How to Make a Good Video Tutorial

For the free budget:

Stuff you need

1. Camstudio to record
2. Microphone or Notepad
3. Windows Movie Maker (or Macintosh equivalents) and Audacity or other free audio editing programs.

Camstudio is a freeware screen recorder.  When running the installation file from the zip file, it will try to trick you into installing things that you do not need. Click the first button that says 'next' in the installer, then click on every 'decline' button and it will start installing only Camstudio.  It will install on the default path (usually the C drive or where you installed your Operating System of choice).

Install Audacity, it's for fixing and leveling the audio of your recording.

A good microphone is important but all microphones distort when you say p or w words when you talk into it, an easy fix is to not directly into it.  Do some test recordings to see if the audio is loud enough when you talk away from it.  You can fix it after.

It helps if you know the program.  So write the steps down to complete the task in your tutorial.  Cross compare other people's tutorials to see if they have the same idea.  It is up to you if you want an intro and an outro. If you do not have microphone, you can show the steps on screen that you wrote down.  Make sure it is clean and legible.

If you do have a microphone, have a clean recording with no ums, uhs, coughing or throat clearing. Speak slowly and clearly.

SET UP

It is best to set up Camstudio before pressing the record button.  Once you launch the program, a little window will pop up showing this.  ↓

Click on Options, then Video Settings.

These are good settings for mostly lag free recording.  Match the settings then click on OK.  Go to options again and check "Record audio from microphone"

Go to Audio Options and click Audio Options for Microphone.

Change the Audio Capture Device to your microphone that you have plugged in.  If it is not listed, restart the program.

RECORDING

Have your script and what you are teaching ready to go.  Before you press record and start reading the steps; have what you are teaching like a program for example, ready on screen, bring CamStudio up then click on record.  Have a bit of extra silent still footage in the beginning and end so you can trim where you start and stop the recording.

When you are done recording, go to Windows Movie Maker (if it is not already installed) then click on Add Videos and Photos button.

Drag the edges of the clip that is imported to the beginning and ends where you start and finish talking.  When you are done editing, save the movie under "Youtube Settings"

For a small budget:

Litecam HD is $38.  It is an easy to use program and has a higher framerate.

The rest of the equipment is pretty much the same.

If you want a good microphone, a Blue Microphone Snowball is a great for a tight budget.  Scroll down to "Frequently Bought Together" and buy a pop filter.  You can buy the mic and the pop filter together for $50.  Everything for $90.