Creating Training Videos on a Budget: Software You Can Use!

Choosing Screen Capture Software: Comparing 4 Free Programs

When I decided to start creating video showing how to build a newsletter from scratch, I realized that I was ill-equipped.  When I taught at University, I always had access to the top-of-the-line, most-expensive software programs available.  One such program was screen-capture software called Camtasia.  The premise behind this software is that while I build a project on-screen, Camtasia captures everything that happens on the computer screen as video AND my narration of what I am building at the same time.  The end result is a video that you can watch and learn from in a way similar to learning in a classroom setting – all from the comfort of your own home!

The cost of Camtasia is expensive.  Beyond expensive, actually.  As of the writing of this blog post a single license is $249 (for both PC & Mac) or if you already have a purchased copy and need an upgrade, the cost is $99.50.  There is a free 30-day trial if you are interested in giving Camtasia a test drive.  BTW – this is a fantastic program.  I am not being paid to endorse this product but I have used it for many years at University.  It is the best you can get when you have money to spend.

I decided to look at alternative options to Camtasia that are a lot more budget friendly.  This is to satisfy my personal need to be frugal but also to help my readers that may need to create screen-capture videos on a “low” or “no” budget.  I understand the difficulties that K-12 school systems or non-profit organizations have when it comes to finding money to purchase software.  This blog post is to help alleviate that stress by providing free options.  I looked around for free software and actually found four reasonable alternatives that I will review here.

Before I began, I decided that I am looking for the following options from my chosen software:

1. Cost:  Free.  This is an absolute necessity.  It is also a realistic requirement given that there are several very good video screen capture programs available. 
2. Timeline Editing:  In-program editing in the form of a timeline is a must.  Having the option to edit (crop video, add still images, adjust audio, add music, add title slides, and captioning) without having to procure and learn a separate software program is not just convenient it is crucial to saving time and effort.
3.  Keyboard Shortcuts:  Keyboard shortcut customization is necessary to make video capture simple and easy based on how the end user already uses the keyboard.  Why relearn the keyboard when the shortcuts should be tailored to our current preferences?
4. YouTube Compatible:  The program chosen for the screen capture and editing process should have built in features for automatically connecting to and uploading our videos directly to YouTube.  At the very least a few clicks of the mouse should start the process.
5. Skill Level:  The software should be easy to use.  If the program requires a massive learning curve and special training it is software for professional end users.  This project requires ease in use so that simple videos can be created and uploaded with a minimal amount of trouble.
6. Online Tutorials:  Whether the software company has free training videos on their business website or the videos are available on YouTube, there must be quality, free tutorials available to end users.  Videos from multiple authors and on multiple topics are necessary.  Typically when software has lots of people creating training videos then it is software that is in demand.

	CamStudio	ezvid	Free Cam	FFSPLIT
Cost	Free	Free	Free	Free
Timeline Editing	No	Yes	Yes	No.
Keyboard Shortcuts	Customizable	Customizable	Some customization available	Customizable
YouTube Compatible	Full integration	Direct upload	Direct upload	No direct link
Skill Level	Simple to use but much practice is needed to create quality videos.  Add-ons can be tricky without support.	Very Easy to use	Very Simple.  Very.	Very complicated, needs lots of practice.  Has a professional vibe.  Suited towards game capture.
Online Tutorials	·   Many available ·   Most are quality training videos and are easy to listen/watch ·   Wide variety of topics	·   High quality tutorials on YouTube ·   Easy to understand	·   Available but search for them with care.  “Free Cam” will provide plenty of porn along with the correct search results.	·   Some available ·   Unprofessional ·   Annoying

In order to properly evaluate this software I felt it was important to download each of them and “play” around with them for a while.  I found that CamStudio and Ezvid were so simple to use that they were downright fun.  I jumped into each and was creating screen-capture videos with ease.  FreeCam was so simple that it was almost too simple.  I just couldn’t get my groove with this program and as such I stopped using it after creating one or two short videos.  FFSplit was at the opposite end of the spectrum from FreeCam.  It was so complicated and the tutorials were so annoying that I was immediately turned off by the whole program.  After experimenting with it for less than an hour I gave up and turned it off.  I don’t want to disparage FreeCam or FFSplit because they are both fine software programs that have their strengths in their niches.  In addition, if you are already familiar with one of these programs they would serve you well creating video tutorials. 

Here are my thoughts on each of the four programs:

Ezvid - This one is my choice out of the four software programs reviewed and I will be using this one to create video tutorials in the immediate future.  The number one feature that drew me to this software program is the Timeline Editing feature.  This has the look and feel of many of the movie creation software programs available (iMovie, Windows MovieMaker, Adobe Premier Elements, etc.) in a software that is both free and easy to use.  The training tutorials available for this program are very well done and have a very professional vibe.  I was up and running with this in a matter of two or three training videos and the results for my first screen-captures was impressive (if I do say so myself!)  I particularly like how this software can be directly linked to a personal YouTube account and with a single click the videos can be uploaded quickly and easily.

