Recording Powerpoint: Camtasia or ... ?

[CathyG]

Just bought Camtasia for the Mac. Trying to record a Powerpoint as a video.
Do I need to get Camtasia Studio? Is that an add-on or a separate product?
Is there another program that would be better?

Not a newbie but just learning Camtasia!

[marcuslim]

On the Mac, I've only used Screenflow, so I don't know much about Camtasia for Mac.

Having said that, if you are on the Mac, if you have Keynote, you can directly record your presentation with narration directly within Keynote.

[LeadBoltBrian]

I believe you can try out the studio on a 30-day trial. Not sure if the trial is separate from the actual recording but I was able to record Powerpoints with it just fine. Worked beautifully.

[CathyG]

Thanks - just have Camtasia. Will look up Keynote too.

[CathyG]

Good idea...probably a good idea to try *anything* for 30 days if possible. Wish I'd done with Camtasia.

[donhx]

Originally Posted by CathyG

Thanks - just have Camtasia. Will look up Keynote too.

Camtasia and Camtasia Studio are the same thing. I'm a Windows user, so not sure about the Mac version. It's fairly new.

[SDStudio]

Hi CathyG,

Camtasia Studio is the complete professional solution for recording, editing and sharing high-quality screen video on the Web, CD-ROM and portable media players, including iPod. With support for a variety of video standards, you can ensure your content delivery now and in the future.

Easily record your screen, PowerPoint, multiple audio tracks, and webcam video to create compelling training videos, screencasts, and presentations without ever leaving your desk.

Go you youtube and type in the search (How to Record a PowerPoint Presentation with Camtasia Studio) allot will pull up.

Hope that helps

[JBrooks]

camtasia is a great tool. been using if for a few years. used to own a video site and used cam every day. Haven't checked out their latest offerings/updates though!

[CathyG]

Thanks - not sure I've got the Studio. It may be different in Mac!

[TimGross]

Originally Posted by CathyG

Thanks - not sure I've got the Studio. It may be different in Mac!

Camtasia for Mac is not the full-fledged Camtasia Studio for Windows.

Camtasia Studio is about $299 for PC
Camtasia for Mac is $99 or $129 or something like that. It does the basics but doesn't have all the bells and whistles. I'm sure it's a plenty fine choice for you though, so I wouldn't feel bad for buying it.

One annoying thing though is that (last time I checked) the native filetype generated by Camtasia Mac is not compatible with their Windows version of Camtasia Studio(!) ...Although I'm SURE that'll change in the future.

You can render the video to .avi or .mp4 or whatever of course, but I mean the "raw" video file. Camtasia Studio creates .camrec files, and the Mac version generates a different filetype default that can't just be imported into Camtasia Studio.

(That'll have no affect you probably though... it'll work fine for what you need it for.)

[CathyG]

Thanks for the comments - that explains the price difference *and* I may not be able to use Camtasia to record Powerpoint. Very frustrating!

[paulie888]

Unfortunately, the only screen recording software that TechSmith sells for the Mac is Camtasia:Mac, which isn't exactly the same as Camtasia Studio (which only runs on Windows).

What you could do is run Windows on your Mac using BootCamp or a virtual machine such as Parallels/Fusion, and this would enable you to install and run Camtasia Studio, and take advantage of all its advanced features (which you seem to need).

Paul

[CathyG]

Paulie, I think you are right. It's not clear what Camtasia for Mac does or doesn't do. The new Macs all have PC capability so I may go that way. One work-around is that Camtasia does do screen recording. I can actually run a slide show on screen and talk over it. That's something I am trying now. Thanks again!

[daddykool]

Hey Cathy

Do you use or are you going to use video creation in your IM tasks a lot?

Would use a different solution that is lighter and faster!

PM us if you need a hand ;-)

[AlanT]

I use a program called BBFlashBack. The free version works well enough for me, especially since I use Sony Vegas Movie Studio to edit videos.

Unfortunately, they don't have a version for Macs.

[Chris Thompson]

Originally Posted by CathyG

Thanks - not sure I've got the Studio. It may be different in Mac!

Cathy - the $99 Mac version is all you need. It's Camtasia Studio ... same thing.

Start a recording, play your slideshow, and then edit / publish.

Screenflow is similar and costs $99 also. They are BOTH very good.

[InitialEffort]

I use Camtasia Studio. It personally works well for me although I am no pro. It also is easily integrated into a website.

[AverageGuy]

if just for powerpoint, there are some software that can convert it to video directly.

david

[surflongdude]

Is this what Frank Kern would be using, Camtasia and Powerpoint?

It seems Powerpoint engages a slideshow and has a time for how long each page is up before moving on automatically... can you modify it so you change pages manually and are able to talk with one sentence on the screen, press a button so another sentence appears etc.? Like Frank Kern does

[marcuslim]

Originally Posted by surflongdude

Is this what Frank Kern would be using, Camtasia and Powerpoint?

It seems Powerpoint engages a slideshow and has a time for how long each page is up before moving on automatically... can you modify it so you change pages manually and are able to talk with one sentence on the screen, press a button so another sentence appears etc.? Like Frank Kern does

Frank Kern (and other marketers) uses a combination of both live video, slideshow-type presentations, and demonstration videos. It just depends on which style of video suits the topic best. Andy Jenkins says that more than 90% of his videos are slideshow style.

So yes to answer your question, if you use powerpoint, you can record with camtasia, and advance the bullet points manually as you narrate your show.

[surflongdude]

Originally Posted by timyang

So yes to answer your question, if you use powerpoint, you can record with camtasia, and advance the bullet points manually as you narrate your show.

Great! How?

[CathyG]

The Camtasia people have great videos for purchasers (and possibly non-purchasers as well).

[paulie888]

Originally Posted by CathyG

The Camtasia people have great videos for purchasers (and possibly non-purchasers as well).

Camtasia has great support, the only thing about it is that it's pretty resource intensive, so it'd be advisable to have a fairly powerful computer with at least 4 gigabytes of RAM.

[EUA]

Paid software for recording video? :/
I believe there will be free ones.

[blueonblue]

there are additional options for mac, even though you already have bought camtasia and some some of them are native.

For instance, no one has mentioned quick time. It is a recording studio in its own right and it can save documents in a format that can be opened on all platforms.

I have been experimenting with creating movies in presentation (open office). It has the same drop effects, shadows, fade in and out that PP has and Keynote.

You can also drop both of these into another program jaycut. It allows you to take your slides and any mp3 you may have recorded and put them together to make a movie that can either be imported to youtube or emailed directly to you.

Experimenting with these options. Still have to check out Screen Flow and a few others I am experimenting with. Hope this helps by adding to your knowledge of the available options for us Mac users.

[Jeanne Lovely]

Hi Kathy -

I struggled with Camtasia on my MAC for weeks - I finally broke down and bought a PC - installed Camtasia, pressed the button and voila...great powerpoint recordings - I really thought it was me, but Camstasia and MAC are not a great fit.

They may have improved it, but I doubt it from what I have read in here.

I do not know what the solution is for recording on a MAC, but if you can borrow a PC if you cannot afford to buy one - try the 30 day Camtasia for a great recording experience.

I love my MAC Pro - but for somethings in this business I need a PC allot of .exec files out there

[trafficstampede]

We use screen flow on all our projects and it works great! I love it.