If you’re a serious technical communicator, you probably need a high-end digital recording device like this. Seriously. It will change your career by allowing you to deliver more powerful content. It allows you to add the audio dimension to your deliverables, which will take you into new territory and expand your technical writing world.

Here are the six main situations in which I’m using the Zoom H4:

1. Video Tutorials

I always use the Zoom H4 to record video tutorials. My last help project had about 75 topics and 22 short video tutorials (by short, I mean 2-4 minutes). I think audio visual tutorials — done with real voice, not text captions — are one of the most powerful deliverables we can offer as technical communicators, almost more powerful than written manuals. Users absolutely love to see and hear how to do a task.

Ever since I abandoned the text-caption method with Captivate, and started using off-the-cuff voice instead (using Camtasia), the video tutorials have been a lot easier and more natural to create. (Even though they’re off-the-cuff, I hit the pause and resume button many times while recording to gather my thoughts for the next few sentences. And sometimes I redo the recording 3-4 times before getting it right.)

I also decided to ditch the pan and zoom feature that I so loved because the post-production editing (setting the pan and zoom points) was taking too long. I wanted to create these videos quickly — about 3-4 tutorials in one morning. I now leave the screen size at 800 x 600 — this rarely requires me to incorporate pan and zooms.

Audio connects with users ten times more powerfully than captions. Bad audio can make you sound amateur, like you have a lisp or nasal congestion. Good audio, with a relaxed, eloquent voice (still working on that) can be like oasis in a desert for starving, frustrated users. The voice also makes your help human again — an extremely important element that is often missed without audio.

The Zoom H4 acts as an audio interface to your computer and delivers crisp, clear audio — better than most other portable recorders. The only challenge is finding a quiet place to record. (I usually end up reserving a conference room somewhere.)

2. SME Demos

When I need a SME to provide a demo of an app I need to document, it’s reassuring to record the entire session. With a cheap recorder, I’d have to strain my ears trying to interpret what the SME says. With the Zoom H4, I connect it to my laptop and record with Camtasia Studio, and the Zoom H4 picks up the SME’s voice clearly. I set the Zoom H4 on a mini tripod near where the SME sits, and it works beautifully. It just does a lot better job at capturing audio than other mics (plus, the Zoom H4 acts as an audio interface for your computer, so you can set it as your mic for Camtasia recordings). I described my recording process here.

If you use a cheap Olympus recorder, it can sound like sizzling bacon, and it will trap the audio in its own proprietary, super-compressed format (which you have to then export into WAV somehow). The Zoom H4 allows me to record directly in WAV or MP3 format.

3. Presentations

If I’m giving a presentation somewhere, either a software demo or a chapter presentation, or am listening to someone else present, the Zoom H4 does a great job capturing the audio clearly. I recently even bought a lapel mic and phantom adapter so I could clip a mic onto myself and record my presentation on blogging and podcasting, among others.

I’ve also used the Zoom H4 to capture audio when others present. One time, I put the Zoom H4 on a side table and it captured the presenter and audience comments fairly well. You can easily prop the mic onto a tripod at the front of the room near the presenter, and capture the audio decently.

The only drawback is that it is bulky and doesn’t come with a belt clip, so it is a little awkward attaching it to a presenter other than yourself.

4. Podcasts

Because the Zoom H4 works as an audio interface for your computer, you can use it to record podcasts too. Start up Skype and select the Zoom H4 as an audio interface, and instead of a staticky headset, you’ve got a professional sounding mic.

I realize many technical communicators don’t record podcasts, but when I asked for STC candidates to share their stories last year, some of them seemed to use their laptops’ built-in mics, which are on par with Fisher-Price mics or Ham radio connections to China.

Perhaps if more technical communicators did have audio equipment, they would record more podcasts.

5. Live Interviews

Because it’s so portable, the Zoom H4 really excels at live interviews. Last year at the STC conference I interviewed 20 different people (for example, listen to Jack Molisani here).

