[TriLUG] Instructional Video Capture Software

[Scott Chilcote via TriLUG]

Hi LUGgers,

Many thanks to everyone for the great advice.  Here's a quick summary of
where I've wound up.

Besides all of the great advice in this thread, I found the wikipedia
page comparing video capture (or screencasting) programs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_screencasting_software

And the wikipedia page comparing video editing tools:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_video_editing_software
To be extremely helpful.

Since I have access to multiple systems for work, I am using monosnap on
the Mac ($Free) for video and still image capturing.  I like it because
it has some basic editing features like the ability to add callouts and
arrows to images.  I also liked OBS (open broadcaster software) on
Linux, and could have easily used LibreOffice Presents or another image
(or slide) editor to do the same.  It's just a little faster to get it
done in monosnap.

For video editing, I'm using OpenShot (multi-platform).  It takes a
little effort to get up to speed, but I doubt it's any different for
other video editors.  I'm finding it super convenient for combining
still images (e.g. title screens, screen captures), short videos, and
audio clips together into a sequence to create a video tutorial. 

You can do cool stuff like trim videos and change the duration that
still images are shown, directly in the timeline.  You can do a variety
of fades and transitions, and some special effects.  It has a couple of
shortcomings, one is that you can't record your audio while watching the
video take place.  You need to use a separate sound recorder and then
add your audio as separate track.  I found that it didn't take long to
get that to work though. 

The second problem is more significant, I had OpenShot crash multiple
times while exporting my tutorial to mpeg.  After some tinkering, I
found that I needed to choose a more high-resolution format to get it to
finish.  Don't ask me why.  This was on MacOS as well, so YMMV.

Regardless of the quibbles, I'm happy.  This was a last minute
requirement, and the job's getting done.  I will be putting the makers
of OpenShot and Monosnap on my donation list this year.

   Scott C.


On 08/05/2016 10:33 AM, Scott Chilcote via TriLUG wrote:
> Hi LUGgers,
>
> My employer has been asked to provide some instructional videos that
> provide basic instruction on how to get started using some of our web
> applications.  These are to help our primary customer train new employees.
>
> ${BOSS} came to me and said to find a screen video capture product with
> the right bells and whistles.  I looked around and found no shortage of
> such products for Linux, e.g. recordMyDesktop, VLC, ScreenStudio, KRUT,
> Simple Screen Recorder, VocoScreen, Kazam, OBS, and more.
>
> Most of the recorders I've seen can limit the recording to a single
> window, which seems useful for web-application specific video capture. 
> They don't support video editing, adding labels and callouts, etc., so I
> expect we'll need to use something like Cinelerra, OpenShot, and/or
> something else to clean up and add finishing touches.
>
> I mentioned the variety of free and open software I'd found for Linux to
> ${BOSS}, but he wasn't impressed.  He "isn't trying to save money"
> "wants something we all can easily use", "has useful features", and "has
> professional results".
>
> Being a total newb when it comes to this, I'm hoping there are trilug
> members who have experience they can share?
>
> I'm particularly interested in being able to add arrow pointers and
> callouts to the video, so that the voice-over can effectively identify
> product features.  Some animation relating to these wouldn't hurt.
>
> Thanks for any help,
>
>    Scott C.
>


-- 
Scott Chilcote
scottchilcote at ncrrbiz.com
Cary, NC USA