Creating Machinima using Camtasia

Transcription

1 Creating Machinima using Camtasia Camtasia Studio is a screen video capture software developed by TechSmith. Camtasia is mostly used to create video tutorials demonstrating how to perform tasks on your computer or to create machinima (video in virtual environments). Use this tutorial as a guide for completing the Machinima in Second Life. The tutorial covers the following concepts: Creating a Title Slide Importing media Camera tools in Second Life Screen recording using Camtasia Voice Narration Video editing Additional Video Editing Audio editing Publishing You do not need to follow these in order, but it is easiest if you have an idea of what you want your machinima to look like prior to starting it. Compile the media first: screenshots, pictures, graphics, music, and videos; after, begin the editing process. If you do not have a new document as pictured below, click on File and New Project to begin and immediately save your project. Creating Machinima using Camtasia 1

2 Creating a Title Slide More > Title Clips > Add Title Clip Your slideshow should begin with a title slide stating what your project is called and your avatar s name. Near the bottom of the screen is a more button. If you click on that several options will appear in a dropdown list. Click on Title Clips. 1. Click the More button 2. Click on Title Clips 3. Click Add Title Clip 4. Choose 1280 x 720 dimension since we are uploading to YouTube 5. Edit your Title Clip like you would in Microsoft Word Importing Media Import Media > Select screenshots, pictures, graphics Creating Machinima using Camtasia 2

3 The screenshots, pictures, graphics, and audio that you import into Camtasia are stored into the Clip Bin for the project you are currently working on. To import media, find the button near the top of Camtasia that says import media. From here you can select items individually or multiply by holding down the following keys: CTRL > left click multiple items in the same folder This works best if your items are scattered in a folder. SHIFT > left click multiple items in a row in the same folder This works best if your items are all in a row. Camera Tools in Second Life If you are going to record in Second Life you need to use the camera tools. Without utilizing them the camera will be fixated on the back of your avatar s body during the entire recording and it will look unprofessional. User Interface Residents of Second Life usually record two types of videos. The first are tutorials which require a full screen recording that includes the UI (user interface). The second type of recording is a machinima, which is what this tutorial covers. When recording machinima you should NOT record the UI. By holding down ALT, CTRL, and ESC you should disable the UI. Other important keys ALT + CTRL + ESC ALT + CTRL + LEFT CLICK + MOUSE MOVEMENT ALT + LEFT CLICK + MOUSE MOVEMENT ALT + CTRL + SHIFT + MOUSE MOVEMENT Toggles UI Rotates camera Zooms camera in or out Pans camera Screen Recording using Camtasia Creating Machinima using Camtasia 3

4 With Second Life open click the record my screen button at the top of Camtasia. This will open up Camtasia Recorder. Then, click on Capture and select lock to application. This should allow the recording screen to fixate on Second Life so that you will not record the task bar on your computer. 1. With Second Life open click record my screen 2. Click Capture 3. Select lock to application 4. Click the red rec button 5. Click F10 to stop recording 6. Click Save and Edit or Delete 7. After saving your video will be placed in the timeline by Camtasia Voice Narration If you plan on narrating your machinima you can do this while you are filming with Camtasia Recorder or during the editing process. Either way you choose it will not make a difference; it is just a personal preference on which you find easier. To add voice narration to your machinima using Camtasia Recorder leave the settings as is because Camtasia automatically enables audio recording: (Be sure your microphone is plugged in!) To add voice narration to your machinima while editing first click on the more button and select voice narration. The easiest way to record your voice is to leave the settings as is and later alter your screenshots based on the length of your audio. Creating Machinima using Camtasia 4

5 1. Click more 2. Click voice narration 3. Click start recording at the top of Camtasia 4. Record 5. Click stop recording when finished 6. Save your audio narration Camtasia will automatically place your narration into Audio 2 after you save the track. Video Editing After your videos are in Camtasia you can begin editing them by cutting or splitting them. The main tool we will use while editing the videos is the marker. If for any reason your marker becomes separated and is causing annoyance double left click the gray part. Cutting To cut or trim your video left click and drag the marker to the area you want to remove. Then, click and drag either the green or red square in the direction you want to remove. The highlighted area will be the space that is cut from the video. Once the area is highlighted right click over the gray marker and choose cut or use the cut button. 1. Move marker to location 2. Left click and drag green or red marker in direction Creating Machinima using Camtasia 5

