I’m giving a webinar to the STC Editing SIG in a few weeks. Here are the details: Writing and Editing Scripts for Video Tutorials November 15, 2012, 3-4 pm EST. When you’re writing scripts for video tutorials, you must address some of the differences between writing and speech. Copy may be well written, but will Continue Reading »
Tag Archives: video tutorials
How to Create Video Tutorials — A Five Step Process
Today I received the following question about creating video tutorials: I’ve been asked to create a set of video tutorials for work. However, it has been difficult since I keep having to start over and re-record things whenever I make a mistake. In my search to improve the process, I came across your article “How Continue Reading »
Keeping Scripts Fluid When Recording Video Tutorials
One of the first tasks in creating video tutorials involves writing a script. In informal situations, you can simply use an outline or wing it, but corporate settings require higher professional standards. I absolutely hate it when project managers get too involved in the video scripts. I’ve been on projects where the project manager decides Continue Reading »
Why Isn’t Spoken Language Easier for Writers?
One question I’ve often wondered is how technical writers can feel so comfortable stringing together words on paper but be completely inadequate when it comes to vocalizing the same text in a script, such as reading for a video tutorial. We talk often about voice and tone, and consider ourselves, as writers, experts in understanding Continue Reading »
Captivate Versus Camtasia Studio
I’ve been exploring Captivate lately because I wanted to translate some screencasts for a project I’m undertaking. It turns out, Captivate doesn’t work so well for screencasting. Slide-based eLearning, sure. But when you have a lengthy software simulation, it fails because you can’t edit the audio while watching the video play. Really? Yes. Really. You Continue Reading »
Why Tech Comm Professors Don’t Teach Video
The other week, by invitation, I was at a Missouri State University Workshop for Teachers of Technical Writing. I presented about trends in technical communication and highlighted multimedia, particularly video, as an important trend. Near the end of my presentation, I asked the academic audience why so many teachers don’t require students to create video Continue Reading »
7. Fixing Fumbled Sentences
One of my first recommendations for achieving a natural, believable voice is to employ more free narration rather than always reading a script. I recommended this because all the video tutorials on Lynda.com are narrated at the same time as they are recorded, and the less you read, the more natural your voice sounds. However, Continue Reading »
PowerPoint from Screencasting Webinar
If you’re interested in the PowerPoint for my screencasting webinar, here it is below. I always smile a little when people ask for the PowerPoint, because it just consists of pictures. I resist detailed bullets points on each slide because it locks you into a certain order that may be at odds with your presentation’s Continue Reading »
What I’m Presenting on at the Dallas Summit
At the STC Summit in Dallas this year (May 2-5), I’ll be giving a presentation titled “Developing a Personal Voice in Audio.” I’m moving in the direction of screencasts, focusing on the audio component in this presentation. Here’s the presentation description: Narrated video tutorials — both scripted and spontaneous — are a powerful tool tech Continue Reading »
Embedding Videos into Madcap Flare
One of Flare’s shortcomings is the inability to easily embed video files. However, if you use the Camtasia Studio’s Express Show format as your video format (and you choose the SWF option), you can insert the video into Flare by inserting the video as if it were a picture. Here’s a two-minute screencast showing the Continue Reading »