As you all know (or at least those that are into free but brilliant software) Paint.Net is one of those wonderful pieces of software that not only works, but is somehow better than much of the commercial stuff that’s out there. Anyway for those of you using this great software I have found a mixture of free tutorials for the software.

SoftFocus: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dsgjq79_810jvmx6df7
Backgrounds: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dsgjq79_15hdnjpzv6
Colour and B&W photo effect: http://paintdotnet.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=26974
Antique effect: http://paintdotnet.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=26969
Airbrushing: http://paintdotnet.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=27823
Whiten Teeth: http://paintdotnet.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=31660
Enhance colour: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dsgjq79_829f9wv8ncd
Pencil Sharp Edges: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dsgjq79_803g5twxhkd

One of the features that sets this software apart from so many others is the great collection of addins available. These addins add a wonderful array of functionality to the software to enable it to easily compete with Photoshop and other commercial software. The great thing about Paint.Net is that (a) it’s free – donationware and (b) it’s robust and (c) it’s easy to use.

A quick scan on YouTube.com for tutorials shows 100′s of really good tutorials and videos to help use the software and create some great effects. I easily give this software 5/5 and recommend it to everyone that wants a very comprehensive free graphics package. Oh, and bye the way it works great with Windows 7 and has very comprehensive support for masks and layers.

One last comment… be sure to check out the very popular Paint.Net forum for expert advice and help.

Some of my general notes about producing screencasting videos for YouTube, etc. using CamStudio and other products. There are settings at the bottom that describe the best settings for CamStudio and sending screencasts to YouTube.

ScreenCasting and VIDEO Production
==========================

Good forums for discussions
———————————–
http://www.tinkernut.com/forum/video-recording-software/what-screen-recording-software-do-you-use

Groups
———
http://groups.google.com/group/thescreencastinghandbook

Editors
———
http://www.bobyte.com/AviTricks/index.asp
Download: http://www.bobyte.com/AviTricks/GetAviTricks.asp

WinMorph – WinMorph is a high performance morphing and warping software
http://www.debugmode.com/winmorph/

Wink – Video tutorial creator and screen capture software
http://www.debugmode.com/wink/

Fraps is a universal Windows application that can be used with games using DirectX or OpenGL graphic technology.
http://www.fraps.com/

Windows Movie Maker v2.1
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx

http://screenr.com/ (up to 5 mins with sound and connection to Twitter)

I really like Screenr.  If you haven’t tried it out yet, you should give it a whirl.  Here’s what I like best:

* Screenr is super easy to use and there’s nothing to download. You just click the record button on the website and you’re recording your screen activity and your narration.

* The image quality is pretty darn good.  You can even watch the screencasts back at HD-quality and they look great.

* Screenr gives you multiple ways to use your screencasts.  It works with Twitter and the screencasts play as Flash on the web.  You can also upload the screencasts to YouTube.  And you can even download the videos as MP4 files.  They also look nice on the iPhone.  All these options give you a number of ways to reach your learners.

* My favorite…there’s no branding on the downloaded MP4 files.  Since you can download the videos, you’re free to use them as you wish.  That means you can use it in your elearning courses without looking like one of those MLS soccer players.  Go Sounders!

* And of course, Screenr is free.  Free is always good.

TipCam – Record and share your screen in a video, it also has a zoom facility
http://www.utipu.com/app/

Jing – record straight from the Web
http://www.jingproject.com/

ScreenToaster – free online screen recorder
http://www.screentoaster.com/

BBFlashBack (and Express) – Record a window, region or full screen. BB FlashBack Express free screen recorder has an easy to use interface that makes it a breeze.
http://www.bbsoftware.co.uk/bbflashbackexpress/home.aspx?cc=true

http://photobucket.com/ (mixing video)
http://animoto.com/
http://jaycut.com/ (create videos)
http://www.onetruemedia.com/ (photos and videos into awesome slideshows)
http://editorone.ideum.com/ (timeline based video editor)

For Ubuntu – RecordMyDesktop
http://recordmydesktop.sourceforge.net/downloads.php

Video Captioning
———————
http://captiontube.appspot.com/ (YouTube adding captions free – login with Google user)

Converters
————–
Format Factory is a multifunctional media converter
http://www.formatoz.com/

AviSplit is an application for cutting and rejoining AVI/DivX files
http://www.bobyte.com/AviSplit/GetAviSplit.asp

AviScreen is an application for capturing screen activity (ScreenCast) in the form of AVI video or images
http://www.bobyte.com/AviScreen/InstAviScreenPro.zip

AUDIO
———
http://remixer.clubcreate.com/v1/scion/launch.html?scion
http://aviary.com/tools/myna
http://www.looplabs.com/

http://www.jamglue.com/

http://madringtones.org/
http://www.chirbit.com/
http://www.soundation.com/

Publisize
———–
http://showmedo.com/

VIDEO Intro makers
————————-
Animoto.com – create FREE videos from images and videos
monstertemplate.com – templates for Flash intros
Adobe AfterEffects – add effects for your intros
http://www.videocopilot.net/products/opticalflares/features/plug-in_overview/

Settings
———-

CamStudio settings (http://camstudio.org/)
——————————————————
640 x 360
856 x 480 = mid resolution
1080 x 720 (is roughly HD)
1280 x 720 = high def

Set watermark…
Options: hide flashing rectangle during recording

Autopanning = true (speed about 40 or 200)

Video options:
Techsmith capture codec or divx (256 bit rate on config)
Or can use Camstudio Lossless Codec v1.4 and use LZO compression
best compression under config
100 quality
key frames = 200
cap frames every 40ms (or 33 and 30fps)
playback rate = 25 fps

Or can use:
Key frames 30 frames
Capture frame every 50ms
Playback rate 20 fps

Audio
22.05Khz Stereo 16bit
PCM compression (or LAME MP3 needs to be downloaded)
22050 Hz 16 bit stereo

To convert to smaller size use MediaCoder: http://www.mediacoderhq.com/dlfull.htm