Powerpoint or Camtasia?

Regional Warrior · 07-28-2010, 10:49 AM

Hi Warriors

I am about to do a Video for our product and would like to know if you should rec when in Powerpoint or Camtasia for the voice over during the slides.

And It would be great to have some feedback from Warriors who do this and the pros and cons if any.

Cheers Jase

mr2monster · 07-28-2010, 10:53 AM

What I generally do is make the powerpoint presentation and then hit "Slide Show"

I set the presentation to play in a separate window and size it to be the resolution that I want (my screen is 1920X1080, but that's overkill, so I make the window only 720X480 or sometimes 1280X720 if I want to record a nice HD video for youtube)

A simple way to figure out how big to make the window is to set camtasia to record to your specific dimensions and then make a mental note of how large that is then just resize your presentation window to that size.

Then I screen record with CamStudio (or camtasia in your case) and run through the slideshow making my presentation as I go.

This records both the screen and the audio at the same time.

Don't forget to use the F9 (pause) key when you need a second to figure out how to say what you're going to say next.

Marty S · 07-28-2010, 01:39 PM

Neither.

1- Record your powerpoint slide first without audio, and create a new Camtasia project that will have just your visuals. Do NOT worry about the length or timing of slides or transitions, because you can always adjust them within the project.

2- Next, record your audio track in Audacity, sounding as natural and fluid as you can. Edit out mistakes, then export as an audio file.

3- Import your audio file INTO your Camtasia project, and bring it into the timeline - then start matching the visuals (manipulate the timing) to correspond with your audio file.

The purpose of doing it this way will be to make your audio seamless and natural sounding. (Because you don't have to record under any pressure). And it will allow you to perfectly sync the visual with your brilliant sounding audio, after the fact.

I wrote a more in-depth article about this here

Creating an audio file for your video.

Gardenbella · 07-28-2010, 10:42 PM

Thanks for the great information on how to make a video. I've been nervous about trying but this gives enough information to get started.

LonNaylor · 07-30-2010, 02:20 PM

I roll it pretty much the same way Marty explained...

I get great results when I don't try to juggle audio and recording video at the same time.

One tip for getting a natural sounding audio track is to "repeat" phrases one right after another.

Try saying ANYTHING (especially something you're reading like a script) and you'll find that almost always...one sounds remarkably better than the others.

If you record record them sequentially (one after another) then editing is super simple...cause their right next to each other.

This provides the cumulative effect of doing 3 takes but at a fraction of the editing time. If you did 3 separate recording takes...how do you edit the "best of the best" together? This little clip from this take...this one from that take...it's impossible!

Certainly, I don't say EVERYTHING 3 times but if I stumble...or it just did "feel" as good as it could...or anything like that, I just pause a sec and repeat it (like I MEAN it this time). ;-)

Hope that helps.

07-28-2010, 10:49 AM	#1
Regional Warrior Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 635 Thanks: 830 Thanked 129 Times in 102 Posts	Powerpoint or Camtasia? Hi Warriors I am about to do a Video for our product and would like to know if you should rec when in Powerpoint or Camtasia for the voice over during the slides. And It would be great to have some feedback from Warriors who do this and the pros and cons if any. Cheers Jase

07-28-2010, 10:53 AM	#2
mr2monster Less Think More Do War Room Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: AZ Posts: 1,280 Thanks: 268 Thanked 347 Times in 190 Posts Social Networking	Re: Powerpoint or Camtasia? What I generally do is make the powerpoint presentation and then hit "Slide Show" I set the presentation to play in a separate window and size it to be the resolution that I want (my screen is 1920X1080, but that's overkill, so I make the window only 720X480 or sometimes 1280X720 if I want to record a nice HD video for youtube) A simple way to figure out how big to make the window is to set camtasia to record to your specific dimensions and then make a mental note of how large that is then just resize your presentation window to that size. Then I screen record with CamStudio (or camtasia in your case) and run through the slideshow making my presentation as I go. This records both the screen and the audio at the same time. Don't forget to use the F9 (pause) key when you need a second to figure out how to say what you're going to say next.

07-28-2010, 01:39 PM	#3
Marty S Screencaster Yoda War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,505 Blog Entries: 17 Thanks: 268 Thanked 340 Times in 230 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Powerpoint or Camtasia? Neither. 1- Record your powerpoint slide first without audio, and create a new Camtasia project that will have just your visuals. Do NOT worry about the length or timing of slides or transitions, because you can always adjust them within the project. 2- Next, record your audio track in Audacity, sounding as natural and fluid as you can. Edit out mistakes, then export as an audio file. 3- Import your audio file INTO your Camtasia project, and bring it into the timeline - then start matching the visuals (manipulate the timing) to correspond with your audio file. The purpose of doing it this way will be to make your audio seamless and natural sounding. (Because you don't have to record under any pressure). And it will allow you to perfectly sync the visual with your brilliant sounding audio, after the fact. I wrote a more in-depth article about this here Creating an audio file for your video.

07-28-2010, 10:42 PM	#4
Gardenbella Active Warrior Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 59 Thanks: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Powerpoint or Camtasia? Thanks for the great information on how to make a video. I've been nervous about trying but this gives enough information to get started.

07-30-2010, 02:20 PM	#5
LonNaylor HyperActive Warrior Join Date: May 2007 Location: , , USA. Posts: 426 Thanks: 31 Thanked 56 Times in 32 Posts Social Networking	Re: Powerpoint or Camtasia? I roll it pretty much the same way Marty explained... I get great results when I don't try to juggle audio and recording video at the same time. One tip for getting a natural sounding audio track is to "repeat" phrases one right after another. Try saying ANYTHING (especially something you're reading like a script) and you'll find that almost always...one sounds remarkably better than the others. If you record record them sequentially (one after another) then editing is super simple...cause their right next to each other. This provides the cumulative effect of doing 3 takes but at a fraction of the editing time. If you did 3 separate recording takes...how do you edit the "best of the best" together? This little clip from this take...this one from that take...it's impossible! Certainly, I don't say EVERYTHING 3 times but if I stumble...or it just did "feel" as good as it could...or anything like that, I just pause a sec and repeat it (like I MEAN it this time). ;-) Hope that helps.