paolodona.com

In the past few days I’ve been recording a few screencasts for NiftySchool.

They’re not too fancy (they don’t really need to be), but still require quite a lot of work.

I came up with a process that allows me to be reasonably quick at creating them.

So here it is, my seven step process to create a screencast: 

Step #1: Record a raw demo version

I open up my browser and record my screen while demoing my app (or the feature I want to show). The result is usually awful, with many pauses and mistakes, but that’s OK because this demo video will be trashed later.

The resulting video may be 7/8 minutes long. It doesn’t matter, this will be only used as a foundation for the transcript, so make sure to cover all of the areas you want in the final screencast. 

To record this I use QuickTime Player’s Screen Recording feature.

Step #2: Write the script

Using the video from step #1 as a guide, write the script/transcription for your screencast.

It’s important to use the video as a guide to write something that resembles what you would say while using the system.

I find that without step #1 I tend to write scripts that sound like articles which don’t sound natural.

I write my scripts using Google Docs. 

Step #3: Proofread the script

Not being a native speaker, I have my transcript proofread by someone else, such as english friends or professional services.

This makes sure that there are no grammatical errors in my script and the writing style is consistent throughout the video. 

Before sending the script to a proof reader I also usually time myself reading it to make sure that the end result will be of the right length. 

I usually use http://www.proof-reading.com for proof reading documents. 

Step #4: Record the audio

Once I get the corrected script back from the proofreader, I sit down, rehearse it a few times and then record it (audio only) using QuickTime’s Audio Recording feature.

It may take a few times to get it right, and you need to make sure the right pauses are inserted between statements, but I prefer to do this in one go.

The fact that you’re reading a script will make the screencast more fluid and professional, but try to not sound too canned.

I think it’s quicker to record it in one go than tinkering with audio editors to join multiple recordings later, and you get a fluency & consistency that you may not get in multiple takes.

To do this avoid your laptop’s built in microphone. An external directional mic will make a world of difference.

Step #5: Record a long version of the video 

Now that the audio is sorted, I start with the video.

Given that screencasts are usually quite short, it may be challenging to capture the video in real time while playing back the audio track.

All sort of things can go wrong, and just a little of net latency can make you late for a given statement, playing catch up with the audio all the time.

I usually download the audio track to my iPhone and play it using the standard apple mic/headset. 

This means that I can pause the audio track using the button on the microphone with my left hand, while recording the video with my right hand.

So the process is:

• Start screen capture on the computer (QuickTime Screen recording with no audio)
• Start audio track on iPhone
• Pause audio track every time I need more time to complete the operation being captured
• Restart audio track when ready to continue
• Repeat until the audio track is over

You will end up with a single video track which can be significantly longer than the audio track, but that includes everything you need to put in the screencast.

Step #6: Mix everything & reduce video length

This step, based on the audio and video track we have, is quite straightforward.

I just add audio and video to an iMovie project and start cutting the video to make it fit with the audio.

That means that you will remove all of the ‘pauses’ you’ve taken while capturing the screen (when you paused your iPhone playback).

You also have the chance to cut page load times, errors and so on.

This is really easy because you’re just deleting chunks of a long video and not importing and mixing multiple takes.

What wastes lots of times is tinkering with the tools: this process is designed to not waste time, and still get a decent result.

Cutting the fat from a single video track takes less time than importing multiple videos, aligning them, and so on.

Also, you have the fixed audio track (which needs not to be edited) as guide. 

To do that I simply use Apple’s iMovie.

Step #7: Add intro/outro images & publish

At this stage, you already have a simple but effective screencast, in which your voice matches the recorded video, without pauses, errors or interruptions.

Just add into/outro images, transitions and any other effect you may like and publish.

iMovie allows you to export and publish in HD to youtube/vimeo etc, so there’s no real challenge here.

Conclusions:

While this process is quite simplistic, I think it’s a good start that allows your product to be better understood by your customer base, especially if you’re a small startup and want to quickly improve adoption of certain features.

Below you have a sample screencast produced using this method:

Should you have suggestions/improvements to this process, feel free to let me know.

Enjoy!

I would love to run a marathon, it’s been a dream of mine for many years now.

Not only running a marathon, but actually becoming a regular runner, and make physical activity a habit in my life.

Over the years I’ve tried to become a runner multiple times and always failed due mainly to these two reasons:

1. Awfully painful shin splints (at some point I could barely walk and had to stop training)
2. Lack of time & control over my schedule

Now I’m ready to give it another go, as I think I overcome the obstacles that made me fail :]

1) I defeated shin splints by learning to run correctly, and to do that I had to go barefoot.

There is tons of literature on running barefoot and the biomechanics behind it, and how that teaches you to run properly and prevent injuries.

If you’re interested read the following books: 

The Complete Book of Barefoot Running: Learn the Scientifically Proven Technique for Improving Your Stride and Reducing Injuries

Born to Run: The Hidden Tribe, the Ultra-Runners, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

It will take time, allow at least three months to re-learn to run properly. It’s like learning a new sport.