CamStudio - I was impressed with how much like Camtasia this program felt in both visuals and procedure.  This program has the intuitiveness of Camtasia without blatantly copying their look and feel.  Even if you have never used a screen-capture software before this is one that you can download and begin to use immediately.  If you need some training videos this software has hours and hours of available training videos from multiple authors who do a very good job of covering all the main features of the program.  I also liked the full-integration of YouTube into the program and the ease of clicking the mouse a few times to upload the videos to your personal YouTube account.

FFSplit - Where FreeCam is a very simple software program, FFSplit is on the opposite end of that spectrum.  I would consider this program to be professional grade software for high end purposes.  This is a program that seems to be primarily for creating quality screen-capture videos of video games.  When you see video game competitions this is the type of software they use to capture the game play with narration.  The training videos for this software are very limited and the videos I watched were typically created by gamers using the software to capture their game play.  Needless to say they weren’t the most professional videos I have ever watched.  Direct upload to YouTube is not available.  This by itself is not necessarily a deal-breaker but combined with the overly complicated nature of this software it is another negative checkmark. 

FreeCam - This program was very, very simple to use.  I can’t actually put my finger on what I don’t like about this program other than its so very simple it feels like kids software for elementary schools.  That isn’t a criticism about the software but simply an observation brought on after many years of teaching pre-service K-12 teachers evaluate and choose software for their respective programs.  I didn’t feel as if I had complete control over all aspects of my video project with this software.  While I think that “anybody” can use this software, I caution everyone that creates a Google search for “FreeCam” videos.  The search results for this can be very “Not Safe for Work!”  Please exercise caution and certainly don’t let school children look for videos on their own.  On a positive note, this software also has direct upload capabilities to a personal YouTube account and has customizable keyboard shortcuts.

This is hardly an exhaustive and comprehensive list of available software.  It is hardly a scientific assessment of the four software programs chosen for this post.  However, if you are just starting out and want to make training videos or video game captures, this is the simplest and easiest way to go.  The learning curve is much shorter when you start out with my personal choice Ezvid or my second choice CamStudio.  You can’t go wrong with either of them.

Takeaway

Free screen capture software is available and comparable to top-of-the-line software like Camtasia.  Depending on your goal, the choices reviewed in this post identify to clear choices for beginners.  Ease of use, plenty of support, and professional level output goes to Ezvid or CamStudio.

Try This

1. Download Ezvid and/or CamStudio. 
1. Ezvid:  https://www.ezvid.com/
2. CamStudio: https://camstudio.org/
2. Check out the training videos for your chosen software on Google.  Type the name of the software in the search box and click on the video tab at the top.  (Reminder:  if you choose to go with Free Cam your Google search should be “Free Cam tutorials.”  You should still be prepared to come across some inappropriate videos!)
3. Send me an email letting me know what software you chose and why.  If you chose different software than what I have presented here, let me know which one and why you went with it.  I love to hear about new software and what my readers are doing with that software.  My email: dr.daniel.robinson71@gmail.com

Masters Lesson Series: Choosing Software, Part 1

Which software program is the best for your projects?

What software should you use to build your newsletter?  Is one software program better than another?  These are important questions and the answers to them are not as easy as you may think!  The sheer volume of software available is mind boggling.  This post will help you sort through the mess and make a few decisions.

The decision regarding what software to use to create your newsletter, whether you plan on creating a print newsletter or an email newsletter, is often loaded with emotion.  Computer use is a very polarizing topic.  Will you choose a PC or a Mac?  If you chose a PC, will you choose Microsoft Office, Google Suite, Libre Office, or OpenOffice?  If you chose a Mac will you choose the iWork Suite, Google Suite, Open Office, or Libre Office?  Trust me when I say that these are just a few examples of software productivity suites that you can choose from in either PC or Mac.

Nowhere else in the newsletter decision making process will opinions come into play that will cause a spike in blood pressure and arguments to erupt the way that choosing software will.  The choice of software is deeply personal.  Just like Mac users and PC users are immovable and will argue their computer choices passionately, the software that we use is equally mired in controversy. 

The very thought of having to change from our regular routines cause stress and panic in many of us.  In an age where choices abound and something new will be invented every 7 seconds, it is surprising that we become mired in repetition and routine.  The field of Psychology tells us that when we perform the same activities day after day and follow the same routines week in and week out, we begin to prefer to operate our lives in consistent, repetitive, and predictable ways.

