Want to make a screencast on Linux but feeling overwhelmed by the choice of tools and programs? We describe three ways to create a screencast. The quick and easy way, the hard-core and granular way, and the way we think is the best all-rounder.
How to Film a Good Screencast
To create a screencast, you have to record what’s happening on your desktop, together with the commentary you’re adding to it. That requires the ability to record video from your desktop, and audio from your Linux sound subsystem, and possibly from other sources as well.
When you watch a good screencast, you’ll notice the commentary or narrative is right on point. It’s polished. The delivery has confidence and clarity. There’s no room for “um’s and ah’s” when you are producing a screencast. They’re painful to listen to, and they make your screencast feel amateurish. That’s the very opposite of the effect you’re trying to create. You want your audience to feel that you are an authority on whatever it is you’re talking about. Sounding like you’re bumbling your way through isn’t the way to do that.
Because of this, many of the slicker screencasts have their audio track recorded and edited separately and then mixed back into the screen video. That’s too big a topic to cover in one small article, so we’re going to look at ways to record the audio and the desktop video at the same time. That doesn’t mean you’re doomed to sounding amateurish. There are simple techniques you can use to raise the quality of your verbal delivery.
The most elementary—but the most impactful—are a script and practice. Run through your screencast several times before you try to record it. Take notes so that you know what you want to say, and which points you want to draw particular attention to. Don’t be put off by the word “script.” It doesn’t need to be a sophisticated document. A page or two of easy to read bullet points will help enormously. Paradoxically, you don’t want to be distracted trying to read the script when you’re supposed to be speaking.
Put the time in with dry-runs. There’s a reason professionals have rehearsals. It is very difficult to step through the topic you want to describe, control the software you’re using to screencast, and still deliver a good verbal performance.
Pick a Good Microphone (and Camera, If You Want)
You’re going to need something to record your voice. That means buying a microphone if you don’t already own one. It’d be a small miracle if the one built into your laptop is going to be good enough. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune, but a reasonable, external microphone that allows you to talk naturally and be recorded at a good volume is an absolute must-have. And a stand for it will pay dividends.
RELATED: The Best Microphones for Podcasters
If you want to film yourself so that you appear in your screencast, you’re going to need a camera. If all it is going to record is your head and shoulders so that you can be seen in a small window in one corner of your screencast, you don’t need a movie grade camera. But you’ll need something a step up from the basic built-in webcam that came with your laptop. A separate camera means you can place it where you need it to be.
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