Training professionals stream into social networking sites and kick up a lot of buzz about the general health of the industry. Despite much hand-wringing about job security and tight budgets, hard-hitting discussions focus on new ways to approach learning objectives, update or redesign content, and measure training effectiveness.
No question, it's tough to be in the training field now. As companies hemorrhage employees and search for ways to streamline business processes, training must be immediate, flexible, and relevant. We're all familiar with "on-demand training" and TechSmith'sCamtasia Studio 6 provides the tools to build training modules relatively quickly and professionally.
Billed as screen capturing software, Camtasia involves four basic steps:
Record on-screen activity.
Edit it into a polished video.
Produce the video in a format you want.
Share it.
Camtasia allows you to leverage one of the most effective methods of training: showing learners how to perform specific actions in an application and giving them the opportunity to watch the training as many times as they want.
Although Camtasia records all action on the screen, you can also narrate your videos, add captions, overlay effects onto the video using callouts and screen drawing tools, create menus for fast navigation, create titles, install an add-on to record PowerPoint presentations, record webcam video as picture-in-picture, and produce videos in a variety of delivery formats.
This is not an exhaustive list of the software's capabilities, and as I worked with Camtasia Studio, it quickly became clear that the phrase "screen capturing software" does not do it justice. Camtasia's software suite consists of five tools: Camtasia Recorder, Menumaker, Theatre, Player, and Screencast.com. I'll focus mainly on the recording and editing features.
NEW FEATURES OVERVIEW
Some of the feature highlights of Camtasia Studio 6 version include:
Independent editing of audio and video. Fix flubs in narration, for example, by decoupling the video and audio tracks to edit them independently. You can re-record audio and realign it with the video track. This saves you from having to redo the entire video, but given timing issues, it may actually be faster to re-record a video if it is very short.
Editing hotkeys free you from pulling down menus and selecting options.
A 3D tilt feature that allows you to change the camera angle so the image appears suspended in 3D space. This is useful to focus viewer attention on a particular area of an image, but use this feature sparingly. Overuse will make this feature look like a gimmick.
Improved control over the timing of fades and transitions.
Integration with Screencast.com. Publish your videos to a personal library from where you can organize and share your videos. A Camtasia Studio 6 license includes 2 GB of storage space on Screencast.com and 2 GB of bandwidth monthly.
MOV file editing on the timeline.
Expanded production presets. Camtasia will automatically render your video in formats for delivery for the web, YouTube, iPods, and blogs.
Produce high-definition (HD) videos using the H.264 format. H.264 uses the latest video compression technologies to provide exceptional video quality from a smaller bit stream.
INSTALLATION AND INTERFACE
TechSmith offers a downloadable 30-day, fully functional trial of Camtasia. It speaks well of a company that offers full use of its product. While on the site you can sign up for Camtasia Studio tips, explore the learning center, read documentation, and poke around in the user-to-user forums.
Once downloaded, Camtasia installs in under a minute. If you have PowerPoint on your computer, Camtasia will install an add-on toolbar automatically. You have the option to uncheck this feature during the installation. Camtasia opens to the main "workroom," which provides access to the recorder, task lists, clip bin, preview screen, storyboard, timeline, tracks, and editing tools.
Each task listed under the Task List menu (add..., edit..., produce...) includes a tutorial either to assist you in performing the task or to show you how to do it. The Assist Me tab opens the appropriate section of Camtasia's help file, while the Show Me tab directs you to a video tutorial on TechSmith's website.
Camtasia tutorials are developed with the software so you see a produced video while learning how it works. Besides getting started tutorials, TechSmith provides detailed documentation, FAQs, templates, as well as threaded discussion boards where people share video tips, tricks, and workarounds.
GETTING STARTED
Camtasia makes creating your first video easy. Let's say you want to show learners how to create a pivot table in Excel. Open Excel. From Camtasia's task list, choose "Record the screen." When the recorder opens, set the options and effects you want such as "capture layered windows" and turn on "cursor highlight." For a professional look, choose "lock to application" from the capture menu so the desktop doesn't bleed out from the application window.
Press the red record button. (See screenshot above.) Camtasia records all the action while you perform the task. Choose to narrate your actions while recording, add narration later during the editing process, or show only the actions with no narration. After you stop recording, Camtasia plays your video. At that point, you have the option to keep the video and produce it, edit it, save it (for editing later), or delete it. Choose Edit and the video opens in the preview pane of Camtasia's workroom.
If you're new to creating videos, initial results may be disappointing. It does take some practice to master some basics such as moving the mouse fluidly across the screen. In their documentation, TechSmith warns that the cursor may appear a little shaky and fast movements may be distracting to those viewing your video.
Keep in mind that jerky movements and slight delays while recording may have as much to do with your computer's available resources as it does with practice. If necessary, free up some of your computer's resources by closing programs that run in the background such as virus scanners. Take the time to practice recording demos so you gain confidence navigating the screen and narrating your points. As for the latter, it's always helpful to write a script.
EDIT FOR POLISH
Editing operations are not complex, but they require patience. Camtasia offers all the basic editing options you'd expect such as view tracks, audio options, split, cut, adjust clip speed, extend the frame of a clip, and add markers. A good rule of thumb is to think about your video as a series of short segments.
Record each segment and edit them in Camtasia (see the application's main workroom in the screenshot above). Organize the clips along the timeline and "stitch" them together. Recording in segments offers you flexibility to re-record a segment if necessary. This saves you from re-recording a long video if you find, during the preview, that you left out some vital information. I think it's more difficult to cut a section, re-record, and then fit the new clip back into the original section. I simply found working in segments to be easier, but it's a matter of preference.
