Chris Beiting is a talented and professional screencaster. In fact, we’re proud to mention he was the talent behind our four ScreenFlow 2.0 teaser screencasts: 2D & 3D Transitions, Video Timeline Features, Audio Features, and YouTube Export.  I have asked Chris to share some tips on his screencasting process and how he uses GarageBand with ScreenFlow to create the audio for his screencasts.

by Chris Beiting

It seems to me, one of the most overlooked things in screencasting is also one of the most important — your audio.

Screencasts can provide valuable training and information, but that can be lost if the audio quality is lackluster. I’m going to go over a few things that I’ve learned, and also some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your screencast projects.

1)  Use a script - With ScreenFlow you can record your microphone/video camera at the same time, however I’ve found personally I can achieve better audio if I split the voiceover and the actual screen capture into two different things. The first thing I do when recording a screencast is write out exactly what I am going to say. Having a script to read from will avoid awkward pauses in your voice over and also eliminate the dreaded “UM…”  It is important to note that you must read the script differently than reading anything else. Be sure to use inflection while you read. Reading like you are explaining something to someone gives the impression you’re not really reading off a page. I recommend practicing a few times while recording so you can hear what you sound like reading aloud.

2)  Get an external microphone – Using your built-in microphone on your Mac will result in a pretty low quality recording. Investing in even a USB gaming headset like the Logitech ClearChat for $30 is a good choice. Personally I use the RODE Podcaster USB Microphone. It’s a little more expensive but the quality is outstanding, it’s a very solid and heavy microphone. I recommend the RODE because it also allows you to plug headphones into the microphone itself. You can monitor yourself without the latency that USB sometimes has. For reference here’s the difference between using the laptop microphone, and my RODE Podcaster

Built-in Microphone

USB Microphone

3)  Watch the pop – This really applies to higher end microphones… but I thought it would be important to talk about anyway. When recording audio there’s a phenomenon that happens when people say things that have the letter “p” in them. Saying the word “People” into a microphone can sometimes come out with loud pop in place of pronouncing the “P sound.” This is fixed with something called a pop filter. Now, you can buy one — for around $40 or you can make one for about $6 — the easiest way is to follow these directions – word of warning, it does involve you having to buy a pair of nylons, can be slightly embarrassing, but oh so worth it. Here’s the difference in sound:

No Pop Filter

With Pop Filter

4)  Record into GarageBand – Every Macintosh comes with an outstanding piece of software, GarageBand. This simple and easy to use audio editing system will allow you to create great sounding recordings. GarageBand will work with your notebook, or iMac’s built-in microphone, but again I don’t recommend it. Plugging a USB microphone into GarageBand will allow you to record directly with it. When recording be sure to turn off the metronome. While you read your script feel free to try each paragraph a few times to make sure you get the best take. If you mess up a line… stop, and reread it. You can always edit out the bad parts when you are finished with the recording. In addition to editing you can also place effects on your vocals. What I like to do is use a special setting in GarageBand:

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5)  Sync it all up – Once I have the voiceover recorded and ready to go, I export it out to an mp4 file. Now when I am ready to record my ScreenFlow I open that file up in Quicktime — then I start ScreenFlow, hit record — then hit play on my Quicktime file. This allows me to basically follow along with my script on the screen. Once the ScreenFlow is recorded I bring the mp4 file into ScreenFlow, and then adjust the timing of the screen capture to match the flow of the recorded audio.

As you can see it takes a little longer to record your audio separately, but I think the results you get are worth it. Feel free to play with settings in GarageBand to get your perfect setting. Good luck, and I can’t wait to see what you all create!

Editor’s note: for a little different take, Greg over at Blue Mango Learning Systems just posted a similar article on his process of using GarageBand with ScreenFlow: Improving Audio in ScreenFlow using GarageBand.