Despite a lot of background audio and other extraneous noise, the Zoom H4 focused on the interviewee’s voice and captured it clearly. It allowed me to plug in an external standard mic (I used a Shure SM58) into the device. I’ve recently decided that the Zoom’s built-in mics are more powerful than external mics. (I still sometimes use the Gigavox Levelator to enhance the audio.)

6. Jing Support Casts

Jing is a quick video capture tool that works well for providing support to confused users or to demo bugs for developers (I wrote about this here.) It’s nice to have a quick mic available to record these.

I find myself using Jing almost every day, particularly to show bugs to others. Seeing is 100 times more convincing than a convoluted description. Additionally, Jing already compresses the audio more than I like, making it sound a bit staticky. Without a good mic to record sound clearly, the Jing audio compression may degrade too much.

Final Thoughts

The price of the Zoom H4 ($299) is definitely a drawback. And you’ll spend another $100 in essential peripherals — a carrying case, a mini tripod, a 2 GB SD card, and possibly a lapel mic, phantom adapter, and standard mic. But man, this device is definitely worth it. A lot of you have purchased iPods for Christmas or your birthday. This isn’t that much more, and it will boost your career.

As an added bonus, it also looks like a taser, so you can have fun pointing it at people and pretending to press a button.

I never would have discovered this high-end recording device had I not gotten into podcasting. It’s interesting how skills in one field have carried over into another.

Before you know it, the 1 hour demo is over, and the SME has crammed an entire encyclopedia of information down your throat before you can properly chew and digest the information.

There’s a good solution to this. You can easily record these SME demos and play them back at your convenience — multiple times.

There are a variety of recording techniques, but here’s how I do it.

Equipment Needed

• Camtasia Studio
• Zoom H4 microphone
• USB cord
• laptop

SME Recording Process

To record the SME demo:

1. Use your laptop for the demo. (This also helps ensure you have access to the application. If you can’t use your own laptop, I’m afraid this technique won’t work without a video camera or some other screen-recording software, such as Jing.)
2. If you’re connecting to a projector, adjust your laptop’s resolution. The most common resolution for projectors is 1024 x 768. (To set your resolution, right-click your desktop, select Properties, and go to the Settings tab.)
3. Adjust your Camtasia Studio settings. You don’t want the cursor to flicker constantly while you’re recording, nor do you want the capture rectangle box to show. Otherwise your demo session will have constantly flashing circus lights.

   To turn these settings off, click the Make Recording link in the Task List in the upper-left of Camtasia’s main window. Then in the Camtasia Recorder dialog box that appears, go to Tools > Options and deselect the Capture Layered Windows and the Solid Capture Rectangle check boxes. (See the image below.)



4. Attach a USB cord from your Zoom H4 to your laptop and switch the Zoom H4 to the “Audio Interface” option.
5. Put the Zoom H4 on a little tripod and move it near to the SME’s mouth. Turn the input volume up to high.
6. In the Camtasia Recorder dialog box, go to Tools > Options and then click the Audio tab. Make sure the Zoom H4 is selected as the input microphone device for the Camtasia recording.
7. Drag the Camtasia recording area to cover the entire screen, and then click Record.
8. When finished, stop the recording and produce a video at the same full screen resolution — 1024 X 768. This isn’t a demo you’re distributing to anyone, so file and screen size doesn’t matter.

Having a recorded SME demo will enable you to refer back to the file for later use, or send it to other authors who are working on the project.

Although you can use a variety of digital recorders, the inexpensive Olympus digital recorders will sound a little scratchy, like sizzling bacon in a worst-case scenario. (To hear a sample recording with a higher-end Olympus digital recorder, listen to this.)

I haven’t experimented with other recorders such as the Zoom H2 or Edirol or Marantz. I’m sure that any time you start spending upwards of $200 on a recorder, the sound quality increases.

My Pitch for the Zoom H4

I like the Zoom H4 because, not only is the audio quality crystal clear, it also doubles as an audio interface for your computer. In other words, you can use your Zoom H4 as a USB mic to record Camtasia or Captivate tutorials — and the audio quality sounds excellent.

