Stat Computing > Seminars > Making Movies

Statistical Computing Seminars
Making Movies for Distribution over the Web

• What do we mean by "movies"?
  • Are we talking about Jaws, Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark?
  • Instructional movies for how to use software.
  • Computer screen, mouse movement, mouse clicks, voice explaining the action
  • For example, see Intro to SPSS.
  • We are not talking about "filming", for example we are not talking about Lectures 2 to 10.
• What software, hardware and skills do I need to make these "movies"?
  • Regular movies (like Lectures 2 to 10 ) require
    • A video recorder (preferably digital)
    • A camera person
    • Special video encoding software
    • About 24 hours to encode 2 hours of video
    • Make huge file sizes
    • Probably a special server for video streaming
    • Require lots of expertise.
  • The kind of movies we are talking about only require
    • A computer running Microsoft Windows (if you are using a Mac, you might check out Snapz).
    • A microphone
    • A software program called Camtasia Studio
    • Videos are encoded quickly (in minutes or tens of minutes, not hours)
    • Videos are not large (e.g. 28 meg for 80 minutes)
    • No camera, no special multimedia skills
    • These are so easy to make, even we can do it!
• What do I need to view these movies?
  • There are a large number of formats you can choose, avi, windows media, real player, etc.
  • We choose SWF (ShockWave Flash) and this works on Windows and Mac in all browsers we have tried
  • Note that each movie segment is limited to 16000 frames (at 10 frames per second that is 26 minutes, or at 5 frames per second that is 53 minutes). The overall movie can be as long as you want, but the final product may need to be cut into chunks.
  • The plugin installs automatically.
  • Although we have had tens of thousands of viewings of the movies, we have never had someone contact us to say they cannot view the movies.
• Are the movies large?
  • Consider the Stata Graph seminar.
  • As an .avi file, the seminar uncompressed is about 470 megabytes for 80 minutes of video.
  • After compression with Camtasia, it is about 28 megabytes. 
  • We split it into 4 parts of about 20 minutes each, about 7 megabytes for each 20 minute segment. This is almost small enough to squeeze down a 56k modem.
• How has the ATS Stat Group used movies?
  • Online Seminars, for example Intro to SPSS
  • FAQs, for example http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/wesvar/faq/post/svy_wv_post.htm
• How might you use movies?
  • Teaching a class that involves the computer. Record it and students can review it later.
  • You created a PowerPoint presentation for talk and want to post it on the web.  You could make a movie with your explanations. (Here is an example of a class using PowerPoint, see lecture 1.)
  • Help Desk: Could make movies showing an interactive, point and click process.
  • Training: Could be used to supplement training.
• What benefits has ATS received? What benefits might you receive?
  • By making movies, people can access the information 24/7 without any extra effort from us.
  • We have had tens of thousands of downloads from these pages, helping many more people than we could with live efforts.
  • Rather than doing a number of screen shots with arrows and explanations, we can just record the movie and explain the process.
  • The time to record a movie can be similar to the time it takes to explain the process once.
  • It is sometimes much easier to explain things verbally than in text.
  • However, updating text is easier than updating a movie.  Although the movies can be edited, it is easier to edit text than to edit video.
• The process of making a movie
  • Record the movie
  • Edit the movie (optional)
  • Produce the movie for posting on your web site
  • Post the movie to your web site
• Making a simple movie
  • Quick Start to Making a Movie with Camtasia
  • Basic record, produce and post
• Bells and Whistles
  • Edit and produce
  • Record second segment, join them together
  • Add transition between segment
  • Add callout to movie
  • Zoom and pan
  • Note that these extras can add to the file size
• Any extra tips?
  • Additional Camtasia Preferences and Tips
• What about reviewing the movies?
  • We suggest having a review process for the movies.
  • We generally use a "pilot-copilot" system for seminars, so the pilot is the main speaker and the co-pilot adds color commentary and immediately corrects misspeaks.
• What if I don't like the sound of my voice?
  • You can see http://www.voice-doctor.com/bookchgvoice.htm .
  • You can record silent movies and use dialog cards like old-fashioned silent movies, for example, see the FlashBang! Tutoral which illustrates dialog cards and circles for highlighting.
• Are there other example movies?
  • Watermark
    See this Fireworks Tutorial from Lynda.com
  • Visual mouse clicks illustrated in Create a Local Directory from videos showing the process of setting up a Sequel Server .
  • Special features for PowerPoint presentations
    See Advanced PowerPoint at http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia/accessories/powerpoint.asp
  • You can see additional bells and whistles at http://www.techsmith.com/products/studio/tour/record.asp
• Are there other examples?
  • This CAD tutorial shows how a movie is worth a million words.
  • See the Expose your Access database structure from the Office Demo Showcase
  • More examples are listed at the Techsmith Web Site.
• What online resources are available for learning about making these movies?
  • The main seminar page has resources.
• How do I get Camtasia, and is there a free trial version?
  • You can download a fully functional 30 day trial version of Camtasia.
  • Note that the trial version comes with free, full technical support.
  • If you purchase, be sure to get the academic pricing!

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