Directions for creating a multi-source video using Camtasia for Mac
Instructional Challenge
During instruction, students may feel as if they are missing a personal connection to you. To increase your social presence, you may want to deliver presentations in a multi-source video with slides and a video of you presenting, instead of a traditional narrated presentation that only includes your voice. In some cases, visual cues and non-verbal elements are essential to communicating course content. This approach can help with this. This approach is not recommended for those with little experience with videos. Narrated presentations are still the best entry point for the presentation of lecture content, in that it is easy to produce, edit, and update, and it uses tools with which you are already probably familiar. This multi-source presentation uses Camtasia — a flexible and fairly easy-to-learn tool — which requires you to learn some more advanced editing skills.
This guide has been written for someone just starting out with Camtasia. Those with advanced skills may find some approaches different than those you use. The approaches were defined in ways to reduce complexity and increase simplicity. Before working on this, beginners should complete the Record, Edit, & Share | Video Editing Basics: Timeline | and Video Editing Basics: Canvas to get a solid foundation in the tool.
Exporting Slides from Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac
One typical source of content used in a multi-source video is the combination of PowerPoint content alongside a video of the instructor. You must export slides to PNG files to integrate this content into Camtasia. Be aware that transitions and animations will be lost.
Open your presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint.
Select File | Export.
In Export As provide a name for the folder to which your slides will be exported.
Select Desktop as the location for exported files.
Select PNG from the File Format menu.
Select Save Every Slide.
The default Width and Height should be fine at 720 and 405.
Select Export.
A folder should appear on your desktop with images for each slide in your presentation.
Setting Up Camtasia Presentation
Show Screen Shots
First, you must download and install Camtasia software from the Campus Software Library at software.wisc.edu. When you download it, you must fill out and submit the form on the page to get your installation key.
Launch Camtasia.
Directly below the project window title, you will see a dropdown menu. Select Project Settings.
Under Dimensions, select 720p (1280x720). This should be an acceptable size for instructional content and will reduce the file size and download time — helping students with low-bandwidth connections during instruction.
From the color dropdown, you can change the background color.
Click Apply.
Importing PowerPoint Slides
Select File | Import | Media.
Navigate to the Desktop.
Open the folder created during the export process.
Select all the files in the folder and select Import.
Slides should appear in the Media tab on the side navigation.
Recording Instructor Video
Show Screen Shots
Select the Record button at the top left corner of the window.
Under the Camera section, slide the button to the right to activate that source. Select the camera you want to use to record video. In the top corner of the preview window, select the desired size of the video being captured (Example: 480x360).
Under the Microphone section, slide the button to the right to activate that source. Check the sound meter to make sure the microphone is capturing sound.
When you are ready, select Start Recording.
You will get a countdown, and then the recording will start.
Wait a few seconds before and after you speak. Record the content for the first slide. Tip: If you make a mistake, pause, gather your thoughts, and start again. You can trim out this content later.
Stop recording by clicking the Stop Recording button or pressing Option-Command-2 keys together.
Your video should appear in the Media tab, and the first clip will appear in the timeline at the bottom of the window.
Control-click (hold down the Control button and click simultaneously) and select Rename. Rename it so you know to which slide it corresponds.
Repeat for each slide.
Adding Video to the Timeline
Your first video was automatically added to the timeline, using Track 1 for video and Track 2 for sound.
If they are not selected, hold down the Shift key and select Track 1 and Track 2 pieces of the clip.
With both tracks selected for the clip, press Command-G together to group the audio and video into Track 1 to make editing easier.
You can preview the content to determine the desired start and stop locations. Then, you can slide the playhead on the timeline or use the buttons above the timeline to control the video's playback.
To trim away unwanted content, move your cursor to the left edge of the video clip until it turns to a double-arrow icon. Click and drag to the right to remove any space or content you want to be removed from the clip. Note: Don't worry about making a mistake here. Trimming doesn't permanently delete this content. It remains in the original clip. It just won't be added to the video you create.
If you have content or gaps at the end of the clip you want to remove, move the cursor to the end of the clip until it turns to a double-arrow icon. Drag it to remove any gaps in content at the end of the clip.
You can add the following video to the timeline by dragging it to the right of the first clip.
Press Command-G to group them.
Repeating the grouping and trimming of both ends of the clip.
Repeat until all videos are in the timeline.
You should now have all your video content in Track 1, and Track 2 is empty.
To the right of the track name (Track 1), you will find a magnet icon (sideways U). Clicking this will pull the video to the start of the timeline. This feature helps keep all videos aligned in the timeline without any gaps.
See the screencast below for a demonstration of this process.
Adding Slides to the Timeline
Once you have your videos added and trimmed, you can add your slides.
Drag your first slide to the front of Track 2 in the timeline.
Move your cursor to the right end of the slide until it turns to the double-arrow icon. Drag the end until it aligns with the end of the first video. It should snap into place with the video clip below.
Repeat with each slide.
To the right of the track name (Track 2), you will find a magnet icon (sideways U). Clicking this will pull the video to the start of the timeline. This feature helps keep all videos aligned in the timeline without any gaps.
See the screencast below for a demonstration of this process.
Organizing Elements on the Stage
Holding down the Shift key, select all the slides in Track 1.
On the stage, move and resize the video to fill as much space as you want. You can use the resizing handles on the corners to resize.
Select all the video clips in Track 2. Move and resize the slide, as well.
See the screencast below for a demonstration of this process.
Exporting Video
Once the content is ready, click the Export button on the top right corner.;
Select Local File to save the video to your computer.
In the Export As: box, enter the filename for the video.
Under Where: select Desktop.
Under File format: select Export to MP4 (.mp4)
Select Export.
Your video will be processed and saved to your desktop.
See the screencast below for a demonstration of this process.
Screencast
The following is a screencast of adding assets to the timeline, trimming them, organizing assets on the stage, and exporting the video. Note: It is best-watched full-screen to see all the details. At the bottom of the video window, click the expand icon next to the Wisconsin crest to watch in full-screen mode.
