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Creating a Screencast Video with Camtasia (Mac)

Directions for creating a screencast video for your class using Camtasia.

Instructional Challenge

During instruction, you may need to walk students through screen content in a guided manner. Screencasts are recordings of content that appear on a screen. This document documents the process of creating a screencast that includes capturing screen content and the instructor's voice. While other sources can be added to a screencast, editing may be more difficult.

This guide has been written for someone just starting 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.

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Setting Up Camtasia Presentation

Show Screen Shots

View dropdown project settings
  • First, you must download and install Camtasia software from the Campus Software Library at software.wisc.edu. When you download it, you will need to 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 color of the background.
  • Click Apply.

Recording Instructor Video

Show Screen Shots

record options
  • Select the Record button at the top left corner of the window.
  • Under the Monitor section, select from several options that define the source of the screencast. You can select the entire monitor or a region of your screen to record.
  • 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.
  • Under System Audio, slide the button to the right to activate that source if your screen content also has audio associated with it. Note: If you are recording BOTH your voice and system audio, you must wear a headset so the microphone does not record the system audio playing from your speakers.
  • 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.
  • Stop recording by clicking the Stop button or pressing the Option-Command-2 key.
  • Your video should appear in the Media tab, and the first clip will appear in the timeline at the bottom of the window.

Editing Screencast

  • Your video is automatically added to the timeline.
  • If you captured just the screen and microphone sources, you should see the following:
    • Track 1 contains the screen and system audio source
    • Track 2 contains the microphone source.
  • We will group both tracks into one to make editing a bit easier. 
  • If they are not selected, hold down the Shift key and select Track 1 and Track 2 pieces of the clip. Press Control-G together to group the audio and video into Track 1.
  • You can preview the content to determine the desired start and stop locations. You can slide the playhead on the timeline or use the buttons above the timeline to control the playback of the video.

Trimming

If you have content at the beginning or end of your screencast that you want to remove, you can use the Trim feature.

  • 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.
  • Add the next video to the timeline by dragging it to the right of the first clip in the timeline.

Cutting

If you have content that you want to remove from the screencast, you will need to cut out that content using the Slice feature.

  • Place the playhead where you want to make your first cut. If you have grouped your tracks, you can use the Command-T command to Slice the clip at that point. If you have not grouped your tracks, you can use the Shift-Command-T to Slice All tracks at that point.
  • Next, move the playhead to the end of the content you want to remove and repeat the process.
  • You will now have a separate clip with the undesired content. Select the clip and press the Delete key or press Command-X.

Exporting Video

  • Once you have all content ready, click the Export button on the top right corner.;
  • Select MP4 only (up to 720p) from the dropdown menu.
  • Select Next.
  • In the Production name box, enter a title for your video.
  • In the Folder box, select the Desktop.
  • Select Finish
  • Your video will process and saved to your desktop.



Keywordsscreencast, demonstrate, demonstration, video, CamtasiaDoc ID107142
OwnerTimmo D.GroupInstructional Resources
Created2020-11-12 14:32:24Updated2024-08-23 15:32:25
SitesCenter for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring
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