And if you’re recording in-person interviews, the Zoom’s built-in mics actually record better sound than many external XLR mics (that you plug into it). But you can also use an external mic to put in front of someone. This might be preferable at times. Since the Zoom’s mics are so sensitive, they’ll pick up every movement of your hand on the device.

My Method for Recording Podcasts with the Zoom H4

In this post, I’m sharing the method I used to record my recent blogging and podcasting presentation to a local STC chapter. Also, since SLC podcamp is coming up, I want to document my audio recording techniques.

Gather the Necessary Equipment

• Zoom H4 Recorder ($300)
• Omnidirectional lapel microphone ($95)
  
• SP Zoom Phantom Adapter ($80)
  
• Gigavox Levelator (free)
  
• Audacity (free)
  
• One Pixel Out Audio Player (free)
• 2 GB SD Memory Card ($40)
• Custom-modified large belt clip (impossible to buy)
• WordPress blog software (free)
• Web host (such as Blue Host) ($7/month)
• Kimili Flash Embed WordPress plugin (free)
  
• Camtasia Studio ($300)

You might want to spend a couple of days getting familiar with the Zoom H4. Don’t worry about any of the four-track capabilities.

Tip: I recommend buying your audio equipment from The Sound Professionals. They have a lot of custom adaptors and peripherals that you may need, and the sales people have expertise with audio in case you have questions about what to buy.

Set Up and Record the Audio

1. Insert the 2 GB SD memory card into the Zoom.
2. Set the Zoom to record in WAV format.
3. Activate the Zoom’s phantom power to +48 volts.
4. Set the Zoom’s input to the omni microphone rather than the built-in mics.
5. Connect the phantom adaptor to the Zoom.
6. Connect the omnidirectional lapel mic to the phantom adaptor.
7. Slide the Zoom into your custom-sewn large belt clip and attach to your belt. Clip the lapel mic a couple of inches below the presenter’s chin.
8. Make a big sign that says “Please repeat the audience’s question.”
9. Each time the audience asks a question, raise the sign you made in step 8.

Process and Post the Audio

1. Use the Zoom’s “Connect to PC” option to transfer the audio file to your computer.
2. Import the file into Audacity and convert the file from stereo to mono (split the stereo track, and then remove one of the tracks). If your omni mic records in mono by default, disregard this step.
3. Export the file into a WAV format.
4. Run the file through the Gigavox Levelator.
5. Import the levelated file into a new Audacity file, make any modifications, edit the ID3 tags, and export as MP3.
6. Upload the MP3 to your web host.
7. Use the One Pixel Out Audio player to publish the file on your WordPress blog.

Note: The One Pixel Out Audio player also works on non-WordPress platforms, but the set up requires more labor.

Optional: Record Your PowerPoint During the Presentation

These instructions apply if you’re the presenter and you have Camtasia on your own laptop.

1. To record your PowerPoint, use the “Record PowerPoint” feature that Camtasia provides (but don’t record audio).
2. Disable the blinking rectangle and set the cursor to not record layered windows. I believe you do this through Tools > Options once the little recording dialog box appears.
3. Start recording the screen when you’re about to begin.
4. After the presentation, stop and save the PowerPoint recording.
5. Import the audio from the Zoom H4 and add it as the audio 2 track to the Camtasia recording.
6. Line up the audio with the slides so that they’re in sync. You may have to lock one of the tracks while you cut some of the screen or audio.
7. Publish the recording as an Express Show template, using an extremely low frame rate, such as 1 or 2.
8. Use the Kimili Flash Embed WordPress plugin to embed the Camtasia recording directly into your blog post. (If you choose another publishing format other than Express Show, which consolidates the entire flash file into one SWF, the recording won’t embed in the Kimili Flash Embed WordPress plugin.)

