Camtasia-Guide » Competition

Screencasting Competition – ScreenChamp

peter — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:37:32 +0000

Present your best Screencasts and win glory and amazing prizes.

TechSmith is running a Screencasting contest that runs until October 17th 2011. The winners will be selected by both TechSmith and a celebrity judge panel for 3 categories

Whether you’re a professional or just getting started you can compete. Send in your best screencast and you could WIN awesome trophies, bragging rights, and any of these great prizes, below:

MacBook Pro
Wacom tablet
PRO headphones
Microphone
And more!

The video categories are:

Education: Videos with a focus on teaching and/or schools, at any level
Industry: Videos related to a professional field
Entertainment: Videos made only for enjoyment, focusing on humor/general amusement

You can enter multiple videos into any category. Winners will be posted on TechSmith blogs, here on Camtasia-Guide and will be invited to appear on the January 19 episode of the TechSmith show The Forge.

Unfortunately as a partner of TechSmith I am not eligble to participate but I am very curious to see the posted masterpieces.

Best of luck to you all!

Peter – Your Camtasia Guide

Criteria	4	3	2	1
Video Continuity and Editing	The video is edited with only high quality shots remaining. Video scenes flow seamlessly. Digital effects are used appropriately for emphasis.	The video is edited throughout with only quality shots remaining. A variety of transitions are used. Good pacing and timing.	The video is unedited and many poor shots remain. No transitions between clips are used. Raw clips run back to back in the final video.	The video is unedited and many poor shots remain. No transitions between clips are used. Raw clips run back to back in the final video.
Audio and Voice Editing	The audio is clear and effectively assists in communicating the main idea. Audio is communicated with enthusiasm, proper voice projection, appropriate language, and clear delivery.	The audio is clear, but only partially assists in communicating the main idea. Audio is communicated with proper voice projection, adequate preparation and delivery.	The audio is inconsistent in clarity (too loud/too soft/garbled) at times and insufficiently communicates the main idea. Audio has difficulty communicating ideas due to weak voice projection and/or lack of preparation.	The audio is not very clear, volume (too loud/too soft/garbled) at times, and does not communicate the main idea. Audio also contains background noise/static, and is out of sync with video.
Clarity of Message	The content includes a clear statement of purpose or theme and is creative, compelling and clearly written. A rich variety of supporting information in the video contributes to understanding the project’s main idea.	The content includes a clear point of view with a progression of ideas and supporting information.	The content does not present a clearly stated theme, is vague, and some of the supporting information does not seem to fit the main idea.	The content lacks a central theme, clear point of view and logical sequence of information. Much of the supporting information in the video is irrelevant to the overall message.
Overall Presentation	The video presentation is very engaging, clearly related to submission category.	The video presentation is engaging, but didn’t relate entirely to submission category.	The video presentation is engaging at times, but is unpolished or unrelated to goal and submission category.	The video presentation feels unpolished, rushed or unrelated to goal and submission category.

Screencasting – What is it

ScreenCast for Cash

peter — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:01:49 +0000

Calling all screencasting masters, have you been uploading tutorial videos about that software you’re so fond of or that game that got you hooked up and is so adamant to share to the whole wide world its whats, how-to’s, tips and tricks?

Do you want to share your tutorial videos and get a chance to win $1,000?

Well, brace yourself mentor!

MindBites, a website where you can search and publish how-to and tutorial videos, is holding a contest called, Screencast 4 Cash where lucky winners can get the chance to win up to $1500+ and more.

Interested participants must be at least 13 years old to be able to join the contest.

If you are interested, then register yourself at MindBites.com, then proceed on creating your original tutorial video, where it must be instructional in nature, has at least three minutes duration. After complying to the rest of the guidelines, you can then upload your entry and wish for the best.

Here’s the timeline for the contest duration you should remember:

• April 21, 2009 – Contest begins

• April 28, 2009 – Weekly Voting opens

• May 18th (11:59 PM CST) – Deadline of Entries

• May 19th – Daily Voting begins

• May 26th (11:59 PM CST) – Voting closed

• May 27th -Announcement of winners

The prizes for lucky winners are:

Grand Prize: $1000 + TechSmith Camtasia Studio/Snagit Bundle software

People’s Choice Award: $500 + Snagit software.

To vote, simply login or register at MindBites.com, click on “All Entries – Vote” tab, and add your vote to the screencast you find worth voting.

Just so you all know, the partners for this contest are TechSmith, Download Squad, MindBites and Youth for Technology Foundation (beneficiary of 10¢ in every vote you make). Representatives from each of the above-mentioned partners will be the judge for the Grand Prize. Whereas for the People’s Choice Award, it will be based on popular vote by registered site visitors, who will be able to cast one vote weekly during the submission period and one vote daily thereafter until the close of the voting period, as set in the Timeline.

Now, start working on that entry boy and go bag the Grand Prize!

Good luck

Peter – Your Camtasia Guide

Screencasting – What is it

peter — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:25:47 +0000

For your benefit, we are featuring today a very commonly heard term in the world of computer screen recorders, which is none other than, Screencasting.

What is a screencast?

According to our good friend, Wikipedia, the term screencast is defined as, “a digital recording of computer screen output, also known as a video screen capture, often containing audio narration. Normally, screencasts are generated with the purpose to serve as a video tutorial for teaching about a particular application or to promote a product by visual demonstration.

Most especially these days, where computer based training has been preferred by many of us simply because they’re cheaper compared to the traditional classroom training. Other obvious advantages are that it’s easier to share globally online. These screencasts are being published to today’s popular video sharing websites accessible for everyone, some are also put up for sale.

How do you create a screencast?

Several screencasting applications are out in the market today, each with varying capabilities, such as Camtasia Studio, ScreenCam, ScreenFlow and Camstudio, all of which are OS-based. As for web-based screencasting services, it includes Jing, Screentoaster, Screencast-O-Matic and ScreenCastle. Each application has it’s advantages and disadvantages. While I have tried many of these applications I am very partial to Camtasia because it’s easy to use, fast and the editing and production possibilities far outweights the web based options.

When to create a screencast?

Television is defininitely a big part of society today and collecting information and studying by watching a video is proven to give a more effective learning experience. When we use more than once sence we stimulate the brain to understand better. This is the main reason to why you should reach your audience with Screencasts.

Popular reasons to why you should screencast:

• When You can’t find the right words to describe exactly what you mean.

• When words alone aren’t enough to express your thoughts and ideas.

• Because it’s more interesting to watch a demo video than read text.

• Our favorite: Because you want more of your personality to come across in your blog.

Start creating your own screencast now!

PS. MindBites is currently running a competition where you win cash prizes for your screencasts. Check out the Screencast 4 Cash Video Contest, and you might get the chance to bag the grand prize!

Until next time

Peter – Your Camtasia Guide