Quiet on the Set!

Screencast best practices:

* Double check your links if you are going to switch screens during the screencast. Nothing more annoying than getting halfway through a cast and hitting a broken link or a link that suprises you. Also, remember that your desktop or toolbar may be on display and if there are things you don't want to show, hide them.

* If you are not alone, notify everyone in the household that you will be screencasting for the next half hour and need QUIET. That quiet should include not just a ban on talking but on flushing the toilet in the bathroom adjacent to your office, emptying the dishwasher, or employing ridiculous stage whispers to still attempt to communicate. Unless the house is on fire, someone has severed a limb or Ewan McGregor is at the door, DO NOT DISTURB!

* I would say don't overpractice because if you do it sounds it. For me, I'd rather sit through a screencast by someone engaged in their topic who might fumble a bit than someone who has practiced a screencast into submission.

* If you mess up a few times and get frustrated, walk away. Tension is reflected in your voice. You're better off coming back to it later.

* Learn where the pause button is. It doesn't matter much with the short screencasts we do, but redoing a fifteen minute screencast because you don't know where the pause button can be frustrating.

* Play with pan and zoom, especially if you are doing detail work. I had fun with this feature, and I think it can be helpful as long as you don't overdo it and make everyone dizzy.

* Watch your sound levels. The first few times I did screencasted I didn't and ended up being disappointed when I played my "good" one back.

* Have fun. Remember: edutainment!