I'd Rather Be Writing » TechSmith

Appearing on The Forge Show from TechSmith Today at 2pm EST

Tom Johnson — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:41:00 +0000

I’m going to be on The Forge show today at 2pm EST. The Forge is a monthly web show put on by TechSmith, posted on their Visual Lounge blog. Here’s their description of The Forge:

New to The Forge? Wonder what it’s all about? It’s TechSmith’s monthly webshow where we talk about screencapture, screencasting, visual communication and more. We share our tips and tricks and chat with interesting guests about a variety of topics to help and inspire you. Sometimes we even have prizes. You never know what will happen on a live show. You can view the archives and past recordings here.

I was looking over the past archives this morning, and it looks like an incredible resource of content for screencasters and visual designers. I’m not actually in person in a studio or anything — just connecting virtually. And there are a number of other guests on the show, so my segment will only be 15 minutes. Still, if you’re around in the afternoon, check it out.

Oct 14 Update: Here’s the recording of the web show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzZO6M76OsE&t=1m41s

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Message from the Sponsors, July 16

Tom Johnson — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:15:31 +0000

At least once a month, I post a few messages from the sponsors. Today we have a message from Madcap Software and Techsmith.

From Madcap Software

Driven by customer demand and request, MadCap Software is pleased to announce MadCap Consulting, a new service aimed to provide our customers with the resources necessary to perform skilled technical communication projects on both a full-time and part-time basis.

Find the Right Consultant.

Whether you are an existing MadCap Software customer or have general technical communication consulting needs, MadCap Software can assist you in your search to find the right candidate. We match skill sets based on the unique needs of your project to better leverage their expertise. Each of our qualified candidates have extensive expertise in technical writing and technical communication best practices.

Expertise is in High Demand.

Thousands of companies worldwide use MadCap Software to create, manage and publish their technical communication. Due to the vast number of requests MadCap Software receives for consulting services, we are always looking to add qualified candidates to our database of MAD certified consultants. We provide both part-time consulting as well as full-time contract positions.

For more information, visit: http://www.madcapsoftware.com/consulting/

From TechSmith

Snagit 10 is now available!
Capture anything you see on the screen. Edit and combine those captures. Share them via your favorite applications. Organize and find them again later. The more you use SnagIt, the more ways you’ll find to use it!

Want to get a laugh? Add a speech balloon to that photo of your cat and fire it off in an instant message.

Need to make an impression at work? Capture that sales chart and point out important details with a sleek-looking arrow. SnagIt can turn a simple screenshot into a powerful information graphic.

SnagIt is versatile, yet surprisingly simple! As one SnagIt user said, “It’s as basic or as powerful as you need it to be.”

Maybe that’s why millions of people worldwide love using SnagIt, in a million different ways.

Learn more or download a free 30-day trial of Snagit at: www.techsmith.com/snagit.asp.

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Free Copy of Camtasia Studio 7 and Snagit 10

Tom Johnson — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:52:26 +0000

Techsmith gave me a free copy of Camtasia Studio 7 and Snagit 10 to give away on my blog. To enter the contest, just leave a comment on this post. In your comment, tell me something interesting about screencasting. It could be a tip, an argument, a story, a scenario, a technique, or whatever. The most interesting comment wins a copy of Camtasia Studio 7. The second most interesting comment wins a copy of Snagit 10. Winners will be announced on Friday, July 16.

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24 Hours of Screencasts with Camtasia Studio

Tom Johnson — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:11:03 +0000

On Tuesday, July 13, TechSmith is create 24 Screencasts About Camtasia in 24 Hours. It must be fun to do screencasts at 3 a.m. If you’re into screencasts (and use Camtasia), these sessions should provide a lot of good information. They’re streaming the screencasts live here and are also recording them to publish later.

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10. Breathing Correctly

Tom Johnson — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:10:57 +0000

The final tip in my list of techniques for developing a personal voice in audio is to breathe correctly. This is actually the hardest technique for me, so I have saved it for the end.

Strangely, in normal conversation, most of us don’t have any trouble breathing. But when we start recording voiceovers, we start talking a little faster, with more energy and fewer pauses. Watch tip #2 clip from Chris McQueen at Techsmith about breathing. You have to fast-forward to the 2:25 mark and then watch for about a minute.

As Chris says, there are several things to keep in mind about breathing. First, breathe from your diaphragm. This is your near your stomach, not your chest. Second, relax. And third, take time to actually breathe.

James Alburger says that taking a few slow, deep, cleansing breaths can help relax you. You should also follow a similar breathing pattern as when you’re conversing with someone:

No one takes a deep breath before they speak. You’ll also notice that no one waits until someone else finishes talking before they take a breath. In conversation, we breath in a natural and comfortable manner. When we speak, we only take in enough air for the words we say, and we breath at natural breaks in our delivery without thinking about what we are doing. When you understand how to properly use your diaphragm to provide breath support you will eliminate the need for frequent deep breaths and rapid catch breaths. (The Art of Voice Acting, p.35)

Alburger also notes that your state of mind influences your voice — not only whether you are tense and nervous, but also how you perceive yourself. If you perceive yourself to be “outgoing, strong, forceful, and intelligent,” your voice will reflect that. Ultimately it’s your state of mind that determines whether you can relax properly.

