The last quarter of the 2019-2020 school year was spent under quarantine, I had to deliver lessons through asynchronous teaching (prerecorded lessons) in order to give students with a limited internet connection the opportunity to learn at a time that was convenient for them. Initially, I used Screencastify to capture my screen in the explainer video. I found that I could not get through all my content within the 5-minute limit. Often times I had to record two videos then bring them into iMovie to put my movie lesson together. For the hours I toiled away at recording, I wished there was something better. I struggled with compatibility issues of downloading content and finding the file since it did not go directly to my downloads folder. I had to take the extra step to bring it into iMovie, I wondered if there was a better way. Now I have hope. I have test driven a couple of screen capturing apps and here are my thoughts.
VIDEOPROC
I like Videoproc’s simplicity I only tried out the free version. A feature that drew my attention were the options as you open up the app to record. A content creator must decide if they want to record a video, download an existing video, or record your screen?
To use Videoproc it must be downloaded to your computer first. It has the feel of Screencastify in that, a creator can select either a section of a screen or the full screen. The creator only has 5 minutes to record, and you can’t really edit the video. All you can do is trim it. I was not able to get all my content in the restricted 5 minutes.
Unlike Screencastify, Videoproc allows you to choose the quality of your video as low medium or high quality. It also allows you to select the frame rate of your video up to 30. A creator is given the option to capture mouse clicks. Once you’re done recording you can go back and trim your video, add a logo, or text watermark. If you have a written transcript you can upload that as well to play along with your narrative. Before saving the screencast, a creator can also add videos. I was able to add my intro and outro videos, but in the end, Videoproc cut everything to 5 minutes. If you want to go beyond the threshold, you must buy a subscription.
Once the video is rendered, it will save to your device automatically. From there you can upload it to your media of choice. When played the video was of decent quality.
CAMCASTIA
My test drive Camcastia experience was better. In order to use it, download the software first. I had to use the latest version of OS so that it could open. Camcastia allows for up 15 minutes of content. It also allows the creator to decide what quality of the video will be rendered up to 4K. The recorder itself allows the creator to record sections of the screen or the whole screen. Once your done recording, the video is sent automatically to the editor. The editor has the feel of iMovie in that it allows for the importing of other videos and music. The creator can also edit out sections of the video as necessary. It allows the user to add music, transitions, visual and audio effects. It trumps iMovie with features such as highlighting the cursor and adding annotations that can be placed where desired inside the shot.
The subscription allows the creator to download assets such as intros, music, or use premade templates. When I clicked this area I was given the option to download assets from Snagit or Camcastia, which I thought was interesting. With the trial version, you are not able to save an .mp4 or .wav version, instead it saves a .cmproj, which I could only assume is a file that would only work in Camcastia. The trial version has a big watermark in the middle of your whole video and even though I put medium quality, the final product is super pixelated, but at least I was able to get all my 8:30 minutes of content in.
For the work that I have done and the anticipation to deliver asynchronous lessons this coming school year, if money wasn’t an issue, I would ditch Screencastify for Camcastia this school year. I think I’d be able to record my screen, add my intro and outro, add highlighted comments, and edit out bloopers efficiently.
Have you tried these or other screencast apps? Let me know your thoughts.
References
[OFFICIAL] VideoProc - One-Stop Video Editing Software for Windows Mac. https://www.videoproc.com/.
TechSmith Camtasia: Screen Recorder & Video Editor. https://www.techsmith.com/video-editor.html.
Screencastify. https://www.screencastify.com/.
I know a few other alternatives, I can tell you about them if that would be of interest. For a while I couldn't decide on a screen recording software for mac, then I started looking for more information about it, I came across https://www.movavi.com/support/how-to/mac/how-to-record-screen-with-audio-on-mac.html and tried many of the ways that were presented on this site. So far I've settled on Screen Capture, as screencastify is not really convenient for me.