6 3. Right click and select cut, or use the cut button. Splitting To split your video in half left click and drag marker to the area you want to split. Then, right click the gray marker and select split. People typically split their videos when they want to add pictures or title slides between sections. However, if you are splitting be sure that your video and audio are linked together. If it is not linked and you split to add a picture in the middle this will happen: Creating Machinima using Camtasia 6

7 I split my video where the marker is placed, but because I did not have my video and audio linked, the picture altered my video, but not my audio. This is what a correct split should look like with video and audio linked: After moving the picture in the middle of my split, both the video and audio adjust appropriately based on the length of my picture. Additional Video Editing Callouts and transitions can be added to your slideshow to enhance it. It is recommended that you use transitions in your slideshow and callouts when necessary. By utilizing these features your slideshow will look more professional and flow smoother. Callouts Add text in ready-made shapes like arrows, rectangles, and speech bubbles to visually communicate information. Customize fill color, line width, transparency, and other effects. Other styles include blur, spotlight, highlight, hotspots, keystrokes, and more. To use a callout left click and drag the marker to the area you want the callout to be placed. Then, left click the callouts button above the timeline. The preformatted shapes should be enough to work with and offer a variety of possibilities. You can edit the callout both in the white space and on your video screen to change the size. Once you place the callout it is not permanently glued to the location. By left clicking the callout on your timeline and dragging it the callout can be placed at a different location. Creating Machinima using Camtasia 7

8 Transitions Add a visual effect between screenshots to indicate the passage of time, a change in location, or to create a smooth flow between screenshots. Creating Machinima using Camtasia 8

9 To use a transition left click the transitions button. Then, left click a transition and drag it between two screenshots to include it in the final slideshow. If you want to view the transition before selecting it double left click a transition and click play to see an example. Zoom-n-Pan By using the zoom-n-pan feature in Camtasia you can zoom in on specific locations of screenshots to call attention to that area. To zoom into an area first move the marker to the area you wish to alter. Then, click on the zoom-n-pan button and click add keyframe. Now you can pull on the white circles surrounding your screenshot on the left section of the page to alter how much you want to zoom in. Audio Editing Click and drag audio from Clip Bin to timeline After you import audio or music into your clip bin you can left click and drag it onto the timeline near the bottom of Camtasia. Audio Options Creating Machinima using Camtasia 9

10 By double clicking on the audio track several options appear in the white space that allows you to edit the audio. To make things easier on yourself just use the editing tools on the bottom and ignore the global settings on top. Camtasia will automatically adjust the volume for you if click on volume up or down. Camtasia will also put a fade into your audio if you utilize their options. However, for the best results use audio points to control exactly how long of a fade you want or how quiet you want the audio to be. Audio Points As soon as you place audio onto your timeline there will be an audio point at the beginning of the audio track. To add another audio point to your slideshow click and drag the marker to your desired location and click on the add audio point button in the white space. A small green dot will appear at the location. From here you can left click the green dot to increase or decrease the audio. For example: Fade In: The audio starts off quieter and gradually becomes louder. Required points: 2 Drag the first point toward the bottom and place the second point at desired location. Silence: Creating Machinima using Camtasia 10

11 The audio stops for a period of time. Required points: 4 Drag the second and third point down toward the bottom at desired location. Audio points are necessary if you plan on using music in your machinima. Because you will be using two tracks you need to decrease the volume of your musical track during the time you are speaking. For example, if I was using Audio 1 for voice narration and Audio 2 for music my timeline may look like this: Audio 1 is my voice narration and Audio 2 is my music. My music fades in, but as soon as my voice narration starts I lowered the volume on Audio 2 so that my voice is louder than the music. Additionally, when there is a pause in my voice narration I can increase the volume of my music. This method is a lot more difficult if you are inexperienced with Camtasia. However, if you wish to include music to your machinima I would recommend just lowering the entire audio track so that the music is quieter than your narration to prevent unnecessary headaches. Publishing Once you are finished working on your machinima click on the produce and share button at the top of the screen. There will be a drop down menu asking how to produce your video. 1. Select Share to YouTube 2. Log into your YouTube account 3. Fill out information about your video After you complete the information your slideshow will begin uploading. Once finished your default internet browser will open with your slideshow. The URL is what you will submit as your assignment. Creating Machinima using Camtasia 11