[ubuntu-uk] How I made the screencasts

[Alan Pope]

On Sat, Nov 11, 2006 at 11:39:55PM +0000, Andy wrote:
> you seem to have a lot of qemu images, first you create 1, then copy
> it and make read only.

Yes, that becomes the master image which I backup. The reason for that is that in the past I 
have made changes to the master which are difficult to undo to get back to a flat install.

> then you say you make another copy for each demo
> Do you delete this after making the demo?

Yes. I'll add that point.

> if so why not just use the
> original image with -snapshot (this prevents it from writing to the
> disk image unless you issue the command to do so)?
> 

Yeah, you could do that I guess. I find it easier to just have separate images for different 
tasks. I have quite a bit of disk space, but if space was a premium then by all means use the 
snapshot method.

> I couldn't see any mention of the FPS, did you use the default 10fps?
> 

the default is 24 in xvidcap for MPEG2 here. That's what I use. It frequently doesn't manage 
that if there's a lot going on on-screen. When you finish recording you get a report (I'll post 
some screenshots in a bit) that tells you what the target frame rate was and what the achieved 
rate was. I usually get about 20-22 fps. I guess that could be lowered.

> You also mention making the intro and end bits, where would one find
> 'ubuntu-uk-titles.odp', and can anyone use them?

Ah, that was in one of my previous mails. I have made that line a link in the guide. Thanks.

> Seems a little long winded to sit there recording a static screen,
> there must be an easier way, problem is knowing what that easier way
> is.
> 

It's only recording it for 10 seconds, and the "back" page is the same 5-10 seconds for every 
video you make, so you only need to do the front one for each video. The reason I did it that 
was was so that I would get an MPEG out which makes for easy editing along with the body, and I 
didn't want to have a different process for that. But if someone has a good idea for making 
those titles, I'm listening.

> Tips for reducing noise was good, never thought of that.
> 

I picked that up from a podcasting book :)

> all in all a very good article.
> 

Thanks, and the comments are appreciated.

Cheers,
Al.