Steve was not the coolest guy in the office. But boy was he good with software demonstrations.
Whenever a client visited the company where Steve was working, sooner or later the client would end up talking to Steve. Because he knew the ins and outs of the software his company was selling.
But at some point Steve realized he had developed standard speeches for each feature demonstration of his software. So, even though he was able to effectively deliver his point to his clients, he became rather apathetic about the whole thing. It all became repetitive and dull.
Top 5 Screen Capture Software in 2020 - Quick Review Comparison Chart
 |  |  |  |  |
| 1. Snagit (PC&Mac) | 2. Ashampoo Snap (PC) | 3. Camtasia (PC&Mac) | 4. ScreenFlow (Mac Only) | 5. Movavi Capture |
 | | | |  |
Thus he started searching for a screen recording software that would enable him to record his demos. He was basically looking to free up his time and not spend hours with each client, going over the same features, over and over.
In no time he found Snagit and Camtasia and he started playing with the programs. It seems that these were the GoTo programs when it came to screen capture software.
While he researched these programs, Steve also learned that a lot of freelance business professionals were using these programs to create their own courses. Courses which they sold online to business professionals within organizations or to other business owners.
This gave Steve the idea that he can do it too.
First, though, he created a series of videos for his clients. He addressed the main concerns and answered the most frequent questions all while actively demonstrating how to software works. He basically sat down and talked while working on the computer. Snagit records your screen while using your built-in microphone to record your voice.
Now, instead of talking with each customer, Steve would send links to the videos. Clients would watch and then they decided to buy.
This made Steve a bit of a star in the company.
Even though he was not a salesman, his efforts generated a lot of sales. Which, of course, made his bosses very pleased with him. That’s why they gave him a raise and a they started respecting him in a new different way. They treated him like a peer now.
Steve was smarter than that.
He did enjoy his newfound fame within the company but his biggest realization was that he can actually work for himself. Why not become a freelance consultant and sell high ticket software using his video skills?
Since at his core he was mostly an engineer type of dude, explaining complex stuff was his main skill. And it became easier for him to let his personality and humor flow into the voice over since there was no big-shot-intimidating client near him. That was a relief and a blessing.
No stress. High impact. Sales and commissions.
It was good deal for Steve.
Now he still works at his company but as a consultant and he keeps the intellectual property for all the demos he makes. He also arranged a deal where he gets a big commission on each sale he makes. He’s now become a rainmaker and everyone treats him with the highest respect.
Because of him, his former colleagues are working in a business with even better prospects.
For Steve, things are looking bright. He’s also doing consulting work for other companies now and he’s made similar deals: he learns the software and then he creates demos for the most complicated operations that clients need.
He then finds new clients and he shows them the videos. This makes them curious about the software Steve is selling. Also they have a laugh coz now Steve really lets himself go on the videos. He makes jokes, he speaks freely and that makes the clients feel at ease with Steve when they meet him in person.
He has created a marketing machine for himself without even realizing it. His reputation as a funny guy precedes him and that makes for an easy sale. And remember... Steve is an engineer.
Big bucks and great freedom
And it all started with an easy to use screen capture software. If only he knew this would get him so far...
Apart from direct consulting and sales commissions, Steve now also sells video courses outright.
This works because some enterprise software are so complicated that it’s worth it for the users to save time by instantly learning a new feature with a video demo. Nobody has the time for trial and error. So they’d rather buy a course instead of learning by themselves and missing business deadlines.
Steve is flying high. And rightfully so because he was smart and diligent.
But if we are to be frank - Steve is just being himself. There was no intention for all this. It juts happened because people found value in the videos Steve created.
No one wants to read a software manual. Even with print screen pictures, it's still a pain to follow complicated instructions. Whereas with video everything flows and falls into place naturally. We're wired to learn by immitation through real life examples not by reading boring text. We just wanna see how to get to the end result as fast as possible.