Janet Wilcox also gives some tips on breathing. She recommends yoga as a relaxation technique and pilates as a way to strengthen your breathing control. She also says to breathe from the diaphragm as well:

Instead of hiking the shoulders or breathing from your chest, you let the lower abdomen rise to take in the air and let the diaphragm drop to help fully fill the lungs.

You also want air to fill the ribcage area of the back too. It all starts low in the pelvic area as you release the lower abdomen. Think of starting the breath almost at the tip of the tailbone to help get the breath in the lower back, too. (Voiceovers: Techniques and Tactics for Success, p.23)

Beyond merely breathing from the diaphragm, Janet notes, as does Alburger, how voice-over acting is more of a mental game too. It’s your state of mind that influences your delivery and helps you relax. She says to “draw on a repertory group of at least five of your real friends whom you imagine you’re speaking to when preparing to read copy. You should select one appropriate friend that you imagine you’re speaking to when you read copy. In order to make this real, you’ll create a scene with a who, what, and where.” (p.27)

By creating a comfortable scene talking to a friend, you’ll be more relaxed and less likely to breathe in short, rapid bursts filled with tension.

One advantage you may have over voice-over actors when it comes to breathing is the ability to hit pause and resume at will. After every few sentences, you can take a break to breathe deeply and refocus, if you need to. Voice-over actors performing in studios don’t often have this luxury.

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Cartoon 9 [The Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway]

Tom Johnson — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:10:31 +0000

Sorry for the lapse yesterday–spent the day traveling and then recovering. This cartoon is for a free copy of Camtasia Studio.

Cartoon by Ben Minson. For full details about the giveaway, see this post.

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Day 2 Cartoon [The Twelve Days of Christmas in June Giveaway]

Tom Johnson — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:00:32 +0000

Congrats to the winner of yesterday’s contest. (I added the winner’s name at the end of the comment thread of the last post.) Let the contest continue with Day 2′s cartoon, again drawn by the talented Ben Minson of Gryphon Mountain. The winner of this caption contest will receive a free copy of Camtasia Studio, courtesy of TechSmith. For full contest, details, see this post.

Remember, add your caption in the comments below. The winning comment will be announced in the comment thread for the post.

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Having Fun with Snagit

Tom Johnson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:53:40 +0000

This week I needed to create some visuals for a PowerPoint to illustrate concepts related to blogging. Since I have limited artistic ability (perhaps even negative artistic ability), I resorted to a stick figure person as a common theme. I spent a while trying to decide which tool to use to draw with. It turns out drawing a basic circle in Photoshop that doesn’t have a solid fill is tedious, as are other drawing functions in Photoshop. So I used my favorite little graphics program instead: Snagit.

Snagit 9 introduces a .snag format that saves every object on the screen as a movable part. Of course it’s not as powerful as Photoshop or Illustrator, but it’s a lot quicker and easier. I especially like the Add to Quick Styles feature, so that after defining a shape (for example a line of a certain color, width, and shadow) I can save it to the toolbar and access it immediately.

I also enjoy Snagit’s general ease of use. It’s the one graphics program that Jane found essential for working with images on her blog. I tweeted the other day that I wished more products would have Techsmith’s same usability, and they consequently gave me several product licenses to give away. So look for an upcoming caption contest on my blog shortly.

Here are my little stick figure drawings. You can click the images to see the full sizes.

Visibility

Purpose

The Question

Relevance

Readability

Voice

Story

Revealing Appropriately

Interaction

Regularity

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Understanding the Jing Pro Video Formats – Jing Help Center

Tom Johnson — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:23:59 +0000

Understanding SWF versus MPEG-4 Formats in Jing Pro

I was confused by the difference between SWF and MPEG-4 before I read this explanation (which includes video examples).

I'd Rather Be Writing » TechSmith

Appearing on The Forge Show from TechSmith Today at 2pm EST

Blog Sponsors

Message from the Sponsors, July 16

From Madcap Software

From TechSmith

Blog Sponsors

Free Copy of Camtasia Studio 7 and Snagit 10

Blog Sponsors

24 Hours of Screencasts with Camtasia Studio

Blog Sponsors

10. Breathing Correctly

Blog Sponsors

Cartoon 9 [The Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway]

Blog Sponsors

Day 2 Cartoon [The Twelve Days of Christmas in June Giveaway]

Blog Sponsors

Having Fun with Snagit

Blog Sponsors

Understanding the Jing Pro Video Formats – Jing Help Center

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Help on Movable Type Blog Format — Jing Help Center

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