143 people responded. Half record everything at the same time, while the other half is split 2/3-1/3 between screen video first and audio first. View results here. The 20 comments left at the poll give some great insight and tips for how people tackle their projects. Here are a few comments showing the range of approaches taken and why:

Molyy Soberg
I record at the same time, but utilize Team Recording. I write the narration, script the navigation, then I narrate the recording while a team member navigates. It's the best method I've found!

Paul Netterfield
...I write the script first, go through approval stage with people and then record the video, timing it to the script. After that I record the voiceover - usually another person with a quality voice for the production. Callouts and final edits are done. Menus built and then production.

Eddie Mack
The deciding factor for me is usually how comfortable/confident I am with the subject matter I am recording. If it is a process I have done many times, I will be happy to record audio and video simultaneously. If it is something newer or slightly complex, I would be happier getting the visuals right first then adding the audio track next. ...

New poll: How do you record quality audio?

This time around I have a question inspired by my interview with Doug Hull. To get the audio quality desired in your screencasts, have you done things like purchase better equipment or set up a recording booth? Take the poll...

Daniel Foster
Newsletter Editor

Parlez-vous français?

If you do speak French, here's some news for you... The very latest version of Camtasia Studio will soon be available in French! All the menus, tips, documentation...in your preferred language.

On July 22nd, our little Jing Project celebrated its first birthday. Here at TechSmith, we joined the party by announcing that Jing is now an official product offering. It's not going away any time soon.

Don't worry, Jing is still free and we even increased the free Screencast.com account that is included with Jing. How does 2GB of transfer bandwidth and 2GB of storage sound?

"What is Jing?" you may ask. It's a simple, streamlined tool for showing something on your screen to someone else...quickly.

Here's a story of how one person uses Jing for family tech support:

"Jing is great! I run a website for my family where we all have our own page. Most of the older family members are lost when it comes to anything relating to technology, so I used Jing to make tutorial videos for them. They found it really simple to use the videos as a guide. This saved me a ton of time. Instead of opening emails about how to use the site, it was emails about how easy it was after seeing the video. I think that Jing is fantastic and would recommend to anyone looking for an application like this."

Jing is the perfect "quick and dirty" solution for producing simple screenshots or screencasts in a hurry. It doesn't replace Camtasia Studio or SnagIt...but it's a great addition to your toolbox!

Would it surprise you to know that engineers don't like reading the manual, either? But they do like watching videos! So says Doug Hull, a top-level support tech for a company that makes software used by engineers at companies like Bell Helicopter, Pfizer, and Land Rover. So far, Doug has posted 118 Camtasia Studio-created videos to his blog. The videos give an over-the-shoulder look at how to use his company's MATLAB software...so users can learn by watching someone else.

Watch sample MATLAB videos

Lessons Doug has learned over the years? Through surveys and comments, he has discovered that viewers like to use the videos as "working entertainment." They might take a quick coffee break and watch his videos twice per week when they show up in their RSS reader. So short is good.

"If I have things that just take longer, I will break them into atomic units," he said. "Somehow people are willing to incrementally buy into six five-minute videos, but would never watch one thirty-minute video!"

Doug's Screencasting Tips

• When filming, if you need to think, say nothing, do not move the mouse. It is really easy to cut out silence and stillness.
• When you are about to switch windows, stop speaking. If the window is not set-up like you want it is easier to edit if all the speaking is before the switch, not during.
• If you mess up, whistle loudly and crisply right before you start again. It is easy to find that point in the recording visually.
• Do the editing in several passes. I used to forget that a certain section was to be cut-out and I would spend a lot of time editing it but then cut it.
• Have a good naming convention if there is a chance of making many videos. I use "00## CATEGORY Unique name"
• Have one project you use as a template, then "SaveAs" so all the settings, and title screens are uniform.
• Short and conversational is good.
• Get a better microphone.

To watch a few of Doug's videos and learn more about how he creates them...jump to our interview.