Freecast Your Way to Better Screencasts!
This guest post is written by Articulate’s David Anderson. You can find out more about what David has to say here.
Whether it’s a quick how-to for a co-worker, a project-demo for a client, or a special effects tutorial, all of us want to create screencasts that are effective and engaging.
That’s why one of the most common questions we’re asked is, “How can I learn to create better screencasts?”
It makes sense that questions around style, technique and delivery are more common than technical, “how-to” questions. The software is the easy part, right? Click record and off you go.
So how can you create better screencasts?
Freecasting
One of the best ways you can improve your Screencasting is by something I call freecasting. Freecasting is the screencasting equivalent of freewriting.
Freewriting, made famous by Jack Kerouac, is a writing style often called spontaneous prose or stream-of-consciousness-writing. The idea is that by writing freely, without concern for quality, grammar or punctuation, you’ll learn to “write without consciousness” and with less inhibition.
That’s exactly what freecasting is designed to do: get you recording. Freecasting helps release your attachment to “sounding good” while strengthening your presentation and improvisational speaking skills.
How does it work?
Time limits. Set aside 5-15 minutes a day when you can record without interruption. Once you click record, you screencast until your predetermined recording time is up.
Don’t stop recording until the time is up! This means you don’t stop or pause the recording for mistakes, do-overs, coughs, sneezes, phone calls, IM chats or to check your Twitter stream. If you run out of things to say, start narrating about the fact you can’t think of anything to say. You don’t stop talking and recording until the timer’s up.
Screenr’s 5-minute time limit is a perfect timer for practicing.
Select a structure. Focused screencasting is structured around a specific topic or lesson. Focused screencasts may require you first prepare your applications and recording area before you record.
Unfocused freecasting is looser and guided by your immediate thoughts. Unfocused can be as spontaneous as selecting the first application or window you see and screencasting whatever comes to mind during your recording session.
Each approaches offers unique value so it’s a good idea to work both types into your routine.
After your freecast
Review your recording. Your freecasts are private and not intended to be shared. They’re designed to improve your overall screencasting skills.
If you choose to delete your recordings, try playing each video back a few times. Take notes on what you like, don’t like or wish to improve. You may even uncover new ideas for presenting your screencasts.
So give freecasting a chance and please share your feedback in the comments.