Now, Steve is a beautiful case study for us. The reason why we can’t tell what industry he works in is because of competition. He wants to remain private because his skills and style are his unique competitive advantages. The only attention he wants is from his clients and he gets plenty of that.
It’s your turn
If you are in similar position, as Steve was initially, you might wanna try his recipe. You don’t need to go out and work for yourself but you certainly can.
At the very least you’ll become better paid and you'll be respected more in your company. Your bosses will love you because, seriously, how many of their employees are actively thinking of growing the business by making beautiful screen capture demo videos for their clients?!
Of course we all know how useful a tutorial is but who’s willing to trouble himself or herself to make it?
Well, Steve did it and he doesn’t regret the effort. Coz the payout is waaay greater than the initial work load. If we can call that work...
It's really fun stuff because you can really put your creative stamp on it with your style (when you record) or with your editing.
Think about it: you’re creating intellectual property once but then you can profit from it over and over.
So if you don't want to write endless explanations in order to demonstrate how you do your thing, you might wanna buy one of these. No need to write a 2000 words tutorial when you can easily create a 3 minute video and deliver your message almost instantly.
You'll work less, you'll get a professional looking video an your viewers will love you.
That's what you want!
Top Screen Capture Software in 2016 - Quick Review Comparison Chart
| | | | |
| 1. Snagit (PC&Mac) | 2. Ashampoo Snap (PC) | 3. Camtasia (PC&Mac) | 4. ScreenFlow (Mac Only) | 5. Movavi Capture |
| | | | |
Apart from the screen recording capability, these are also great video editing programs. However, they're more targeted towards the educational field where people use video to teach. Best used for:
- Software demos and presentations - Do you have a web service or a piece of software? What better way to explain it than going through the program and demonstrate how cool it is.
- Tutorials of any kind - Photoshop, Office, AutoCad, etc. Do you have skills that are worth sharing? You can gather tens of thousand of views on YouTube with a solid tutorial that is in high demand.
- Gaming video capture - Show us how you get to the next level. Record your gameplay and share it online.
For both professional and amateur video production editors, the wealth of software available today covers a wide range of needs that will allow you to edit, change and even screen capture to provide different sources of materials. Furthermore, many of the best screen capture software programs are inexpensive and offer a wide range of features that often includes editing.
What is Screen Capture Software?
Essentially, this is software that allows your computer or mobile device to capture video from a variety of sources. In addition to its screen capturing abilities, many software programs also include editing features so that you can shape it into what you need before using it in your own program, uploading it on the web or sharing it with friends, family or co-workers for a professional production.
Screen capture software is considered essentiall for video production houses as well as amateur videographers and editors who are putting together educational videos, presentations or gameplay footage which is not recorded with a capture card.
Unlike external devices that plug to your computer or to your video games console, screen recording programs are installed on your computer and do what a capture card might do. You have the instant download (thus no shipping costs) but if your computer or laptop is rather old then the software might slow it down since you'll be also running other applications (like the software/game that you wanna teach about). So take that into consideration when you buy a screen capture application.
Of course, the best screen recording software will be one that provides you with the features that are well suited for your particular needs. Fortunately, there are a number of software programs that are perfect for many video production studios as well as amateur editors on their home computers. What follows are considered the top screen capture program software on the market today. They provide what most editors need and are all offered at a low, reasonable price for what they do.
The Five Best Screen Capture Software Programs Today
Taking into account quality, versatility, ease of use, and price, here are five exceptional programs that are perfect for both professions to use in the production process along with consumers who love to put together videos and other programs from different sources. The good news is that all of these programs are reasonably priced and offer both professionals and consumers the best in quality while still being easy and intuitive to use.
1. Snagit: Certainly one of the most celebrated and best screen recorder on the market today, Snagit has garnered a considerable reputation for its simple and straightforward program that makes it easy to grab what you need. It's made by the creators of Camtasia, the people at TechSmith.
