How To Sketchcast
Screen recording tools:
- Cam Studio (free)
- Krut Recorder (free)
- ACA Screen Recorder ($30)
- Camtasia Studio (full-featured and very powerful, but $300)
- And many, many others.
Drawing Tools. For drawing tools, you can pretty much use anything. I really enjoy using Artrage. It's only $25 and there's even a very capable free version. You can even use good ol' MS Paint or the free Paint.net.
Video Hosting. For video hosting, I prefer Youtube because it's pervasive and well-understood in terms of embedding and sharing videos. But there are others like Vimeo and and Daily Motion that work fine as well.
Hardware. As for hardware, you'll need a mic or mic/headset. Don't spend more than $20 on this. You're not recording an acoustic solo set here. The painful piece in all this is the Tablet PC. Tablet PC's are...well...not cheap. Though if you're thinking of doing this seriously, you can find a nice, cheap single-purpose Tablet for $500-$700. Your only other option is to take a crack at it with your mouse or a drawing tablet. If you can pull that off - great. You're a better man (or woman) than I.
So that's it folks! Have at it! If you manage to get this going, please let me know. I'd love to see how this gets used.
Good luck!
Comments
This is going to increase demand for tablet PC's. Thank you for the how to.
Really nice idea, rich. I love it!
Rich,
Wouldn't a digitizing pad work just as well as a TabletPC? You can pick up a 6x8 pad on eBay or something for under $200 so it saves a bunch. Just curious if you've tried it, I've personally never used one before. I've tried stuff like this with a mouse and agree with you that it's impossible.
Which screen recording tool do you use?
@Rich, I am thinking the same thing about the digitizing pad. I can see how a tablet PC helps because it looks like you are actually writing on a white board.
Hey!?? How did you make this into a podcast - didn´t you forget to tell us that?
All I know is you make an AVI-file out of your sketchcast.
Putting a Flash-file up on a blog is not a podcast, and I am already subscribing to your sketchcast, so I would like to know, how you too the final step and podcasted it.
:-)
Rich, I think this is a very innovative idea. You put together some very simple tools and created a very empowering format. I'm sure more than one of us will be rushing out to buy a tablet writing tool!
I love this idea! I am an Instructional Technology Resource Teacher and I think this would be a cool idea for students to demonstrate knowledge of concepts.
Instead of a tablet PC - I would have my students use one of the school's Interwrite SchoolPads. This is a peripheral tablet and stylus that lets you control your computer from anywhere in the classroom.
It comes with the Interwrite workspace software that has a Record and Playback function that records whatever you are doing on the screen.
I will have to try this with my fellow ITRTs when I get back to school this fall.
Thanks for the idea!
Hey, I'll try to do it as soon as I can; I'll use my notebook and my Genius MousePen (was less than 50 USD some months ago). I already have the domain sketchcasting.com.ar, so I think I'll start there (but in spanish, I'm afraid). Keep sketchcasting! We'll be hundreds soon :)
http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/
Good for capturing screen events on Mac(Tiger).
@Karen:
Sorry I'm responding so late but the podcast process involves creating a custom RSS feed especially designed for iTunes consumption. Also, all sketchcasts need to be converted into iPod compatible movies. Quicktime Pro does a great job with that.
If you have other questions, just email me at rich@basement.org.
This is so great! Not just the idea, and the presentation, but (for me, at least) it's stimulating tons of new ideas.
Thank you!
I love this!
We are very interesting in adding sketchcasting to our variety of options for clients of our IR Media & finance portal firm in Las Vegas called www.GlobalCrossroadsCapital.com
Rich, this is great! I love your idea of sketchcasting. At Qlip Media, we have created a product, called QlipBoard, that makes ad-hoc communications using your voice, drawing and any image or screencapture. You can also use a plain white background, like you have, and simply draw on it to make a sketchcast. Or combine sketchcasting and screncasting in the same movie. Best of all, it's fast (and free)!
With QlipBoard, just grab your images, hit the record button, and start talking and drawing. The result is a movie you can embed in your blog, post to video sites like youtube, or convert to a podcast. There are lots of other cool features you can find in QlipBoard. I think you'll like it.
QlipBoard is free at http://www.qlipmedia.com.
I'd love to hear what you think.
dyude, this rulez
I JUST USED MY MOUSE AND YOUR PROGRAM, AND THE MIC BUILT INTO MY LAPTOP. I LOVED IT. SEE MY PAGE
http://sketchcast.com/CHANNEL/KIPLING/
LOOK AT DANCE OR SONOSUM
THANKS SO MUCH!!
KIPLING
A Wacom 4x5 or 6x8 tablet would work very well for this application and be quite inexpensive. Having used a 6x8 tablet for several years, once you get the hand-eye coordination down, it would be a snap (heck, you can even flip the stylus over to erase, no need to go to the toolbar).
@mikes0925 You had me until I saw: Windows only.
useful post.thanks for ur sharing!
This looks very cool!
Do you know if this tablet will work!
http://direct.wacom.com/stores/5/Bamboo_Fun_-_small_-_black_P1202C82.cfm
good
Instead of tabletPC , you can use WII remote --
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s5EvhHy7eQ
I can't wait to get home from work today and give this a try! And that artrage program looks great!