Gabe Jacobs Blog

Introduction

Once in a while, an app comes around that you can’t help but look at and say, “Wow” (mentally of course). An example of this would be Quicksliver. When I realized how fast and lightweight Quicksilver was it made me say, “Wow.”These are apps that change your workflow dramatically in a beneficial way. Apps like these are the best in their class. ScreenFlow by VaraSoftware fits into this category. ScreenFlow allows you to record professional screencasts with ease. Not only can ScreenFlow make screencasts at a very high frame rate, allowing you to record all the nice motions your mac makes (dock magnification, expose, movies), but it also has an amazingly powerful editor built in. This is what makes ScreenFlow the best in its class.

ScreenFlow Recording vs. Other Screencasting Apps

ScreenFlow records screencasts very similarly to its competitors. You can start recording by either making a hotkey or pressing “Record” from the menu bar.

From there, you can choose the monitor you would like to record, the audio input, etc. You can even simultaneously record the video from your iSight camera or DV camera so your audience can see you in the lower right corner. Once you have selected the way you want your screencast to record, it counts down and records just like any other screencasting app. There are plenty of apps out there that can do screencasts by them selves just as well as ScreenFlow. My favorite used to be ScreenFlick by Araelium. I also really like Snapz Pro X by Ambrosia. These two record great screencasts, but the problem is, you can’t edit them. Once you are done recording, you have to import the file into iMovie and then edit. iMovie lacks a lot of the editing features that are essential in making good screencasts. For example, iMovie has no feature for zooming and panning. Often your screen is so big, that no one can see what you are clicking. Zooming and panning fixes this issue, and ScreenFlow has it. Another example is putting a spotlight on your mouse. Dimming your whole screen except the circle around your mouse really helps when your are trying to make it really clear where your mouse is. This is another feature that iMovie lacks, that ScreenFlow has. ScreenFlow is the ultimate editor for your screencasts.

Editing in ScreenFlow

After you’re done recording your screencast, the clip is automatically imported into the ScreenFlow editor. There, you will find a timeline familiar to iMovie’s. You can already probably notice ScreenFlow’s amazing UI. There are 5 tabs on the right side that is where you will be doing most of the editing. There is a tab for Video Properties, Audio Properties, Screen Recording Properties, Callout Action and Media in your document. You will probably be spending most of your time in the Video Properties tab and the Callout Actions tab. ScreenFlow makes editing your screencasts really simple, but you are going to have to learn it first. VaraSoftware has some great tutorials on their site which are really helpful in learning the basics. There were three that I thought were especially helpful. The first is for Making a Video Zoom & Pan, the second is for Creating a Window Callout, and the third is for Exporting with Motion Blur. VaraSoftware also has a simple video introduction on their homepage, which you have probably already looked at by now.

If you have looked at these two tutorials by now, you can already see how easy it is to make amazing effects with your screencast.

You should also notice how fast this can all happen. There is no loading time or buffering time before or after you apply these effects. Also, what you see is what you get. Those 2D and 3D effects are exactly what you are going to see when you export the video. There are some smaller features in ScreenFlow that are not in the tutorials as of now. Under the Screen Recording Properties tab, there are many options for your mouse and keyboard. For your mouse, you can enlarge the pointer, add a sound and a radar effect on clicking (Click here to see a demo of the radar effect). Things like enlarging the pointer required separate applications like Boinx’ Mousepose, but with Screenflow it’s all built-in.

Exporting in ScreenFlow

Exporting your screencast is as just as easy on ScreenFlow than any other screencasting app. You can choose from many present such as Web - High, which will encode in high quality, high frame rate h.264 codec. You can also customize these presets as much as your want.

First Release

By far the best thing about ScreenFlow is that it is the first release. This app is already amazing and there have been no updates. I am positive that there will be some amazing updates with some amazing new features. The only thing that I can think of that would make this app better is a feature that iMovie has, titles. I find narrating screencasts really annoying and boring. I like it when I can cut the screencasts, say something and then go back into the screencast. Sometimes I also like to overlay the text on top of the video. I’m sure a lot of people will demand this feature and it will come with the next update of ScreenFlow. Also, if you are used to iMovie, ScreenFlow is missing a lot of hand keyboard shortcuts, such as hitting backspace to delete a clip. This isn’t nearly as important as titles, but again I’m sure it will come in a future update. As far as stabilization goes, it needs a little work. It crashed twice on me, but it was never in the middle of doing something important.

Conclusion

ScreenFlow is the best in its class of screencastings apps. It allows you to make professional video tutorials within minutes and if that’s what you want to do, this app is right for you. ScreenFlow is Leopard only, since it really takes advantage of the new Core Animating that came with Leopard. It has a price tag of $99, which is not cheap, but this developer surely deserves every penny. He created a one of a kind app that is going to create a ton of buzz because it is that good. If you are at all interested in making some screencasts, I suggest you go to the download page of ScreenFlow and check it out. Even if you are not into screencasts, I doubt you can stop yourself from saying “Wow”

I created a little demo of ScreenFlow for you guys here. It basically shows off the zooming and pan feature and the 3D swirls and twirls. Note: I made this is 10 minutes and it exported in about 1 min. Also, while I was writing this, TUAW featured ScreenFlow…this developer is going to make a lot of cash. Great job!

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<a href="http://www.gabejacobsblog.com/screenflow-setting-the-bar-for-screencasting-apps">ScreenFlow: Setting The Bar For Screencasting Apps</a>