2) I can manage my own schedule

Since NiftySchool has taken over my life I do work a lot more, but I’m able to manage my own schedule a lot better. So if I feel like running at midday, there’s no boss or company policy that prevents me from doing it.

I will follow the marathon training program found on The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer and try to stick to it as closely as possible.

You can also find the schedule on my Marathon Trainer Google calendar and follow my progress on RunKeeper.com.

I’m not entirely sure I’ll make it, bad London weather could ruin my willpower or some other kind of injury may affect my schedule. 

I don’t know. But without trying, who really knows?

If you want to join me drop me a note on Twitter.  Take care!

Okay. Today was one of those crazy days that I haven’t had in a looooooong while.

I worked from home in the morning, all business as usual. 

Around 2pm someone knocks on the door. I open the door and see a guy quickly running away. What the hell, I think, while taking a few steps up the street to see who this guy was.

It turns out he was one of those charity guys that go door to door asking for money, no big deal then. Panic over.

I’m about to turn around and get back home when I hear my front door slamming shut behind my back. Holy crap. It must have been the wind or something.

Here I am, locked out of my house in my pijama-like shorts, scrappy intel t-shirt (which says “vanilla wafers: soft and tasty, silicon wafers: crunchy and conductive”) and barefoot.

No money, no keys, no phone. Nothing. And my girlfriend won’t be home before 6pm. And beside that I don’t know exactly where she works and I don’t remember her phone number on the top of my head. No way to get back inside. Not a chance.

What would you have done? 

F**k. I spent about ten minutes swearing and going up and down my street, I was furious. After a while I had to surrender to my feelings and I decided to put the day to good use and do some exercise.

Here we go, so guess what? I run barefoot from Clapham to Richmond park and back, which is, listen carefully,  about 12 miles and a half (almost half a marathon)! Barefoot!

The problem is that I’m not really a runner, and my outfit was, to say the least, unusual for someone working out.

What an experience boys… that’s what happened:

• About 10 kids laughed at me
• A semi-pro runner stopped me and told me I’m crazy
• 6 by-passers suggested me to buy a pair of shoes
• 2 very hot girls openly laughed at me
• A couple of tramps looked at me with true compassion in their eyes

It is actually very cool when you give up all of your expectations and just keep going, and going, and going. In a way it reminded me of how you need to be to start your own business: a bit nuts, willing to raise the bar, and stubborn. 

In the end the day has not been thrown away, as I think I learned a few lessons:

• Running a marathon barefoot actually *is* an achievable goal
• If you run barefoot, your feet do really tell you when to stop. Tough if you’re just half a way through though…
• Doing something utterly crazy will make you feel 100 times more alive than usual! You should definitely do it once in a while!
• Time spent on your own, without any twitter/facebook/email/sms/rss is really rewarding. You can think and reason about all the things you have on your plate, without that feeling of stress and urgency that often clutters your day and your mind.

And that’s it really. And tomorrow will be just another, usual, boring, day.

And now back to blisters mending ;)

When I tell people that I’m running an online business they get all “oooh” and “aaah”.

I’ve got to admit, it may sound really cool.

When I put it nicely, it sounds like this:

Hi I’m Paolo. I have an online, subscription based, business. I work from wherever I want. From my home in London, from shared office space (hubculture), from my house in the italian Dolomites or my place in Sardinia. 

My business makes money even if I don’t get up in the morning, and I don’t have a boss to report to. No performance reviews, no boring meetings, no time wasted doing things that don’t matter.

Almost every person that hears this story goes like “wow, I’d love to work for myself/have my own startup/have my product/etc… that would be terrific!!!”.

The problem is that everyone is attracted to the “glamour” of running an online business, but very, very few see what the other side of the coin is, and would be willing to put the required effort in, and do without their comforts to get there.

To run your own business you have to change your priorities.

For example, when you’re starting up you may have to live very thin for a while. Are you prepared to cook your own meals and not going out for dinner? Are you prepared to postpone your plans of buying that new car/house that you always wanted? Are you ready to deal with customers in China in the early morning and with the ones in California late at night?

Are you willing to use your savings to grow your business or take a loan to pay collaborators? Do you believe in your idea enough to give that security up?

And most of the times, the (unspoken) answer is no.

Being “the boss” means you never switch off. Most of the time you will be thinking about ways to improve your business, or how to solve problem X and Y, how to market better, how to make the life of your customers better.

And you’ll be shit scared.

Because no-one can tell how well you will do. Starting a business is not a safe bet and there’s not much glamour in it.

It is just hard work, day, after day, after day.

That’s the price you pay if you don’t want to show up on Monday mornings and put up a fake professional smile.

So next time you hear one of those fabulous success stories, please don’t start thinking how cool that would be for you. Think instead about all of the sacrifices those people have made, and if you would be prepared to do the same to get what they’ve got.