Optional: Record a Presenter’s PowerPoint with the Audio

If you’re not the presenter, and the presenter doesn’t have Camtasia Studio, you can use Presio to sync the audio to the PowerPoint after the presentation. See http://ipresent.net for more information. This tool costs about $89 for the standard version, and you would have to rewatch the presentation, but it’s about the only tool on the market that does this. (MS Producer used to have a PowerPoint plugin that allowed you to do this, but it was discontinued.)

Things to Watch Out For

• The presenter often will forget to repeat the audience’s question, so the result will be long stretches of silence followed by responses that make the podcast listener guess what the question was.
• For some reason, my omnidirectional stereo mic recorded more strongly on one track than another. Consequently, when I levelated the file, it sounded strange, gathering strength on one side at times more than another, kind of like being tossed around in a windstorm. I split the stereo track, removed the weaker one, and then converted the other to mono. When I levelated the file again, it sounded much better.
• Levelating a file intensifies the background noise. Presenters usually stand right next to noisy projectors that have fans blowing. When you levelate the file, this fan sounds a lot stronger. You may be able to use SoundSoap to remove the hum, but I’m not sure. I haven’t experimented much with SoundSoap yet since it is somewhat expensive.
• You don’t have to levelate the file, but I think the levelator makes the voice sound richer and more professional. Using the omni mic without levelation leaves the voice sounding a little flat and unexciting. Additionally, levelating the file increases the audio’s sound level as well.
• There is no belt clip for the Zoom H4. Although this device is intended as a mobile recording device, it doesn’t come with a case or portable carrier of any kind. I found an old belt clip for a large cell phone, the kind that has elastic sides. The Zoom just barely fit into this. Then I cut the bottom elastic to allow space for the sp phantom adapter and omni mic. I have looked around at Best Buy, Radio Shack, Circuit City, and The Clip for a suitable belt clip, but have not seen anything that would fit. However, my mother-in-law is a killer seamstress and I’m hoping she’ll show me how to custom-create a belt clip out of old materials.
• The Zoom H4 is bulky and is a bit like a taser, so your presenter may feel weird allowing you to clip it onto him or her. It immediately draws attention to itself and looks dorky.
• If you choose to record in MP3 format on the Zoom, and your recording environment is extremely quiet, you can hear the LCD light blinking during the recording (due to a defect in the manufacturing of the device). This is why I always choose to record in WAV format. When you record in WAV, you need a 2 GB SD card so you don’t run out of space. Speaking 75 min, I used 815 MB of space.
• Make sure your batteries are fresh. The Zoom doesn’t give you any kind of auditory warning about low batteries, and if you’re using the phantom power, it only powers the device for about 3 hours, I think.
• Don’t spend hours editing your audio file, or you’ll burn out. One time a friend of mine spent 11 hours cleaning up the audio of a recording. He never edited an audio file after that, complaining that he did not have the time to do it.
• Don’t use PodPress to publish your audio. Every time WordPress requires an upgrade, PodPress breaks. Plus it doesn’t give you that many benefits that the One Pixel Out Audio Player doesn’t already provide.

Post-Notes

• Photo from O’Reilly (no, that’s not my hand)
  
• Last year I wrote about how to record chapter presentations, but I didn’t explain the Zoom H4 method.
• I’d be interested to hear your method for recording presentations.

Download MP3 (right-click and select Save Target As)

Duration: 1 hr 13 min. H4
File size: 65 MB

Additionally, if you’re sitting at your computer, you can’t watch the PowerPoint slides with the audio in real time.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://idratherbewriting.com/podcasts/blog_podcast_tom_johnson/bloggingandpodcastingrecording3.swf" height="300" width="400"/]

Topics covered:

• Arguments for blogging
• Who reads blogs, and how
• Liabilities and assets of blogging
• Gaining visibility and readership
• Power in search results
• Podcasts
• Recording audio
• Making money from blogging
• Blogging and technical writing
• Why people don’t blog

Here’s a more detailed description of the presentation. As a reminder to those interested in podcasting, Podcamp Salt Lake City is coming on March 15.