Whether you need to capture color values, images, video games or clips, this is the program that allows you to do all that and more. What may be most remarkable is the intuitive design of the interface which allows you to quickly switch from one type of capture mode to another without having to jump through a lot of hoops.
Backed up by considerable customer support, Snagit not only allows you to capture the images you want, but also edit them quickly so that you don’t have to pass it down to your standard editing software. The quick-access toolbar means that you can find the right program inside the software system. If there is any flaw in the software, it is that combining your email so that it works inside is not very well explained. However, this is a very minor nit compared to all of what Snagit has to offer for you.
2. Ashampoo Snap: Certainly one of the better known screen capture software programs, the Ashampoo Snap provides a great platform for capturing all types of images and video while offering a superb editing system as well.
Of the many standouts is the time-lapse feature which you can apply to videos and still images which makes for the perfect complement to many business and educational videos. Another excellent feature about this software is that it actually takes up very little room which means that you can capture and record videos at a faster rate. This means less time waiting and more time editing so that you can complete more projects.
If there is a downside, it is that after learning the instructions you’ll want to shut them off as they can become annoying and slow you down once you’ve mastered the software. However, that is a very minor problem that can be quickly resolved. There is also the matter of Snap 8 installing a URL shortcut on your desktop for the other great deals that the company offers, but you can deal with that any way you want. Overall, this is a great software system that is intuitive to use and offers many editing tools so that you can capture and edit what you want quickly and easily.
3. Camtasia: Armed with a wealth of capture and editing tools, the Camtasia is one of the more celebrated and best screencasting software on the market today. What makes this particular software so useful is the sheer number of editing tools combined with an intuitive interface means that within minutes of installing the software you can start screen capturing and editing with ease. The Camtasia works on Mac and Windows, providing the ability to capture your screen movements or actions while also being able to download HD video from a camera or other source as long as it offers the right interface.
The philosophy behind the Camtasia is a simple one. You can capture a wide range of image choices from video, music, photos and more and then edit them together even if they are from different sources. If there is any downside, it is that this product is really more designed for amateur editors than professional ones, but that is a very minor nit as many pros use this software as well. There is a wealth of editing features from ready-to-go themes, graphics, callouts, animated backgrounds and so much more. Once you are finished, you can share your work online with interactive videos, clickable links, search features and more. All of this is possible with the unique Camtasia screen capture and editing software.
4. ScreenFlow: Created for Mac users, this is arguably the best screencasting software app for Apple devices. It's a great video editor as well - simple to use yet very sophisticated. It is a bit pricey compared to similar products, but it does offer plenty of features that make it easy to use with iOS operating systems. You capture what is on the screen which allows you to zoom in or out as well as add annotations, transitions, callouts, titles and much, much more.
You can combine multiple input sources that may include your iPad, audio from a microphone, video from your Mac FaceTime camera and so forth. Then, you can manipulate the images and audio to create your own program.
This particular software excels at putting together different formats into one so that you can be very creative with your video production. About the only issue so far is that you want to capture audio from your Mac using the computer’s internal speakers or connected to the Thunderbolt display. Otherwise, you may get some distortion in the audio itself, but this is an issue that is already being corrected.
While this is by no means Final Cut Pro, you can employ a number of video effects and it relatively easy to use meaning that just moments after purchase you can start using what many consider to be the best screen recorder for its price on Mac or Apple systems.
Movavi also makes a suite of programs in the video realm: editing programs and video converters.
Conclusion
When it comes to finding the best screen capture software, these five entries are all similar in terms of what they have to offer, but are readily superior to many other software programs in terms of versatility, convenience and price. If you are looking for the best screen recording software on the market today, then it would pay to get one in the top five programs that are listed so you can create amazing videos.
| | | | |
| 1. Snagit (PC&Mac) | 2. Ashampoo Snap (PC) | 3. Camtasia (PC&Mac) | 4. ScreenFlow (Mac Only) | 5. Movavi Capture |
| | | | |