I appreciate Camtasia's editing hotkeys. Given this attention to detail, it seems odd that there isn't an easier way to delete parts of the video. While previewing a video, I may notice a section I want to remove. What I want to do is move down to the timeline, highlight the area to edit, and use a keyboard hotkey to delete the section or the delete key. I can right click the highlighted section and choose "cut selection" or click the scissors icon on the timeline menu. However, this seems like a longer way to perform a basic action.
Camtasia includes an impressive range of effects. Choose from a large selection of transitions, including gradient wipes, fades, page turns, blinds, and so on. Transitions only can be inserted between two clips. I was surprised I couldn't begin or end a production with a transition. I wanted to use a fade transition to stage an entrance to one of my videos. I finally used an alternative method, but using the transition would be easier.
Other features worth noting include callouts, 3D tilt, smart focus and captions. You can overlay comments onto the video using callouts. Camtasia provides many options ranging from thought bubbles to curved arrows. If you don't like what's offered, create a custom callout. I especially appreciate the option to fine-tune the look and behavior of callouts. Change the color, add a border or a drop shadow, set fade-in and fade-out times, or make the callout a Flash hotspot.
New to Camtasia 6 is the 3D tilt. As shown in the screenshot above, you can tilt an image using the tilt sliding bar or setting x and y coordinates. Changing the camera angle adds some visual appeal and when coupled with the zoom feature, focuses viewer attention on a specific area of the video.
The smart focus feature applies zoom and pan operations to your video automatically. Import your video clips onto the timeline, click "smart focus" on the menu, and Camtasia detects those areas you focused on while recording. For example, open a browser and type in the address of a webpage. Camtasia's smart focus zooms in on the address bar so viewers can see what you are typing.
Although I like this feature, I found it to be overly sensitive, zooming at points that didn't make overall sense. To delete a smart focus key frame simply right-click on the frame you don't want and select delete from the drop down menu. You also can double-click a key frame and modify the zoom area.
Camtasia's captioning feature is something I'd expect to find in a more expensive application. While you may add captions manually, Camtasia also provides the option to add captioning by synchronizing text and audio. You can paste a script to automate some of this feature.
I use the word "some" because captions cannot exceed three lines and you have to set caption points. The extra effort is worth it; captioning works perfectly, and you can choose either to overlay captions on the video or underlay them so the caption sits underneath the video.
In many cases, you'll perform video editing in tandem with audio editing. Camtasia provides three audio tracks. Multiple audio tracks effectively allow you to layer sound. For example, narrate a slide show on audio 1 and set it to soft background music on the audio 2 track. Camtasia's audio features worked fairly well and the program includes some extras such as audio enhancements.
You can configure audio settings to reduce ambient noise and level out unevenness in the sound quality. If you create videos all the time or you intend to, consider creating your audio tracks in other software--I use Audacity--and import your finished recording into Camtasia. Dedicated audio software offers more features specific to sound, especially if you want to work with sound layers. For basic narration tasks, though, Camtasia offers easy-to-use, reliable options.
VIDEO PRODUCTION
Before you edit your video, Camtasia requires that you choose a preset or set custom production settings. Your video will reflect the preset dimensions in the preview pane so you'll know how your final product will look. Once you complete editing your video select Produce Video to launch the production wizard. The wizard highlights the preset selected earlier, prompts you for a name and location for your production, and then renders it. Explore this area of Camtasia; there are many customizable features as well as online templates available for download.
POWERPOINT INTEGRATION
Given the popularity of PowerPoint, Camtasia allows you to leverage the full power of the application and produce your slide presentation as a video. I created a few PowerPoint presentations in both the 2003 and 2007 versions.
Camtasia installs a PowerPoint toolbar (see screenshot to the right) during installation, but, if you prefer, you can install the add-on later. From the toolbar, simply click record and Camtasia does the rest. As with any video, you can edit your PowerPoint video, add audio, and render the video in a specified format.
You have the option to use a webcam and record picture-in-picture (PIP) and embed the camera recording in your video. Present your slides as you would to a group and Camtasia records your video. As with other Camtasia features, the PowerPoint add-on offers many custom options, such as adding a watermark. As an added feature, add a table of contents to your final presentation using Camtasia's Menumaker and burn the entire presentation on a CD (includes the Camtasia player), publish it to a website, or upload it to Screencast.com.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I framed this review around training and the advantage of using Camtasia Studio for on demand training. Realistically, there are many ways to use Camtasia Studio. IT departments can create how-to videos to illustrate the steps involved in administrative tasks; teachers can record lectures and post them on web-based boards such as Moodle; aspiring artists can showcase their work on YouTube; and companies can produce videos about a new product. You provide the creative ideas and Camtasia will help you produce and publish them.
Although I would not call Camtasia Studio a resource-intensive application, you'll notice a slight performance hit on a laptop. Check the hardware requirements on TechSmith's website; I consider the recommended requirements to be the minimum. In the end you have to weigh costs against returns. Camtasia offers an extraordinary number of features at its $299 price point. TechSmith also offers detailed documentation, training videos, forums, and technical support. You do not have to pay an annual fee for support, as you have to with Captivate (TMR's industry benchmark). Camtasia Studio supports both SCORM 1.2 and 2004.
Recommendation
Camtasia Studio offers many features I would expect to see in a much more expensive application suite. I crave some editing conveniences, but nothing about Camtasia's features dampens my enthusiasm for the product. I think it is well worth its $299 price tag. Keep in mind, however, that every technology exceeds its price tag.
Camtasia Studio, on balance, demonstrates TechSmith's commitment to quality, innovation, and service.
Camtasia installs a PowerPoint toolbar (see screenshot to the right) during installation, but, if you prefer, you can install the add-on later. From the toolbar, simply click record and Camtasia does the rest. As with any video, you can edit your PowerPoint video, add audio, and render the video in a specified format. 