A showcase video is a short video introduction to and demo of a particular tool or system, including its main features and how to use it with one or more typical use cases.
Since showcase videos are often shown as part of a presentation or in class, the font size needs to be much larger than usual, so that people in the back of the room can still see.
Either in the application itself or system-wide, (temporarily) set the font size(s) to at least double the usual size (200% scaling).
To ensure a neutral background for the recording, (temporarily) set the screen background to a solid dark blue-gray (say #123252). Certainly do not have a garish background image as a background to your video review.
In Windows 10, right-click on desktop → Personalise → Background → Solid colour → Custom colour → choose a dark blue-gray (say #123252).
To ensure a neutral background for the recording, (temporarily) hide all desktop icons.
In Windows 10, right-click on desktop → View → Show desktop icons.
Try out your review presentation several times in advance, so you know exactly what you are doing.
Use the following video settings:
| Container: | MP4 |
| Output Video Resolution: | 1920×1080 (FullHD) [or 1080×1920] |
| Frame Rate: | 25 |
| Codec: | H.264 |
| Rate Control: | VBR (Variable Bit Rate) |
| Bit Rate: | 5000 Kbps |
Use the following audio settings:
| Channels: | Stereo |
| Codec: | AAC (= mp4a) |
| Sample Rate: | 48000 Hz |
| Bit Rate: | 192 Kbps |
| Bits per Sample: | 32 |
Make sure the cursor is displayed and recorded when a pointer device is used. Displaying mouse trails (which some software makes possible) is probably overkill. When recording on a touch device, it can be useful to visually display touch events.
A showcase video typically lasts between 10 and 15 minutes.
Some free or trial versions of software leave a watermark (visible imprint) on the video that is recorded. Do not use recording software which leaves a watermark in the video!
Do not leave the user interface of the recording software visible in your screen capture. There is always a way to hide it. If you have to start and stop the recording software, do that well in advance, so that it is not included in any video clips.
Use a good microphone. A headset microphone often produces better sound than a webcam mic or built-in mic. A professional streaming microphone is the best.
Make a test recording. Make sure the audio is clear and loud enough. Project it with a projector and make sure people at the back of the room can still see and hear everything.
Explain what the viewer is seeing with an audio track in English. Some people prefer to speak directly as they record. Others prefer to lay down an audio commentary separately later on.
In class, the audio commentary can be muted if not required, but it is there for people who watch the video outside of class.
Start the video with a static title frame which lasts for 3 seconds. It should contain the following information:
* I ask that you place your showcase video(s) under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. If you do not wish to do so, simply omit the corresponding sentence.
For example, containing the following information:
Diamond Tree Testing
Showcase Video
20 Nov 2023
Information Architecture and Web Usability WS 2023/2024
Group 2
Using Diamond 2.0.0-e5b759b with Chrome 104.0.5112.102 on Windows 10 Pro v 21H2.
Copyright 2023 by the author(s), except as otherwise noted.
This work is placed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.
Feel free to style the fonts and sizes as you see fit.
When showing what the tool can do, do not open every menu and explain every button. Explain the main features and then show what the tool can do using one or more examples.
When showing what the tool can do, do not use the standard example or dataset provided by the tool or system. Illustrate the system using your own (local) example(s) and dataset(s).
Make sure to show what a dataset looks like by displaying it in a spreadsheet window, before importing it into the tool.
For screen recording tools, read my guide to Session Capture.
I recommend using OBS Studio. Read my guide to Using OBS Studio.
For video editing tools, read my guide to Video Editing.