How to Record a Presentation and Create a Video from PowerPoint
Justin Simon
Table of contents
- Benefits of Recording a Presentation
How to record your presentation (with Snagit)
How to record a presentation from powerpoint with audio and webcam, creating videos of powerpoint presentations without recording.
- How to edit a presentation video (in Camtasia)
Recording a PowerPoint Presentation, the FAQs
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Everyone has, at some point, put a load of time and effort into creating the perfect PowerPoint presentation, only to use it once or twice.
But isn’t it a shame for all that hard work to be discarded so quickly? Is every slide deck destined for deletion after just a couple of uses?
Isn’t there a better way to make the most out of your presentations? Well, yes. Yes, there is.
Rather than simply creating and presenting your work once or twice, recording your presentations can give them a new lease of life. Whether it’s a data report or a self-recorded PowerPoint, you can record a presentation in real-time, or in advance to make the online video available on-demand.
In this guide, we’ll explore two distinct ways of recording your presentation. First, we’ll discuss how to record a presentation from PowerPoint with audio and webcam, and then we’ll look at creating video of PowerPoint presentations.
Benefits of Recording a Presentation
As well as there being many different ways to record a presentation, there are also many benefits of recording them. So, before we show you the ‘how,’ let’s talk about the ‘why.’
- Encouraging asynchronous communication : One key benefit is fostering asynchronous communication . By recording presentations, you’re letting your audience engage with the content in their own time, breaking the constraints of time zones and scheduling conflicts. This also ensures your viewers can absorb information at their own pace, and revisit it as needed.
- Boosting SEO : You can use your presentation to create a YouTube video and share it on your website to increase your online visibility and attract prospective customers. This can be a great way to expand your audience, increase web traffic, and establish yourself as an expert in your field.
- Perfecting your presentation : Whether it’s in-person or over Zoom, you don’t get second chances with live presentations. However, a pre-recorded keynote lets you perfect the content and the narration before anyone sees it. This is a great way to combat stage fright while honing your presentation skills and building confidence.
With this in mind, turning your slides into a video is a no-brainer. It’s an easy way to grow your audience and make the information you’re sharing more accessible and easier to digest.
Video messages > meetings
Record your screen and camera with Snagit for quick updates and feedback.
Depending on your audience and the type of presentation you need to deliver, TechSmith’s Snagit could just be the perfect tool for recording your PowerPoint. With its user-friendly interface and advanced features, Snagit is ideal for capturing top-notch presentation videos, in just a few clicks.
Now, there’s no denying that presentations are better when you can see the presenter… Fortunately, Snagit lets you capture your screen and webcam at the same time to create a Picture-in-Picture video.
In this section, we’ll guide you through the steps to record your presentation and webcam with Snagit.
Step 1: Open video capture
First, open Snagit and navigate to the Capture window. To use the recording feature, select the Video tab, and start by clicking the big red Capture button.
Step 2: Select a recording area
Next, you’ll be prompted to choose which parts of your screen you want to record. Use Snagit’s orange crosshairs to select a specific region, window, or your entire screen.
Step 3: Configure recording settings
With the Video Recording toolbar, you can set options like Cursor Capture and Effects, System Audio, and Webcam.
If your webcam isn’t showing, click on the webcam icon. If you have an external webcam, select the one you want to use by clicking the dropdown arrow next to the webcam icon.
Step 4: Adjust your webcam
Next, adjust your webcam options to ensure your Picture-in-Picture recording looks how you want it. Here you can change the Picture-in-Picture placement as well as the shape and size of your webcam recording. You can even toggle between Picture-in-Picture and fullscreen webcam modes as you like.
The best part? You can make these adjustments even while recording.
Step 5: Manage recording
When you’re ready to roll, hit the Record button and click the Stop button when you’re finished. It’s that simple!
And remember, if there’s an interruption (like an unexpected visit from the mailman), just hit Pause. It’s okay to take a break — your video won’t be ruined by a little interruption.
Step 6: Edit your video
Once you’ve finished recording, Snagit will automatically open your video in the Snagit Editor, which is super easy to use. From here, you can make light edits to the footage as needed.
For example, if you need to cut or trim your footage , you can! Here’s how:
- Set Start Point : Drag the Start handle (green) on the timeline to your desired starting point.
- Set End Point : Similarly, drag the End handle (red) to where you want to end the cut.
- Review the Segment : Before making any cuts, you can review the segment by dragging the Playhead (white) left and right across the timeline. This ensures you’re only cutting the footage you intend to.
- Make the Cut : Once you’re satisfied with the selection, click the Cut button, which will pop up once you’ve made a selection.
And that’s all there is to it! If you want to go the extra mile, you can also use Snagit to save individual frames of your video as images , which can be used to create a thumbnail for your video .
Record your screen with Snagit
Snagit makes it easy to share quick updates and how-to’s by capturing exactly what’s happening on your screen.
Now, Snagit is great for recording less formal videos in a flash, but if your presentation is intended for a particularly large or important audience, you might be looking to create something more polished. This is where TechSmith’s Camtasia comes in.
Camtasia is one of the smartest and most intuitive pieces of editing software out there, but it also makes for a pretty nifty screen recorder too. Camtasia is great for recording presentations when you need more control and editing powers over the final product.
But best of all, Camtasia streamlines the process by letting you record your presentation and voice over directly within PowerPoint.
