Hi and welcome to the “How to Make a Tutorial….tutorial.
I’m Doug.
I’m Guy
and I’m Andrea.
We’re the Instructional Designers responsible
for making the TechSmith tutorial videos.
You’ve probably never seen us before, but
you might find yourself going, “wait a second,
that voice sounds familiar.”
Usually we hide behind screen video, but we
thought we’d change things up a bit.
And today, we’re here to teach YOU how to
create a tutorial video.
Great tutorials start with great planning.
Start by spending some time getting to know
your audience.
Learn how they use your product and find out
where they struggle.
Then use THAT information to choose a tutorial
topic that will help the most amount of people.
Once you have your topic, we recommend creating
a storyboard to outline and visualize what
you plan to show.
Some people get really creative and draw amazing
pictures like this.
Honestly though, mine look more like this.
I usually create a simple list with some notes
on the side.
I usually create quick sketches… and...
you’ll probably see some stick figures
I do a series of simple screenshots showing
roughly what I plan to display with the narration...
usually
Anyway, when you’re finished storyboarding
and you have your plan in hand you’re ready
to record...right?
NO... stop what you’re doing… before going
any further, write a script… please.
Save us from the ramblings, extra details,
backstory, and meandering topics..
Write a script.
We swear, it’s not as bad as it sounds and
here are a few tips to get you started.
One, use words you’d use in everyday conversations
and try not to make yourself sound too sophisticated
by leveraging convoluted statements to augment
your dialogue…...yeah
Two, show don’t just tell.
Instead of giving a play-by-play of your on-screen
actions, “first I click this, then I click
that,” let those actions speak for themselves
and use this time to communicate the more
important things, like why you’re using
that effect or making a decision.
Three, practice, practice… and then practice
again.
Read your script aloud and see how it flows.
If you find yourself getting tripped up, go
back and make sure you’re using natural
language.
Finally, get some feedback.
Find someone who’s not afraid to tell you
what they really think and send them your
script.
This might seem scary at first, but once you
get used to receiving feedback, it becomes
an essential part of the scripting process.
When you’re comfortable with your script,
it’s time to record the narration.
Start by getting your hands on the best microphone
you can find.
Even a middle of the road mic will provide
much better sound quality than the one built
into your computer.
Then, find a quiet place to record.
We have a recording studio with sound dampening
foam, which is great, however, we realize
this isn’t feasible for everyone and if
you’re looking for a lower cost solution,
a broom closet can sometimes get you a pretty
similar sound.
When you’re ready, record your script and
make sure to speak slowly and clearly.
If you make mistakes, don’t start over,
simply pause…….. then start again right
before you made the mistake.
You can always remove the mistakes when you’re
finished.
We recommend using Audacity or Adobe Audition
to remove mistakes and any extra noise from
your audio.
With your audio recorded, the next step is
recording your video.
Start by cleaning up your desktop and closing
any applications you don’t need.
This is also a good time to turn off any notifications
that might pop up… like this one…
oops.
I should probably close that.
Open the application you you want to record
and walk through exactly what you want to
show your viewers.
As we said before, practice, practice… and
then practice again.
This will help you get those smooth cursor
motions and in the end, you’ll have less
editing to do.
When you’re ready, open the Camtasia recorder
and record your screen.
Remember, if you make a mistake, simply pause...
and then start right before the mistake.
You can always edit them out in the end.
When you’re finished recording your screen,
it’s time to get all hack and slash with
editing.
To start, cut out mistakes by selecting them
with the playhead, then clicking cut.
To trim extra footage from the ends or your
recording, drag the end of the clip in.
When finished, bring in your audio narration
and any other media you need for your project.
With your audio narration on the timeline,
use clip speed and extend frame to sync the
pace of your video with your narration.
For example, if you need more time to explain
a concept, split the clip and use extend frame
to essentially freeze the video.
Or if you want to speed up a boring part of
your recording, add clip speed, then drag
the handles to speed it up.
To focus your viewer’s attention, use animations
to zoom in on the important parts.
For example, here I show a really important
setting that’s a little hard to read, so
I’ll add an animation, make sure the playhead
is after the animation arrow, then zoom in
to show detail.
Next, add that finishing touch by adding a
title slide to the beginning of the video.
Move the playhead to the beginning of the
timeline, then hold shift and drag.
This creates a blank space in the timeline.
Next, add a title and bring it to life with
an animated behavior, or my favorite, add
a premade intro from the Camtasia Library.
If you want to learn more about editing video
with Camtasia, check out our tutorials.
The last step in creating a tutorial is to
save the video.
Think about where you want this video to live
and either choose a share destination, or
choose to save the video as a local file.
As an extra last step, we recommend sharing
your video with a few people to get some feedback.
This is a great way to make sure your message
is clear and your video is accomplishing your
goals.
Well, that’s it for now.
Thanks for watching and get out there and
create some awesome tutorials!
Later gator
Chow
