Screencasting: Search for the Narrative

The screencast is three years old. That may not be entirely true, but it is a fact that three years ago, Jon Udell asked for advice to “name that genre” and that the winning suggestion was “screencast”. But as Jon himself points out (see his footnote): the technique of recording the screen is much older.

But it’s the thought that counts. And the landmark, because that it most certainly was.

However, we can safely say that the screencast as it is known today, is still relatively young. And that it’s a medium that is also still constantly changing.

People all over, are both discovering the genre, and trying to think of new ways to use it. Beth Kanter’s birthday card to the screencast aptly shows that.

From anecdote to narrative

The project I’m doing at work relies heavily on one form of screencasting. It is, however, one that I would call a largely “anecdotal” one, in the sense that it is “of the moment”. You need a task performed, and the screencast tells you how that works.

In that respect, an IBM project called CoScripter that I discovered recently, may well be a branching off of that. One that illustrates the difference between the mechanical reproduction of actions, and the real sharing of knowledge.

I haven’t been using screencasting professionally that long, but I too am constantly looking for new forms for different projects. One thing that interests me is introducing the narrative.

There is no reason why the screencast should be limited to a mere recording of the screen, be it supported by callouts or audio. Picture in picture, where the teacher is shown in a little video window, already adds to the still very “static” nature of the screencast.

And from narrative to gripping story

Beth’s recording – although it recounts anecdotes in the traditional sense (of some hitherto private fact being disclosed) – is one of the first that I’ve seen which uses the medium differently; in a narrative way. She recounts how she discovered and explored the technique, and how she set off on her frantic search to know everything about it. Her “how-to” becomes a story.

I’m still looking for that integration, where screencasts will tell you stories, rather than what to do. Because it is through stories how we learn. Remember “that teacher who…”? I remember him too, because he discovered a way to convey that real knowledge, not through the mechanical repetition of tasks, but through the narrative.

With him (or her) things came alive.

I’m convinced that our new bearings in screencasting will no longer just rely on the availability of skills and technology, but more and more on the creativity of humans in telling these stories.

They will rely on coming alive.

Tags: beth kanter, future, jon udell, screencasting