Have you noticed the influx of really killer videos out there lately? They’re incredible. From highly stylized and produced clips with entire teams in the background making the magic happen to one-(wo)man shows capturing their presence in their home offices, videos are hot…. and they aren’t going away.
Video ads are even taking off – the conversion rates on Video Ad Posts in Facebook are often less than $0.02 per click! Unreal. We’re in a detached and digital age that has left people craving some real connection. And their finding that connection now, with video.
One of my favorite ways to share tutorials and trainings is by video. The savvy members over in It’s Not Complicated got a bunch of new videos this week to play with and learn from. One was even a video about making videos (whaaaaaaat)! Now, I understand fully that we are all working with different technology, different budgets, and different skill sets. This makes offering tutorials tricky. So, after much deliberation with my team (mostly my VP of Communications, Bruce the Boxer, who is an incredible listener, by the way, and never disagrees with me) I pulled together the best resources for a variety of prices/skills/operating systems so you can get in on the video fun!
For reference, there are 3 $ price points below: $= free-$50 $$= $75-$200 $$$= $225+
For Mac
$ QuickTime
Often overlooked, QuickTime is one heck of a free tool that comes right on your Mac ready to roll, and is super user-friendly. You can record front facing camera movies, audio only, or screen capture videos with this bad boy. You aren’t able to edit with QuickTime so you’ll want to be sure to do one solid shot.
$$ ScreenFlow
ScreenFlow is my favorite video editing tool by far. You can record from a camera, audio, and screen capture, edit your videos with incredible detail, add music in the background, craft intro and outro clips and tack them on, layer multiple tracks on top of one another, add text, use your logo, and more. There’s an entire lesson on the basics of ScreenFlow inside It’s Not Complicated. You can grab it for just $30 by joining us (and you’ll get access to our community of brilliant business owners just like you + our group call with moi!).
$$$ Hire a Videographer
Okay so this isn’t a DIY option but there really isn’t a high price point choice when it comes to video with a Mac. The folks at Apple designed their computers for graphic loving, high tech, designer-minded peeps so there are lots of great low price point options. If you want your videos produced for you, finding a local video team who already has the tools and programs they need to make you shine is you next best bet.
For PC
$ Screencast-o-matic
At $15/year for a pro account, Screencast-o-matic allows you to have basic screen and voice capture with the occasional bubble, box, or text callout as an overlay. Pretty robust for that price point. Depending on your video needs and abilities, this option might suit you just fine. If not, on to the next level.
$$ Movavi Screen Capture Studio
Marketing itself as “ScreenFlow for PC”, Movavi has many of the same features that ScreenFlow offers. You have the ability with Movavi to create screencasts, video recordings, and audios, and do some pretty detailed editing of it all.
$$$ Camtasia Studio
The PC peeps really love the term “studio”, huh? Camtasia is considered the Mac Daddy of PC tools for video recording and editing. As the Screencasting Wizard himself, Mel Aclaro, puts it, “But one of the key features that I think gives a lot of power to tools like Camtasia over Screencast-O-Matic is in their capacity for you to have many more LAYERS (“tracks”) in your screencasting project. This multi-track capability gives you the ability to layer video objects, images and audio clips over your main presentation and with much more flexibility to change different properties for each of those objects independently of any other object.”
