So You Want to be in the Movies

@MadCapMike #LavaCon

So, You Want to be in the Movies?

Mike HamiltonV.P. Product Evangelism

MadCap Software

Agenda

• Hardware Requirements

• Web casting / Recording

• Best Practices / Lessons Learned

Hardware Requirements

Hardware

• Computer – Control center– Part of the show (Desktop sharing)– Both

• Video Cam – Presenter / “talking head”

• Microphone– Getting external sounds into the

computer

Hardware

• Computer – A “powerhouse” is not necessary, but

will make your life easier– A dedicated video card is preferred over

integrated video– Lots of hard drive space, video eats it

Windows Vista, 4MB ram, Core 2 duo, integrated graphics57 minutes to process 1 hour of webinar

recording

Windows 7, 64 bit, 8MB ram, Core i7, NVidia graphics6 minutes to process 1 hour of webinar recording

Hardware

• Video Cam

– Most web casting or training is NOT HD

– Almost all modern USB web cams are adequate

– Lighting can be more critical than cam

– May not be necessary for your style production

Hardware

• Microphones

– Audio may not be necessary

– Professional sounding audio is the most difficult part of the process

– The first hurdle is using quality equipment, not the microphone built into your laptop

– Use the best audio equipment that your budget will allow

MadCap’s Audio Workstation

Audio

Audio

Shure SM58$100

Lambda Lexicon$140

+ = $240

Audio

Audio

Shure SM48$50

Lambda Alpha$80+ = $130

Audio

Yeti$150

Snowball$100

Snowflake$60

Audio

Logitech$25

Audio

USBDigital

High Quality

3.5 mm MonoAnalog

Low Quality

Webcasting VS. Recording

Webcasting VS. Recording

Both have their purposes

• Webcasting is typically less formal and is used for breaking information or where question/answer is important

• Recorded training is typically more polished and for content with a long “shelf life”

Webcasting

Webcasting

Software Packages

• Citrix GotoMeeting / GotoWebinar

• Cisco WebEx

• Adobe Connect

• Microsoft NetMeeting

• Many others as the technology becomes a commodity (Skype, etc.) (search on “webcasting” or “screen sharing”)

Webcasting

Most software packages break down into three tiers

• Personal sharing (2 to 3 users) – usually free

• Meetings (~20 or fewer participants) – budget around $50 per month

• Webinars (up to 1000 participants) – budget up to $500 per month

Webcasting

Watch out for the hidden costs!!!!

Some vendors offer the software at a low price but charge extra for:

• VoIP audio

• Telephone bridge support (toll numbers)

• Telephone bridge support (toll free numbers)

Webcasting

Also watch out:

International phone support can be spotty between vendors.

Webcasting

If you will be webcasting then

You want dual monitors!!!!

AudioOn Stage

Back Stage

AudioPrimary Work Space

Controls

Audience View

Audio Control

Chat Window

Attendee List

Audience Questions

PowerPointAdditional

Files

Clock Widget

AudioControls

Audience View

Audio Control

Chat Window

Attendee List Audience Questions

PowerPoint

Additional Files

Best Practices / Lessons LearnedWebcasting

Webcasting

Rules for presenters:

• Bandwidth is king!

• Wired connections are better than WiFi

• Lower your “on stage” screen resolution to 1024x768– This conserves bandwidth– Most projectors are limited to 1024x768

• Use the telephone for audio, not VoIP

Webcasting

Rules for presenters (cntd.):

• Whatever audio option you choose make sure you have a mute/cough button that is fast/easy to operate!

• Headset mounted microphones can provide more consistent audio

• Get in the habit of changing slides 2 seconds before you would live – audio is near real time but there is a delay with the video/screen

Webcasting

Rules for presenters (cntd.):

• Use the “Pause” screen sharing button to your advantage– This will freeze what the audience sees

but allow you to keep talking

– If anything goes wrong you can switch to a safe visual, hit pause, restart applications or whatever, then continue

– Just make sure to keep talking and nobody will know the difference!

