Don’t Settle for “Tech Book Competence” –
Become a REAL Screencaster
Books and on-demand Video Courses are a great entry-level primer for learning a new skill, but let’s face it, they have some serious limitations. You learn the basic mechanics, and then do some exercises to get a bit of practice. The big leap comes when it’s time to generalize what you learned to a real-world project. And what happens when you have questions that aren’t covered in the material? Finally, there’s no sense of community with others who are learning at the same time as you. Except for the text or video content to keep you company, you are completely ON YOUR OWN.
Live Courses address a lot of these limitations. You’re with other learners, and there’s an expert standing over your shoulder at the ready to answer your questions. The problem is that live courses (at least, those led by a true expert) can be prohibitively expensive, and that’s not even including travel and hotel expenses. Plus, you have to make the course dates and times work with your insane schedule, which can be an exercise in futility.
Enter Screencast Ninja Academy, a formula that bridges the gap between live and on-demand learning.
Screencast Ninja Academy is screencast training like you’ve never seen before. Here are the basics:
- Scheduled lessons. You have six weeks of daily on-demand content. Mondays and Thursdays offer tech lessons that let you follow along. Tuesdays and Fridays offer supplementary material that reinforce the lessons of the week. And Wednesdays are special “hot seat” days where I dissect the work of current students.
- Real-world experience building your own screencast projects. Rather than general practice exercises, you get step-by-step assignments to build your own project from scratch, on any topic you choose. You get timely feedback on every assignment you turn in (Coaching track only).
- We support multiple tools and platforms. The three top screencasting tools are Camtasia for Windows, Camtasia for Mac, and Screenflow (for Mac). We’ll be offering tech lessons with separate “branches” for each of these tools, so no matter which one you use, you’ll be covered. Not sure yet? No problem! You don’t have to choose on registration — you’ll have permanent access to ALL of them.
- Expert feedback on every assignment (Coaching track only). As you build your project via bi-weekly assignments, you’ll get personalized feedback from yours truly every step of the way. No more bashing your head against the wall trying to figure things out on your own. And when the course is over, you’ll have three additional weeks to turn in coursework for feedback if you happened to fall behind.
- A real sense of community. Registrants will get access to an exclusive Facebook group where they’re encouraged to share projects, feedback, and resources. And when the course is finished, you’ll get access to a permanent alumni group.
- Access forever. Life happens. If something comes up where you fall behind and can’t finish the course, all the content will be waiting for you whenever you can come back.
The course begins on Monday, January 15th, 2018.
We’re going to cover content that isn’t in ANY of our previous books or courses. No matter which of the three major softwares you choose, you’re looking at 18-20 HOURS of quality instruction. And while we heartily recommend that everyone do the coaching option, if all you’re after is the content without the obligation and time commitment of working on your own project, you can grab it at a hefty discount.
And for a limited time, we’re offering a special year-end blowout sale! Get a full $350 off the regular prices.
REGISTER – Coaching Track ($899 $549) REGISTER – NO-Coaching Track ($499 $149)
What You’ll Learn in Screencast Ninja Academy
Here’s an extremely broad table of contents of our screencasting course. Note that if you want the full details on each and every lesson, you are free to download the full syllabus.
Week One (Jan 15): Prep
You’ll learn how to hone your video’s purpose, define your target audience, and produce a top-drawer script and storyboard that actually accomplish the business goals you set for your production.
Week Two (Jan 22): Capture Phase
You’ll find out how to perform nearly flawless recordings in a way that is replicable and modular, so that you can both nail things down quickly as well as easily replace mistakes and bad footage. You’ll learn what separates good captures from bad, and special techniques for avoiding the latter. We’ll pay particular attention to “setting the stage” for your captures, and how to quickly reset the scene when a re-shoot is needed.
This week will also cover the tools and techniques for recording the best possible audio narration.
Week Three (Jan 29): Cutting it Together
The third week focuses on assembling clips and narration into a cohesive package, employing editing techniques like clip speed, cutting, trimming, splitting, and frame extensions.
We’ll also target the #1 issue most people’s video quality ends up sucking lemons, even if they’re experienced as screencasters: SCALING.
After Week 3, there is a lesson-free make-up week for folks to catch up on assignments.
Week Four (Feb 12): Adding Some Panache
In week four, you’ll learn how to locate and use stock imagery and audio assets (both in the free and “reasonably priced” categories) for adding some variety and zing to your productions.
We’ll also cover visual and audio properties, and the addition of special effects.
Week Five (Feb 19): Let’s get eMotional
The fifth week is all about producing motion graphics for your screencasts. We’ll cover basic keyframing and Camtasia’s new Behaviors feature, and then move on to generating insanely cool animation effects that push the limits of the applications’ capabilities.
