Using YouTube for tutorials

[Al Hart]

I would like to make some movies, with voice over, for YouTube based on a SketchUp screen.

What software are people using for this?

What movie formats?

Any other hints or guidelines?

[RayOchoa]

you could get Camtasia

[fbartels]

SnapZ on a Mac

[dylan]

Al, take a look at this Thread:
http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=9981&p=65422&hilit=camtasia#p65422

Im moving this to the SketchUp Forum.

[Al Hart]

I'll take a look at Camtasia (5?)

Are there limits on resolution or length of YouTube videos?

Has anybody created a YouTube tutorial? If so, can you provide a link.
(I've been watching basecamp videos all weekend, but I think they did a little more work to combine live action with screen shots.)

[Burkhard]

You find more informations on Youtube. The vidoes should have no more about 10 min long for user standarts. If there are other rules for special groups it should be point out at their sides.
Camtasia is one the best choice even you like to have audio included.

[militops]

Camtasia is a good choice.

[Al Hart]

I'm getting ready to get a microphone for voice over.

Any ideas here - head set, clip-on, desk stand mike?

[Al Hart]

I downloaded Camtasia 5 - It looks like a good tool for making videos.

However, the information for what format and resolution is a little sparse

1. YouTube says:

@unknownuser said:

All you need to do is continue uploading the highest quality video you have available. The quality of the uploaded video combined with individual viewers' bandwidth will determine if the video is displayed at "Higher Quality."

Not satisfied with that answer? Still need specific information? YouTube accepts a wide range of video file formats such as .WMV, .AVI, .MOV, and .MPG. Here are a few things that may work well for you:

* MPEG4 (Divx, Xvid) format
* MP3 audio
* Video resolution: 480x360 or higher
* Frame Rate: 24fps or higher

2. Camtasia says:

@unknownuser said:

Choose "Custom Production Settings" and produce to AVI.

1. Keep the default TSCC codec for video compression and audio compression

2. Produce your video at 480x360 (or the closest you can get to this, keeping "Maintain aspect Ratio" checked.)

3. upload to youTube and wait for reprocessing to complete.

***Currently, to view your uploaded video at high quality, you will need to add the following code to the end of your video URL before sending the link to anyone:

&fmt=18

example:

before:

after:

It looks like 640 x 480 might be a good resolution - letting YouTube convert it as desired.
It will be a little fuzzy, but will work better for tutorials uploaded to the SCF.

Has anyone else had any experiences yet on resolution?

[Chris Fullmer]

Hey Al, I prefer a headset so that it stays next to my mouth at all times, instead of a mic that I have to keep my head next to. I used a pretty cheap headset that I got for free with a game and it worked ok, but probably a higher quality one would give some better control.

Chris

[Al Hart]

Hey Chris - long time no see (hear) - thanks

[Gaieus]

Hi Al,

I have a desk stand and Chris is definitely right; it is not very comfortable (as well as it can badly "inference" with my speakers when I talk to someone online). So go for a headset (I should also move may lazy a*** to get one). Maybe not the cheapest but you don't need to spend too much on them since you won't want to produce studio quality anyway.

I have a Camtasia 3 license (that they released free for a limited period of time around Christmas) and it is very nice (stll learning it but quite easy to use). Even thinking of upgrading to v.5 (which I guess their intention with the free release originally was )

[robert-hughes]

These folks spoke at BaseCamp and had a section on using YouTube for tutorials. This section is about 75-80% of the way through. http://sites.google.com/site/3dbasecamp2008/all-sessions-2008/promoting-your-work-using-google-resources

On their blog they have a section on Embedding high quality vidoe on YouTube. http://igloostudiosinc.blogspot.com/

Robert

[mgross]

Try using a program called FRAPs, at http://www.fraps.com/setup.exe The demo version does leave a small watermark on videos you create, however for the price who will complain

Cheers

Mike G

[Chris Fullmer]

My only complaint about Fraps is that it doesnt capture the toolbar, only the working window. So you don't get to see the icons being selected or any of the windows or toolbars. I only use fraps for capturing 3dgames. It excels at that and it is a pretty cheap program.

Chris