Make Good Screencast Video

In a previous article, we gave you some tips on how to make a good screen recording, i.e. filming your screen to make an immersive tutorial, in which you can be seen navigating the platform or software in question. In this new article, we will give you some tips to make your screencast video stand out from the others, and why not, from those of your competitors.

The screen recording tutorial was originally a common practice among gamers, in communities of video game fans, of which you may have been, or still are, a part. Today, in the corporate video tutorial, this practice is very common, as more and more employees are expected to be autonomous in the use of a software or platform. The best way to teach them how to use it is to show them directly on your screen, rather than sending them a dense, hard-to-remember written guide, an email, or even an infographic. Video messages are much better remembered.

Write a script before recording your screencast: make an original narration

You don’t want your audience to fall asleep after a few minutes of video, do you? To do this, you need to know in advance what you are going to say in your screencast video, and above all, how you are going to say it: what transitions? What tone to use? What introduction? Write down all this information in the script, which will be your roadmap during your tutorial.

And think of your tutorial as a story that you tell to your audience. You will probably have to make several screencasts: you could, for example, start with a slightly redundant introduction, a sort of generic, in which you introduce yourself, you start a sort of jingle with your graphic charter, the visual elements that will make it possible to immediately recognise your brand.

Don’t neglect the small technical details before starting your screencast tutorial

First, make sure that all pop-up windows that have nothing to do with your tutorial are closed. If your PC desktop is already a mess, it will not give a serious image of you and your company. So run through your screencast before recording.

Then make sure you are heard. Ideally, we advise you to bring a headset with a microphone, to avoid unpleasant audio surprises.

And another little technical detail: during the tutorial, watch carefully where you place the mouse cursor: indeed, a badly placed cursor can lead to unwanted window openings, pop-ups, etc.

Think about yourself during the screencast: people like to see the human aspect!

You will see that the trend has become widespread, among gamers as well as professionals, including in webinars: in addition to filming their screen, speakers film themselves with their webcam, during the entire tutorial.

Instead of a video where you hear a voice coming out of nowhere, which, honestly, is sometimes a bit scary, especially if the voice sounds like a ghost, consider filming yourself. That way, you can see who is talking to you, it’s more reassuring, it allows a kind of identification, and it creates a link, especially if you film yourself during several tutorials. The audience will be used to it, and perhaps happy to find you, to learn new things from you.

Divide your video screencast into sequences, chapters, with quizzes

This rule applies to all tutorial videos. To keep your audience following along, and more importantly, to ensure that they have assimilated the new knowledge, divide your screencast tutorial into chapters, with one chapter for specific learning.

And at the end of each chapter, we advise you to propose a small quiz, to summarise the knowledge, to help your viewers find their way around, to follow the learning.

If you already have some experience in screencast tutorials, try the live!

What better way to get your community together for a tutorial where you film your screen and the audience can ask you questions live? Remember that each person has a specific question about your product, tool or platform. So this format will allow them to address you directly at the end of the demo.

Another practical aspect: if you are filming yourself, don’t do it just anywhere
Where you film yourself with your webcam may be as important as what you film on your computer screen.

If you are in your office, first make sure it is tidy. And why not add some branding elements: you could, for example, wear a sweatshirt in your brand’s colours, if you have one (we do this regularly at Pitchy): get a corporate message across!

What about you? Would you like to make your own screencast videos, for youtube, with a simple video editing software? With our easy user interface Pitchy, you can upload your video rushes, import your screen capture, your simple screencasts that you will be able to integrate in simple templates on the platform. Pitchy can be used by many users in your teams, so they can work together to create the best content to publish on your social networks, so your brand can gain popularity. You can edit any rush you want, add pause with motion design, add more information with text, to make the best presentation ever! To get more clarity and instruction about Pitchy, do not hesitate to ask for a demo of our user interface!

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