Recording

Recording

Two primary techniques:• Traditional video technology based

– Records the PC desktop at a specified frame rate much like a video camera

– Captures every detail in real time– Creates relatively large files

• Key frame based– Only records when changes occur on

screen– Creates the “fill frames” using math– Produces small file sizes

Recording

Software Packages

• Camtasia

• Adobe Captivate

• MadCap Mimic

• Qarbon Viewlet Builder

• Others available

The Process

Break the creation process into components

• Planning

• Video/visuals

• Interactivity

• Audio

The Process

Break the creation process into components

• Planning

• Video/visuals

• Interactivity

• Audio

Planning

• Create tutorials that are:

– Brief (chunking)

– Meet the immediate needs of the user (context)

– Correct identified performance gaps (learning)

Planning

Know in advance:• Why are you creating a movie?• Who is your audience?• Is it high level (demo) or deep

knowledge (training)?• What quality level?• How will movies be deployed?

Basically, create a movie style guide for your company

Storyboard

• Storyboarding

– A process used to design and develop multimedia presentations and web-based training

• Storyboarding forces you to:

– Examine your motives

– Organize your thoughts

– Test your ideas

Storyboard

• Create low-fidelity storyboards:

– Rapid prototyping

– Easy to create

– Easy to modify

– Don’t need graphic artist !

– Use 3x5 cards, post-its, PowerPoint

– Follow your style guide

Sample Storyboard Frame

Storyboard

Your storyboard will:

• Uncover design problems

• Point out where additional material is needed

– Title image

– Credits

– Any other content

• Provide a first chance to edit ruthlessly

The Components to Create a Movie

Break the creation process into components

• Planning

• Video/visuals

• Interactivity

• Audio

Video/Images – The Recording

• Have a process

• Follow the storyboard to ensure you get what you need

• Record more than you need (extra frames or extra seconds) to make editing easier as it can be extremely painful to try and add more later

The Components to Create a Movie

Break the creation process into components

• Planning

• Video/visuals

• Interactivity

• Audio

Interactivity

• Linear interactivity– “Click to Continue”

– “Show Me”

• Branching– Decisions

– Quizzes

– Simulations

Linear Interactivity

• “Click to Continue”– Simple and fast– Set frame to pause– Add button with “go to next frame”

• “Show Me”– Requires multiple buttons, both visible

and invisible– “Show Me” button is visible and starts

animation– Invisible button captures action and

jumps to next frame

Branching

• Think of a movie as a flow chart

Frame

Frame Frame

Frame

Frame

Frame

Frame

Branching

• Think of a movie as a flow chart

Frame 2

Frame 3 Frame 5

Frame 1

Frame 6

Frame 4

Frame 7

Branching

…but, in a straight line

Frame 2

Frame 3 Frame 5

Frame 1

Frame 6

Frame 4

Frame 7

Frame 2

Frame 3

Frame 5

Frame 1

Frame 6

Frame 4

Frame 7

The Components to Create a Movie

Break the creation process into components

• Planning

• Video/visuals

• Interactivity

• Audio

Audio

• Not always necessary

• Adds significant time and complexity to development

• Be careful of file sizes

• Recording audio per frame is superior to one long audio soundtrack for movie

• Usually the last step in the process

Audio in Depth

Typical audio software workflow:

• Record audio track

• Normalize/DC offset

• Noise removal

• “sweeten” (remove undesirable noises)

• Save MP3 file for inclusion in movie

Audio in Depth

Audio software:

• Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Best Practices / Lessons LearnedRecording

Video/Images – The Recording

• Always record at delivery size

• Always record with common PC settings on a common background

• Make sure everyone creating recordings use the same settings

• Automatic recording mode is convenient, but manual gives you far more control

Considerations

• Localization

• Integration and compatibility with other applications (both authoring and playback)

• Customers’ ability to view formats

• Support

Audio in Depth

Where do you record?

• The quietest location you can find

• Turn off AirCon

• Unplug telephones

• Keep the microphone as far away from a noisy PC as possible

Audio

Audio in Depth

Recording settings:

• Mono, 16 bit, 44,100hz

MP3 file save settings:

• CD quality: bit rate of 128

• FM radio quality: bit rate of 96

• AM radio quality: bit rate of 32

But…How Long Will it Take?

That depends…• Required quality level• With or without interactivity• With or without audio

For your first movie/recording schedule one day per 5 minutes of finished recording.

But…How Long Will it Take?

With experience a 10 minute movie will take:

• Passive movie – 1 hour to 90 minutes• With interactivity – 3 hours • Heavy interactivity – 4 to 5 hours• With audio – Add ½ hour per minute

Note: Estimates include story boarding, recording video, writing dialog script, recording audio, and editing

Questions

Questions?

Mike HamiltonVP Product ManagementMadCap [email protected]