The human brain, however, is not hardwired to perform repetitive tasks and follow the same routines for very long.  Crowder and Friess, in their extensive 2013 research on human performance and change, tell us that “people are good at change in order to master or improve their world or environment.  When people are agile they are better at being agile.”  The human brain, when allowed to rest and remain unchallenged, begins to prefer doing nothing and wants to remain unchanged and unchallenged.  This is known as Inertia.

When it comes to our software our choices may have been made for us without our knowledge.  Our education plays a large role in our choice of software preference.  What software we used as students often plays a significant role in how we use software later in life.  The same goes for our places of employment.  When schools and employers pay large sums of money to purchase computer systems and software we then, as Crowder and Friess has stated, begin to master our environment (software) through repetitive use of a single tool.  Once mastered, our brains then begin to rest and process daily activities unchallenged.  Inertia takes hold.

The decision to choose software may have already been made for you.  If your company, school, church, or organization has already purchased software then you may have to begin the process of mastering new software.  The good news is that there is no one single software program that is “the best” for creating newsletters.  There is benefit to choosing a program with which you are familiar.  Microsoft Publisher will be much easier to learn if you are already familiar with the Microsoft Suite of Programs. Luckily newsletters can be created on just about any word processing software with little trouble.  If you have had the opportunity to "test drive" different software, you will no doubt notice that most of them have similar features.  

If you have the option of choosing your software, then you are lucky.  But if the software decision is up to you, what questions do you ask to help you decide?  To begin making an informed decision for choosing your own software, here is are a few questions that will help you sort through the options:

1. Do you have productivity software installed on your computer already?  Is the version you own older or do you need to upgrade to a newer version?  Is the software cloud based?

• If you have Microsoft Office 365 you already have Publisher.  If you have an older version of Microsoft Office or the non-subscription version of Microsoft Office you may already have a copy of Publisher or you can purchase a standalone copy of Publisher.
• If you aren't interested in a Microsoft product there are several very good alternatives.  I have recently been playing around with an open source product called Scribus.  In the second half of this post I will be comparing several products including Publisher and Scribus.

2. Will you and your writers/contributors be using the same type of software or will you need software that is compatible with many types of programs?  Will the application software need to work with or function in the cloud?

• If you are going to use Microsoft Publisher to build your newsletter, you will need to make sure that all contributors have the option to export/save their materials in a Microsoft format.

3.  Will you need special training to utilize the productivity software or have you used a specific platform in the past (or currently) and will only need a refresher?

• Mainstream productivity software packages have hundreds of free training videos and step-by-step guides for you to slog through trouble spots or learn a new program.  Software that has been around for a while and is used by many people or companies is better equipped to help you use the software through free or inexpensive training options.

4. Does the productivity software have PDF capabilities?

• The end result of every newsletter typically results in making your newsletter into a PDF for several reasons.  This is actually an important feature of productivity software.

The answers to these questions will go a long way to helping you determine the software to use.  However, the best way to find good, user friendly software with all of the bells and whistles that you need/want is to talk to someone that uses these programs.  For example, if you are a church contemplating starting a newsletter why don't you ask some of the other area churches how they create their newsletters.  (BTW-many churches upload their newsletters right along with their weekly bulletins so give their websites a look and see if they have the product and skill that you are looking for.)  If you are a business, why not do a Google search for businesses with newsletters?  Give them a call and ask them for advice.  What's the worst that can happen?

In the next half of this post I will be comparing features and pros/cons of productivity software that can be used to build a high quality newsletter.  

Take Away

Choosing the type of software to use to build your newsletter is confusing.  But taking it step by step is the best way to begin.  Knowing what you have available and how much training you will need is a great way to begin looking at the options.  Know what you have.  Know what you want to build.  Know your budget.

Try This!

1.     Begin by making a list of the productivity software on your computer or licensed through your organization.  Know the software version and year.  Find out if the software needs updates from its manufacturer. Most importantly, know if they software comes with support from the manufacturer.

2.     Once you have a list of available software to use for your newsletter, do a Google search for training videos for your software.  It is very important to have instant answers for how to utilize your software without have to wait to ask an expert or go to the library for a training book.  YouTube has millions of videos.  If your software has been around awhile, chances are that plenty of how-to videos are out there.  Most are free!

3.     Ask an expert.  Do you have a tech-guy at work?  Is there a local church or non-profit that publishes newsletters on a regular basis?  There are always people to ask and for the most part people like to be asked their opinion.  Just remember:  Everyone has an opinion and you have to figure out which one makes the most sense for your situation.

Resources

Crowder, J.A. and S.A. Friess.  Systems Engineering Agile Design Methodologies.  2013, IX, 78p.