Tech projects, hobby programming, and geeky thoughts of Paolo Amoroso

Are you recording screencasts? Slow down!

Most instructional and tutorial videos of screencasts have a common flaw that makes them less effective.

The videos zip by over details such as menu and option selections, changes of settings, and manipulation of user interface elements. These key decision points and actions the users can glimpse only briefly are the whole point of a screencast. And they play out fast, too damn fast.

What makes the issue worse is screencasts are often published as animated GIFs, which don’t provide any control over playback speed or pausing.

Instead, let each action remain visible and motionless for at least 3-5 seconds. Leave menus open more, and don’t release the mouse button too early after a click. The screens with a lot of text or elaborate charts should remain motionless for longer.

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