3d Screencasting: Episode VI – Ultra Cool Shadows & Motion Blur

Shadows are the sizzle to the steak of your 3d lighting and camera moves. They add elegance and style, truly creating the illusion of depth and space. You definitely want them in your 3d screencasts and you want them to be bad azz. Speaking of illusions, we really want to sell the reality of our window’s animation and that means applying some subtle tweaks and gloss in the form of motion blur and easing. You’ll be amazed at how big a difference these spit and polish techniques make to our finished product. Let’s get the lead out and learn how in the final installment of this 3d screencasting series!

Video runs 3:57.

If you’d like to use the assets in this tutorial and view a completed After Effects sample project you can download the files here.

3d Screencasting Episodes

1. Episode I – It Ain’t Your Daddy’s Screencasting
2. Episode II – Rotoscope Our Problems Away
3. Episode III – Building a Screenshot / Screen Video Sandwich
4. Episode IV – The Magic of Inverted Masks
5. Episode V – Killer Animated Windows
6. Episode VI – Ultra Cool Shadows & Motion Blur

3d Screencasting: Episode V – Killer Animated Windows

Tired of putting your viewers to sleep with flat, boring screencasts? It’s time to change that by bringing the screen to life with 3d animated windows. I mean, who can resist windows that whiz out of the desktop and then get blown away? Well, today’s the day when all of our rotoscoping and pre-comping work pays off. We’re finally going to fly that window right off the desktop and straight at the audience. Put that in your pipe and smoke on it all you boring 2d screencasters! Enough chit chat. It’s time to get some learnin’ on!

If you’d like to use the assets in this tutorial and view a completed After Effects sample project you can download the files here.

3d Screencasting Episodes

1. Episode I – It Ain’t Your Daddy’s Screencasting
2. Episode II – Rotoscope Our Problems Away
3. Episode III – Building a Screenshot / Screen Video Sandwich
4. Episode IV – The Magic of Inverted Masks
5. Episode V – Killer Animated Windows
6. Episode VI – Ultra Cool Shadows & Motion Blur

3d Screencasting: Episode IV – The Magic of Inverted Masks

If we’re going to pull off this 3d screencasting gig we’ll need to clean up our screen recording footage and make our 3d window disappear. It’s going to be animating and exploding after all, which means we can’t have a copy of it just hanging around on the desktop all the time. That calls for some magic. The kind that would make Harry Potter proud.

Now, I know what you’re thinking–this cat’s gone off the deep end. He’s read too many fantasy adventure novels and has swallowed the whole magical powers bit hook, line and sinker. You’re right about that last part, but in reality working with After Effects is akin to being handed Harry Potter’s wand, and the rotoscoping / masking techniques you’re learning in this series are a Defence Against the Dark Arts crash course. In 3d Screencasting Episode IV we’re going to be dashing around our screen footage, inverting masks and disappearing windows. It’s not learning. It’s magic! ;-)

Without further ado, it’s time to climb aboard my little screencasting wizards, we’re going for a magic carpet ride!

If you’d like to use the assets in this tutorial and view a completed After Effects sample project you can download the files here.

3d Screencasting Episodes

1. Episode I – It Ain’t Your Daddy’s Screencasting
2. Episode II – Rotoscope Our Problems Away
3. Episode III – Building a Screenshot / Screen Video Sandwich
4. Episode IV – The Magic of Inverted Masks
5. Episode V – Killer Animated Windows
6. Episode VI – Ultra Cool Shadows & Motion Blur

3d Screencasting: Episode III – Building a Screenshot / Screen Video Sandwich

Hungry for killer screencasting chops? You’ve come to the right place. In 3d Screencasting: Episode III we’re going to combine our transparent Snagit 10 screenshots and Camtasia Studio video footage to create an independent window that can be animated in 3d space. I like to to think of it as making an open face sandwich–the Snagit screenshots are the bread and the screen video is the yummy content that sits on top.

To build this sandwich, we’ll use the rotoscoping skills we acquired in Episode II to trim away screen video footage that we don’t want and expose our transparent window frame. Once we’re done editing we’ll pre-compose our layers together into a single composition (layer) that can be easily repositioned, scaled, or exploded (hells to the yah, as the kids in here in the States say). Whet your appetite and dig in!

If you’d like to use the assets in this tutorial and view a completed After Effects sample project you can download the files here.

3d Screencasting Episodes

1. Episode I – It Ain’t Your Daddy’s Screencasting
2. Episode II – Rotoscope Our Problems Away
3. Episode III – Building a Screenshot / Screen Video Sandwich
4. Episode IV – The Magic of Inverted Masks
5. Episode V – Killer Animated Windows
6. Episode VI – Ultra Cool Shadows & Motion Blur

3d Screencasting: Episode II – Rotoscope Our Problems Away

We all make mistakes. Right? No worries, in 3d Screencasting: Episode II we dive head first into After Effects and learn how to just rotoscope our problems away. We’ll take a fullscreen Snagit screenshot and a Camtasia Studio screen recording and fix the discrepancies between them. It’s a freaking tight little technique you’ll want to hang on your screencasting tool belt immediately. Let’s get ‘er done!

If you’d like to use the assets in this tutorial and view a completed After Effects sample project you can download the files here.

3d Screencasting Episodes

1. Episode I – It Ain’t Your Daddy’s Screencasting
2. Episode II – Rotoscope Our Problems Away
3. Episode III – Building a Screenshot / Screen Video Sandwich
4. Episode IV – The Magic of Inverted Masks
5. Episode V – Killer Animated Windows
6. Episode VI – Ultra Cool Shadows & Motion Blur

3d Screencasting: Episode I – It Ain’t Your Daddy’s Screencasting

How hard is it to pay attention to the typical screencast? How quickly does your mind begin to wander? At what point do you give up and open a new browser tab or just turn the video off completely?

To date, screencasting has been very utilitarian in practice and application. Cinematography,the art and craft of visual storytelling, is largely eschewed in favor of faithful description. The result is, all too often, a structureless, 2d, static point-of-view video that fails to emotionally connect and provides little to no visual stimulation. It’s a recipe for boredom. We need to change this stale, tired and lazy approach to screencasting and we need to change it now!

What if we could give our screencasts a sense of depth, bring windows, panels and other UI elements to life in a 3d like environment? We can and should give the screen a sense of energy and excitement for our viewers. In fact, it’s imperative for screencasts to visually stimulate the brains of the people watching them. Today, more than ever, with all the distractions and opportunities that exist on the Internet you must give people a reason to keep on watching.

If you’re interested in learning how to shake things up with crazy cool 3d screencasting techniques stay tuned for the next six screencasting episodes on my blog. In part one, Snagit Product Manager Tiffany Wood demonstrates how to use Snagit 10 to grab the transparent Aero windows we’ll use to begin creating 3d objects. Hold on to your hats screencasting nerds–we’re going to bring the fun. ;-)

If you’d like to use the assets in this tutorial and view a completed After Effects sample project you can download the files here.

3d Screencasting Episodes

1. Episode I – It Ain’t Your Daddy’s Screencasting
2. Episode II – Rotoscope Our Problems Away
3. Episode III – Building a Screenshot / Screen Video Sandwich
4. Episode IV – The Magic of Inverted Masks
5. Episode V – Killer Animated Windows
6. Episode VI – Ultra Cool Shadows & Motion Blur