Week Six (Feb 26): Sharing with the World
We’ll wrap the course with special production settings as well as a survey of the various hosting solutions to give the best possible bang for your buck. Included is a discussion of Learning Management Systems (LMS) and video metrics.
The final week will also include a special “ask me anything” Q & A with instructor Daniel Park.
Live Course Quality at an On-Demand Price
The current plan is to schedule these courses on a quarterly basis. The participant count for each course is strictly capped at 100 learners.
The standard price for it is $899, well below what most qualified instructors (myself included) charge for a simple two-day class. And if you’d prefer simple access to the content without the obligation of the (wonderful) coaching and assignment feedback, there’s the even more cost-effective option of just $499.
And for one month only (December 13 – January 14), you can get a whopping $350 off the regular price in our blowout sale!
REGISTER – Coaching Track ($899 $549) REGISTER – NO-Coaching Track ($499 $149)
And since no one with a yearnin’ for learnin’ should be left out for lack of funds, keep in mind that you can also pay in three easy monthly installments of $325, or $175 for the no-coaching track.
Coaching Track (3 payments of $325 $200) NO-Coaching Track (3 payments of $175 $60)
Submit your review | |
The Screencast Ninja Academy course is excellent! It's hard to believe that an online, video format course can be hands-on but this is definitely a course for anyone who wants to learn rather than simply have knowledge. The practical application focused on the specific tools you use and rapid feedback are great for adult learners! The scope of information provided as well as recommendations for additional tools and resources that fit any budget surpassed my expectations and past experiences. I highly recommend this course!
Several years ago I made a number of training videos for a major company using Camtasia. My hope for the course was to get updated on the current version. However, I was completely surprised when it started by providing recommendations on working with clients. If that is your goal, these tips will save you much time (money), frustration, go far to ensure a satisfied client. Summary: The course exceeded my expectations in exploring and applying the full range of Camtasia's current technical capabilities, plus it provided excellent guidelines for those who hope to work for/with real clients in the future.
I have been using Camtasia to create training videos at work for over 4 year and have been a huge fan of Daniel Park's "Definitive Guide" series on Camtasia. So when I heard he was offering an online intensive training I signed up months before the course was to start. I was not at all surprised that the course was as well organized as it was, but I WAS amazed at the scope of what was covered...from basics to advanced topics. You must be prepared to devote time to working on the assignments but when you complete this course you will look back in amazement at all you have learned. Daniel's feedback on each of my assignments is where I learned the most and viewing the work that other students were doing exposed my tendency to stay somewhat in my comfort zone with creating my videos. I look forward to seeing how this course evolves along with Camtasia. This was time so well spent!
Daniel Park's course is the most comprehensive screencasting course I have found. Covering different applications on different platforms, he will give you all the essentials you need to get rolling. I genuinely enjoyed taking this course from start to finish. Well worth the money.
This along with any of Daniel Park Courses and Materials is the top. I have been using this software for many years now and Daniel never lets you down. I have always learned something new from his courses and this one was no exception. He is on top of his game and it is a challenging course but does not matter if you are a new user or an experienced one there is always something to learn here. Daniel is a great Instructor and has great support. There are 3 Main Screencast software programs he covers. Camtasia for PC, Camtasia for Mac, and Screenflow. I would highly recommend this to my friends, Companies or anyone who is interested in learning how to create their own videos for screen recording for software training, marketing and to many other subjects to list. He gives you the best of the best. Thank you Daniel for producing such great courses for others to learn more or that are just starting out. 🙂
I went through this course because I am very serious about getting the video storytelling aspects of my business moving in the right direction. Daniel Park of Dappertext is the right stuff. Thank you, Daniel. I will be taking this course again in August.
This course covers the basics for newbies as well as those who have been doing this for awhile. I have used Camtasia in the past and found the information to be very helpful. The critiques are worth the cost of the course. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is looking to do screencasting.
If you use Camtasia 3 regularly, taking the SCN should be your next step towards improving the quality of your screencasts. The program is covered thoroughly with tons of tips. Good job, Daniel!
If you want to develop the understanding and skills to create a top quality screencast video, Screencast Ninja Academy is for you. I have hacked around with Camtasia for years producing a variety of cheesy clips. Ninja Academy gives you the nuts and bolts understanding of capturing, narrating, and producing a quality video. Then it helps cement in the overwhelming amount of excellent detail by having you create your own throughout the entire course in addition to the one Daniel creates. This hands-on component takes the course from really good stuff to exceptional. Daniel is a pro and a great instructor. If you are on the fence, just do it. Tom H. in Washington
Beware this course isn't for the faint hardy. You really need to be prepared, to put the work in. If you do, then you will become a Screencast Ninja. The course has a good structure and is a well-paced course. The first few weeks are the most challenging and you may think you are not learning a great deal. Certainly, to begin with. You may be tempted to cut corners. However, provided you follow the course directions you will be amazed at what you can achieve.
