1. TechSmith Camtasia Studio Version 8 – “01: Prepare, Script, Audio”

Overview:   This tutorial had basic information that not many novices would think of. The three main points were to 1) clean up the desktop before screen capturing, 2) have a prepared script or detailed outline to avoid the “um” curse, and 3) use a USB microphone in an environment without any noisy distractions.

Evaluation:   Since this video focused on recording screencasts, the information makes sense. Who wants to see my family vacation photos on my desktop wallpaper or listen to distracting noises in the background? The video had a chart of the speaker’s script which included “Action on Screen” on the left of the chart and an “Audio” script broken up into sentences on the right side of the chart. Since my brain functions much the same way, I think I’ll borrow his format for my own projects.

2. TechSmith Camtasia Studio Version 8 – “04: Explore the Editor”

Overview:   This tutorial explained the three main parts of the main Camtasia window: the “clip bin,” the “canvas,” and the “timeline.” The Clip Bin has an option to import video or graphics or a clip library to pull from. The Canvas is also called the “Preview Window,” and additional training is available called “Canvas In-Depth.” This section allows me to shrink, expand, or rotate my screen cast, but I’m not sure what would cause me to want to do that. Perhaps the more advanced video will answer that question. The timeline is the area where the tracks are laid out so I can see the layering effects required to build a screencast, including the audio, the screen, additional videos, and images.

Evaluation:   Because I have worked with Camtasia a little previously, I decided to skip a couple tutorials and dig into something a little more helpful. I’m most familiar with the timeline because I used it extensively when I created an instructional tutorial for my students six months ago, but the information on the canvas and the clip bin was helpful. Since I’ll be adding video to my project, I needed to see where to download that video so I have access to it. And I’m looking forward to seeing how shrinking the screen can be beneficial.

3. TechSmith Camtasia Studio Version 8 – “05: Apply SmartFocus to Zoom and Pan”

Overview:   This tutorial explains how SmartFocus follows the cursor and automatically zooms into text being typed so that when the video is viewed on tablets or other smaller screens, the text can be seen. Zooming and panning can be done manually as well, but this SmartFocus automatically adds those animations to the Timeline. This option only works with .trec or .camrec files, not with .avi files.

Evaluation:   I doubt that my files will remain in .trec or .camrec format, so I’ll have to manually add my animations. The tutorial was helpful in that I know I’ll have to add my own animations, but it was not helpful in teaching me how to do something I need to learn to do. For that reason, I did not watch the entire tutorial, but I know where it is if I find that I do need the information later.

4. TechSmith Camtasia Studio Version 8 – “08: Visual Properties”

Overview:   The focus of this tutorial was on getting images to move across the screen. The example on the screen involved creating a moving arrow to draw the audience’s attention to the object being pointed at. One very important step is to have the arrow begin off-screen so that it doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. From the “Visual Properties” tab, we then click the “Add Animation” button. To find the proper location on the timeline, double-click the animation before actually moving the image. To get the arrow to move to a different location, add another animation and move the arrow. This example rotated the arrow so that it now points to something behind it.

Evaluation:   This is a very cool tool! I can imagine using this to move images around the screen to direct the audience’s attention either toward or away from that object.

5. TechSmith Camtasia Studio Version 8 – “Canvas: In-Depth”

Overview:   The information in this tutorial focused on basic editing practices like using the handles in the corners of an image to maintain the image’s ratio and using the center dot to rotate an image. The program has yellow gridlines that appear to indicate when an object is either centered or flush with the outside edge. The option to “Send to Front/Back” can be found by right-clicking the image. Also, when an object is layered on top of another object, it is higher in the timeline.

Evaluation:   I was excited to see that this video was next in line because it had been mentioned earlier and I was hoping that it answered some questions I had about using the canvas. While I did learn new information, this video did not answer my specific question, so I’ll keep searching. This tutorial answered some WHY questions, but not very many HOW questions, which at this point is what I’m looking for. The concept of seeing my completed work as a window and not just an artist’s canvas did help me adjust my concept of when to zoom, though. And I didn’t previously know that the order of tracks on the timeline indicated which item would be on “top” of another item.

6. TechSmith Camtasia Studio Version 8 – “Introduction to Grouping”

Overview:   Selecting multiple images either by using the mouse or CTRL+select so that they all turn blue on the timeline and then right-clicking gives the option to group the objects so that they can be moved as one unit. Clicking on the title allows us to change the name of the object and we can right click to add the object to our library.

Evaluation:   This grouping concept is very similar to the grouping concept within Publisher, so such actions should be pretty intuitive for me. I’m glad I got to see that I can name my objects on the timeline because that will help me keep my script and my animations organized.

 

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