Snapz Pro 2 from Ambrosia Software. Others use programs like IShowU and the fancy newcomer Screenflow.

I capture the video in a high def frame size, like 720P or 1080P . . . or some other widescreen aspect ratio. For videos that will ultimately be delivered on the web, a high-quality H.264 is generally fine, but it will have to render in Final Cut Pro. Generally it’s easiest to capture to whatever codec you edit in, whether it be HDV, XDCAM, ProRes 422. Often I’ll just use Animation codec — it’s perfect lossless quality that looks great in my edit. For more on codecs go to macmediacast.com and check out our tutorial called an Intro to Video Codecs.

Codecs I would avoid would be ones that were meant for viewing on Television — DV-NTSC, DVCam, etc. because they are interlaced and screen captures look awful when interlaced. We want to always use a Progressive setting when generating web content.

I like to capture a virtual “tight shot” and not the whole screen. I want all my details visible when this video is shrunk down to YouTube size. It can also help to capture as high res as you can, so you have a little room to zoom into the content if you need to. Also, I like to leave an uncluttered background behind whatever I’m capturing . . . if it’s the desktop, I’ll use a solid color like white or black to keep the focus where I want it.

Once I’ve got my screen capture, the icing on the cake is in the edit. Your screen captures will be brought to a more professional level with high-quality music and voiceovers, and motion graphics from programs like Apple’s Motion or After Effects. As for the voiceover, unless you’re an incredibly gifted linguist, I’d recommend scripting or at least outlining what you’d like to say and recording it separately . . . this will add to the polished finished product.

To see great screencasts, go check out the work of my pal Don McAllister at screencastsonline.com — and drop by my company’s website at hilomedia.com to see some of the screencasts and product videos we’re making for commercial clients.

Thanks for watching! For more Mac audio and video screencasts and tutorials, drop by macmediacast.com — and be sure to befriend me on Twitter, Facebook, and all the social sites — more info at josephnilo.com

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Filed under: Podcast Episodes, Tutorial, Video