About: A Senior Developer working mostly with PHP and JavaScript, with a bit of Python thrown in for good measure, all on Linux. My tooling is simple, it's GitLab and JetBrains where possible.
Do you create video content to supplement your blog, or as another hobby? What software do you use for it?
It's something I am wanting to try, but the combination of Google Slides, OBS Studio, and OpenShot is actually driving me mad.
I can just about cope with the time consuming nature of creating video content - I just want better tools (or a better laptop to work on, but one thing at a time!)
Thanks for the feedback, it's greatly appreciated.
I think my main issue is that I don't have enough resource on my laptop. It's only got 8GB RAM, so rapidly runs out of memory when I am doing these things. Lighting and camera is less of an issue for me. It's going to be more tech stuff, where me being there isn't going to bring any real benefit as far as I can see. As such, I can get away with a gaming headset for microphone. It seems to record fairly well.
I use Todoist to keep track of the ideas I get. I do that for my ideas for blog posts too, so it will keep things in one place.
One thing I noticed with my Mac, is that when you're recording screencasts and audio at the same time the CPU goes bonkers. If you're doing some resource-intensive tasks on top of that (like using IDEs or running virtual machines) your machine can struggle..
The situation has improved for me since when I am using an external audio recorder. Looks like audio processing takes a lot of CPU. If you record live screencasts with OSB, using an external audio recorder like the Zoom H1n or similar might help and give you a little bit of headroom.
Hi Gary, I am a beginner myself in creating video tutorials. I started a YouTube channel a couple of months ago and it's a whole new skill set to acquire.
Personally, I do screencasts and record voiceovers right now so I didn't use OSB. I am using
I started by using PowerPoint and record the slides, then the voiceover on the slides, but found that using Apple Motion and animating textboxes and logos myself it's much more efficient.
I agree with you, it take a humongous amount of time to publish just a 7 minutes video so I think the process going to be about learning how to optimize the production. Here are a few tips I found from other content creators that I will try to apply for future videos:
1. Schedule production time in advance
When you only allow yourself a set amount of time you'll be more productive. It also helps your creativity because your brain is focused on producing something right now and ditches the need for perfection
2. Batch produce content
Don't produce one video at a time. I started by producing one video at a time from ideation to upload and SEO but now I am producing multiple videos (like 3 or 4) in parallel
3. Plan additional shots in advance!
When you edit the videos you'll need additional media like screenshots, thumbnails, graphics, so take the time listing everything you will need in the editing phase.
It's very time consuming to go back and having to set up your camera, microphone, laptop, lighting all over because you forgot something
4. Keep an idea bucket
Create a notebook (I like using a physical notebook) where you list your best content creation ideas so, as soon as you feel in the right mood, you can take out the decision phase and start producing content. I do it for my posts, videos, projects, etc.. Always carry the notebook with you because when the idea comes it's not going to stick in your brain for a long time!
I hope this was helpful and good luck with your creative journey!