Step 1: Set up your presentation video recording
If you’re a Windows user, you’ll have the option to include a PowerPoint Add-in Toolbar when you install Camtasia. While this feature isn’t currently available on MacOS, the Camtasia Add-in Toolbar allows you to start, stop, and control your recordings from within PowerPoint — so you don’t need to switch between applications.
Just open the presentation you want to record and locate the Add-in toolbar under the Add-ins tab.
Don’t see the add-in toolbar? Go to File > Options > Add-ins, to enable it. Click on the Manage drop-down, select Disabled Items, then click Go. If the Camtasia Add-in is listed, select it, and click Enable.
If you’re an Apple user, don’t panic! You can still record your screen (with audio) on a Mac using Camtasia, and it’s just as easy. Alternatively, you can skip ahead to the next section and import your slides directly into Camtasia.
Step 2: Customize your recording options
Now let’s walk through each of the options on the toolbar before we begin recording.
Record audio
The microphone button controls whether or not audio is recorded as part of your presentation. When you enable it, you’ll be able to record your narration using a microphone.
If you are planning to record audio, this is where you’ll select your microphone. If you want to record great audio , we suggest using an external microphone, rather than the one that’s built into your laptop.
Some of the best microphones for recording video are likely to be less expensive than you think. But, if you’re on a shoestring budget, even the mic that’s built into your headphones could produce better audio than your laptop.
Once you’re set up, be sure to test the mic and adjust the volume slider as needed. You’ll also need to decide whether or not to record your system audio, which is any sound that comes out of your speakers, such as email notifications.
Record webcam
If you have a webcam, you can also record your camera during the presentation to create a Picture-in-Picture clip — just as you can with Snagit!
To customize even more of the presentation recording settings, click the Recording Options button. Here you’ll find settings that let you record with a watermark and adjust your video frame rate . There are a few more options too, but the default settings should work just fine.
When you’re ready, click OK to close this window and save any changes made.
Step 3: Record your presentation
The final step is as simple as clicking the Record button in the toolbar. This will launch your slides into the Presentation Mode and start recording.
When you exit Presentation Mode or reach the end of your slideshow, you can either continue recording your screen, or stop recording and save your file. Pretty easy right?
Before you get started, let us show you another way to turn your presentation into a video, without recording your desktop .
Another way to create a video from your presentation is to import your PowerPoint slides into Camtasia. This way you can adjust how long each slide appears on screen, as well as add Behaviors and Annotations to personalize your presentation and highlight important information.
By importing your slides into Camtasia’s video editor, and recording your voice over separately, you get a lot more flexibility with the editing process, which means you have more control over the finished article.
If you do decide to record your audio separately, you might want to take a look at TechSmith’s Audiate . This advanced audio recorder will transcribe your voice over in real-time and let you edit the audio file as if it were a text-based document. We don’t want to brag, but it’s probably the best way to add a voice over to a PowerPoint .
Regardless of how you decide to narrate your PowerPoint, here’s how to turn your presentation into a video:
1. Import your PowerPoint slides
First, start by importing your PowerPoint slides directly into Camtasia. Once your media is imported, you can edit it by dragging your slides into the Editing Toolbar.
You can now add the images to the Timeline, and edit them like any other media in a Project.
If you drag your slides to the Timeline, the slides will be placed in the order of the presentation, each with a default 5-second duration.
With your presentation on the timeline, use Ripple Move to create space in between slides to adjust the timing of each one. To do this, hold shift, then click and drag.
Once you’ve imported your slides and adjusted the duration of each one to correlate with your voice over, it’s time to start editing.
How to edit a presentation video (in Camtasia)
1. add behaviors.
Firstly, add some visual interest with Camtasia Behaviors . A Behavior is an animation that brings movement to your slides, making them stand out on screen. This is a great way to bring parts of your presentation to life and take it from ordinary to extraordinary — because nobody likes a boring presentation .
To add a Behavior, click and drag the Behavior you wish to use onto the slide you want to animate. Once added, you can adjust the Behavior using the Properties tab.
2. Add annotations
Another good way to grab and direct your audience’s attention is to add some Annotations, which are great for highlighting important information.
To insert an Annotation, click the Annotation tab on the left side of the screen and drag it into the designated slide. You can then re-position and edit the Annotation in the Properties tab as needed.
Absolutely! Both Snagit and Camtasia are excellent choices for recording a professional and polished presentation. Snagit is perfect for no-fuss recording and editing. If you require more sophisticated editing capabilities, Camtasia is the ideal choice, offering the added convenience of recording your slideshow and voice over directly within PowerPoint.
Click the Record button in the toolbar to launch your slides into the Presentation Mode and start recording. When you exit Presentation Mode or reach the end of your slideshow, you can either continue recording your screen or stop and save your file.
If you’re planning to record audio, select your microphone in the recording options. The microphone button controls whether or not audio is recorded as part of your presentation. If you have a webcam attached to your computer, you can also record your camera to create a Picture-in-Picture clip, perfect for showing the presenter during the presentation.
With Snagit, you can conveniently record your voice over as you go through your presentation, capturing both the audio and visuals in one go. If you’re looking for more advanced recording and editing options, you might also consider using Camtasia, which allows you to record your voice over while presenting. For even more control, use Audiate to record your audio separately and then import it into Camtasia for fine-tuning.
Additional Resources
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