Last week I showed you how to use Captivate to create a seamless video using the Full Motion Recording (FMR) mode. One of the problems with FMRs is limited editing ability. If you use Captivate's Automatic mode, every time you click your mouse a screen capture will be created. However, if you use the FMR mode, a single video will be created.
When it comes to post-recording editing, the difference between the Automatic and FMR modes is very stark. Using the slide-based screen capture approach of the Automatic recording mode, you can edit every aspect of a slide, even a slide's background (using external programs such as Photoshop or Paint). With the FMR mode's video-based recording approach you still have editing options, but they are limited.
Edit an FMR
To begin the FMR editing process, select the FMR on the Timeline.
On the Properties panel, locate the FMR Edit Options group. There are three options: Insert, Split and Trim.
If you choose Insert, you'll have an opportunity to record another FMR within the selected FMR. This is a handy option if you need to add more video in the middle of an existing scene.
The Split option will splice your video wherever you position the Playhead on the Timeline and create a second segment. The new segment will automatically appear on a new slide. I've found this option to be useful when a single slide FMR is simply too long. In my opinion, slides that play for a shorter duration will be more effective in the long run when compared to slides that tend to play on and on and on.
I've found the final option, Trim, to be the most beneficial, especially if I've made a mistake during the recording process and need to get rid of it.
Using the Trim option is simple enough. With the FMR selected on the Timeline, choose Trim from the FMR Edit Options drop-down menu.
On the Timeline, select the area of the FMR that you'd like to remove. If you find it difficult to manually select specific areas on the FMR, you can use the Trim From and To fields on the FMR Edit Options group. Or you can let Captivate do the selecting for you by choosing a Start and End Marker.
The last step is to simply click the Trim button on the bottom of the FMR Edit Options group.
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No too happy with Captivate FMR capabilities. It is not that intuitive and can definitely be improved. All Adobe has to do is look at Camtasia or Qarbon to see how they do FMR.
Posted by: Stewart | January 17, 2012 at 05:11 PM