Best PC video making software

I'm looking at creating movies kind of like CBT Nuggets and Trainsignal and was wondering what good video making software programs are out there like the one Jeremy and Chris use for their tutorials. I want to have audio and video and be able to show what I am actively doing on my PC, like doing GNS3 labs or Packet Tracer labs. Anybody have any ideas? My ultimate goal is to create a company that sells training videos for just a fraction of the price that they do, because we all know their prices are kind of steep!! Thanks for your help!

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ladiesman217

CCIEWANNABE wrote: »

I'm looking at creating movies kind of like CBT Nuggets and Trainsignal and was wondering what good video making software programs are out there like the one Jeremy and Chris use for their tutorials. I want to have audio and video and be able to show what I am actively doing on my PC, like doing GNS3 labs or Packet Tracer labs. Anybody have any ideas? My ultimate goal is to create a company that sells training videos for just a fraction of the price that they do, because we all know their prices are kind of steep!! Thanks for your help!

Camtasia will do the trick.

Jordus

The CBT nuggets and trainsignals i have watched use Camtasia to make their videos.

CCIEWANNABE

thanks for the quick response guys!

dynamik

Yea, they use Camtasia, and I have it too (maybe one day I'll actually use it...).

Free alternatives here: Camtasia Studio | Open Source Alternative - osalt.com

msteinhilber

Camtasia is pretty much the way to go. I was looking into Camtasia as well as the open source Camstudio as well for training videos for work. Camtasia I found to be much better overall in terms of quality and features/ease of use.

Another important bit, do not overlook a good quality microphone. I take the audio quality fairly seriously, but didn't want to go overboard on the budget. My setup involved the following:

Rode Podcaster: RØDE Microphones

Boom Mic Stand: Buy DR Pro Tripod Mic Boom Stand | Microphone Booms | Musician's Friend

Pop Filter: Buy Musicians Gear Double Pop Filter | Pop Filters | Musician's Friend

You obviously don't need to go to that extreme, but it certainly helps create a much better product in the end. I first used a desk mount boom mic stand, but I wasn't very satisfied with that as I found that slight bumps on my desk area transferred through the stand to the mic which was annoying, so I went with a floor standing model instead. The pop filter I have read you can easily build something similar using nylons and embroidery hoop, but I really didn't have the time and they are cheap enough anyways.

dynamik

If anyone is interested at that level, you should also check out what they use for TWiT here: The TWiT Netcast Network with Leo Laporte

I like the smaller desk stands for the mics: mic desk stand Search | Musician's Friend

tiersten

I thought this thread was spam with the *** highlights...

RTmarc

tiersten wrote: »

I thought this thread was spam with the *** highlights...

I did too.

Oh, and another plus for Camtasia. Like Dynamik mentioned, we've got several licenses for it.

We just never use it.

tiersten

RTmarc wrote: »

Oh, and another plus for Camtasia. Like Dynamik mentioned, we've got several licenses for it.

We just never use it.

I like how Camtasia is great and people have it they just never use it

dynamik

tiersten wrote: »

I like how Camtasia is great and people have it they just never use it

Well, I broke down and ordered that mic msteinhilber recommended. Maybe if I amass enough equipment, I can guilt myself into doing something with it...

itdaddy

camtasia is great just make sure you have your files converted into avi format. but then again. Macromedia Flash format 'swf' is your best bet for light weight. I mean really freaking light weight and very good quality.

dynamik

OMFG that mic is awesome. The quality is amazing.

On a related note: OMFG this stand sucks: Buy Musicians Gear Tripod Desk Mic Stand with Clip | Microphone Stands | Musician's Friend

The stupid thing tips over

I have it precariously aligned with one of the legs to keep it up (that's what she said). It's so cheap that it's not really even worth it to send it back...

I'm going to go with this beast: Buy ProLine Desk Boom Microphone Stand | Microphone Stands | Musician's Friend

Edit: Nevermind, I got that one to work. All I did was stop being stupid and set it up the way it was supposed to be...

ladiesman217

Just one question, why do i get blurry video when I upload it to youtube? I've tried expermenting with some formats but still I can't get what's the best format for youtube. any ideas?

dynamik

I remember seeing somewhere that if your video doesn't include a certain number of colors, it will always use the standard quality video. Try making another one with a rainbow background or something

You might want to research that a bit; I'd start there.

tiersten

dynamik wrote: »

I remember seeing somewhere that if your video doesn't include a certain number of colors, it will always use the standard quality video. Try making another one with a rainbow background or something

You might want to research that a bit; I'd start there.

I think it was a post by mgeorge. He was doing mini training videos on YouTube and it kept defaulting to lego-vision resolution because the video didn't have enough colours.

dynamik

tiersten wrote: »

I think it was a post by mgeorge. He was doing mini training videos on YouTube and it kept defaulting to lego-vision resolution because the video didn't have enough colours.

Yea it was, I was just too lazy to find it. I have the day of since I have to go in tomorrow, and I'm much less motivated on my own time

http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccna-ccent/39100-some-free-cbts-finally.html#post284957