Screenr + YouTube = Free Callout Editing

Greg R Notess — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 21:48:42 +0000

Since the demise of ScreenToaster (and I can’t even get to their site today) and my expectations that ScreenJelly may not last long, I’ve been looking for a new favorite among the free, online screencasting tools. Screencast-O-Matic has greatly improved since I last looked at it, and the editing options with the oh-so-affordable $9/year Pro account, make it even more compelling. I’ll have a more in-depth review of Screencast-O-Matic and its newer features later. However, today, I was impressed while playing around with Screenr. I used to consider Screenr primarily as a tool for Twitter users. But what I realized today is you can use Screenr to record a screencast (up to five minutes) and then upload to YouTube where you can use the Annotations function to add call outs. It is not full editing, but it does give the ability to create text bubbles and notes over the video, and that is one of my favorite editing capabilities.

Here’s the screencast, embedded. I’ll have to create another one to show how to do this. If you don’t want to listen to the whole thing, the call out annotation is at 1:58.

Or go direct to it on YouTube.

Updated Screencast.com

Greg R Notess — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:09:12 +0000

A few weeks ago, Techsmith announced new features available at Screencast.com. I was a bit confused by the announcement, but now I think I understand what’s new and who has access to which new feature. So here’s my attempt to explain:

First, there are now quick links to share a hosted screencast via Twitter and Facebook. The Tweet and Facebook Like buttons show up just above the hosted screencast window. However, these will only appear on screencasts that are in a Public folder. Screencast.com also lets you create Hidden, Password, and Authenticated folders. Any screencasts in something other than a Public folder will not have the social buttons. Note that Jing uploads are in a Hidden folder by default.

Second, Google Analytics users can put their Google Analytics code so that Analytics can track the number of visits to particular screencasts and can integrate that with the rest of your site’s Analytics data. Just click on the My Account link in the upper right corner and then add your Google Analytics key in the new box for it. Note that you should not put the entire Google Analytics code that you use on pages on your web site. Just put in the code that looks like UA-XXXXXXX-X into the box.

Third, Screencast.com Pro users (not free users) can add or edit captions to any screencast from within Screencast.com. Some other technical requirements must be met. See Techsmith’s tutorial for more details.

Fourth, Techsmith is asking for feedback on Screencast.com and is using a Feedback button on the right side of the screen. This button connects to a Get Satisfaction account for Techsmith. Not only can you send feedback, but you can send it privately or publicly. Curious to see what others are asking? Take a look at the Screencast.com questions, answers, and comments or see the full Techsmith feedback

Lastly, HTML5 support has been added. What this means is that for hosted items with Flash hotspots (and table of contents and close captioning) will work even on devices like the iPad that don’t know how to support Flash. It is nice to see all these new features.

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Screenr + YouTube = Free Callout Editing

Updated Screencast.com