Screencasts are videos of software with a voice-over. As a freelancer I use them to save time and communicate more effectively with my clients. You can even empower your client to communicate more clearly with you by training them to make their own screencasts.

Let’s take a look at how you can use your time more efficiently, give you client more confidence in your work and help them to pass knowledge to you more effectively.

### Avoid progress meetings

Some clients need frequent progress reports, generally they like to see results rather than just hear about what is coming soon. The live demos are also useful for a client as they get a better idea of how the finished product will look at work. The downside is that you often need to run a meeting which costs you time and can often be unbillable (this can be painful when you count the time for preparation and travel too).

What if you could save time by sending them a 5 minute progress video which takes you just 30 minutes to record and send? A steady stream of progress videos saves you meeting time and keeps the client just as informed. You can’t cut out all of your meetings but you will reduce their frequency.

These progress videos can help you raise questions — you can show how something works right now and question the alternative approaches. The client can easily answer by writing an email or giving you a call — an added benefit is that you keep the client to task as you’re dealing with single issues at a time.

### Avoid group meetings

If you’re working as part of a team then another benefit of a video is that everyone can watch the video at a convenient time — this is a lot easier to organise than a group meeting. The videos can be re-watched and they form a history of progress for the client. If the client has to report to others then they can use the videos as evidence of progress, empowering your employer is always a good thing!

### Training the client to communicate to you with screencasts

A further benefit of screencasts is that you can train your clients to create their own to use when communicating with you. Imagine changing the horrid situation when a client tries to describe graphics, animations and processes over a voice-only phone call and instead they can record a walk-through in their the demo product or a competitor’s site as they explain what they need.

Getting the client to demonstrate bugs is a wonderful use of screencasts. They’re showing you how to replicate the issue (and they’re forced to figure out the replicable steps rather than giving you a vague description over the phone!) so you can easily verify the problem. Once they’re comfortable with screencasts they’ll know that if you’ve seen the bug, you’re more likely to know what the problem is and how to solve it which gives them more confidence in you.

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## How do I make my first screencast?

### There are two approaches to screencasting:

#### Create quick and simple videos

This should be your first approach if you’re new to the subject. There are a couple of web tools that make this very easy.

#### Use desktop software

The added benefit here is that you can edit the recording afterwards. This takes longer but gives you a far more professional result.

### Web tools to record a screencast

The easiest tool to start with is [TechSmith’s Jing](http://www.jingproject.com/). Jing runs on Windows and Mac, it is free and it takes just a few minutes to get started. TechSmith also offer free video hosting (which can be private) so after recording your video you just send a web link to your client and ‘it just works’ in their browser.

Recently I gave a quick talk on “[Screencasting in 7 minutes with Jing](http://thescreencastinghandbook.com/blog/screencasting-in-7-minutes-with-jing-workshop-at-barcamp-brighton-4/) — it shows you how to get started, what the result looks like and includes tips for effectively making your first videos.

Two other relevant tools are [ScreenToaster](http://www.screentoaster.com/) and [Screenr](http://screenr.com/). Both offer their own hosting and are free, ScreenToaster runs on Linux too and Screenr specialises in linking your video out to Twitter (which makes it great for recording short public demos and pushing them out to your readers!).

### Desktop tools to record a screencast

On Windows the main tool is [Camtasia Studio](http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp) — it has a 30 day trial and then is quite pricey but it has many features and a powerful editor. If you’re going to screencast frequently then it is a sensible purchase.

On the Mac the main tool is [ScreenFlow](http://www.telestream.net/screen-flow/overview.htm) — again there’s a 30 day trial and a very reasonable price for the full package.

Both of the above tools have powerful editors, they let you record multiple scenes and import other assets (e.g. images, sounds, animations and intro and exit scenes). Getting through the learning curve for both will take you an afternoon, after that you’ll be ready to produce your first edited screencast.

### Other tools to use

For a longer list of tools see my [comprehensive list of screencasting software](http://thescreencastinghandbook.com/screencast-software/). It lists not only the recording tools but many useful additions like audio editors and sizing tools.

### Getting started quickly with The Screencasting Handbook

The Screencasting Handbook

I’m the author of [The Screencasting Handbook](http://thescreencastinghandbook.com/), the 128 page PDF is packed with 4 years of my own professional experience from building [ShowMeDo](http://showmedo.com/) and [ProCasts](http://procasts.co.uk/). The goal is to lay out everything you need to quickly and confidently plan, record, produce and distribute your own screencasts. The Handbook is aimed at freelancers, teachers and marketing professionals covering both quick videos and in-depth productions. Visit the [blog](http://thescreencastinghandbook.com/blog/) to find a lot of tips and links to useful software.

An added bonus of the Handbook is the free [Screencasting Google Group](http://groups.google.com/group/thescreencastinghandbook) — over 130 screencasters are a member of this Group. Feel free to join and ask questions, we’re all happy to help you move forwards.

###### By [Ian Ozsvald](/author/ian-ozsvald) — author of [The Screencasting Handbook](http://thescreencastinghandbook.com/)