How to take a screenvideo of your computer activity?

Thomas has often made screenshots showing pictures of his computer screen with the PrtScr (Print Screen) button. But, is there a way for Thomas to make a screen video, that is, record a video showing his continuous activities on the computer which he can later broadcast on portals like YouTube?

If you follow The Thomas Stories on YouTube, you have probably seen that Thomas often create explainer videos and tutorials. But, sometimes it would be better to actually record what Thomas does on his computer instead of just posting screenshots and other pictures. How can it be done?

screencast your computer

Record your computer activity (create a screen video)

Unfortunately, there is no super-easy way to create a video of your computer activity that can be recorded and used for other purposes. There is no button you can press, and then automatically the recording will start.

In order to record the activity on your computer, you will need a third-party application, and Thomas has found one that he loves – Screencast o Matic.

This is a super-easy application that will let him record his monitor activity. He can record the full screen, or he can choose only to record a smaller window of the screen. He can use a microphone to record his voice while recording, or he can only record the activity on the screen. If he wants to, he can even record his own face and place it in the corner of the screen, so people can both see Thomas’ face, and his computer activity at the same time.

There is a free version of Screencast O Matic, but since it includes a watermark, Thomas purchased the Deluxe plan which only cost him 1,5USD per month.

Thomas can now record his computer monitor activity

Thomas can now record what he is doing on his computer, and it makes it much easier for him to create tutorials and explainer videos in which he shows what he is actually doing to solve different problems!

 

How to create my own Powtoon template?

Thomas is using Powtoon to create videos and explainers for YouTube. He is quite fond of the tool, and he uses it frequently. But, he has been looking for a way to create his very own template for a long time.

When Thomas creates a YouTube video, he often includes his “traditional” intro. And, once he is finished explaining whatever he wants to, he often includes a last screen showing information about his website, and a reminder to follow him on YouTube. But, Thomas is sad that he has to create all these “permanent” sites over and over again. He spent some time looking for a way to create a template or a standard slide that can easily be added to any new movie, but he didn’t find one. But, then he suddenly bumped into the function!

Thomas finds out how to create standard slides/templates with Powtoon!

It was almost by a coincidence that Thomas discovered how he could save slides, and thus have a list of popular slides he uses frequently, which he can easily add to any Powtoon presentation he decides to create.

This is how it is done!

Create the Powtoon slide you want to save

Once it has been created, click the three dots in the right corner of the slide. Here you can decide to duplicate it, add a slide below, and then – Save this slide to ‘My Scenes’. This is what you have been looking for.

Save your favorite slides with Powtoon
Save your favorite slides with Powtoon

Now it is saved, and the next time you want to use it, simply click ‘Scenes’ in the right corner of Powtoon, and select the saved slide from ‘My Scenes.‘ It wasn’t that hard, was it? So now you can start saving your favorite scenes/slides and use them as templates, and easily add them to any new presentation you decide to create using Powtoon!

Find your saved Powtoon scenes and use them quickly
Find your saved Powtoon scenes and use them quickly

Are you happy? Thomas is very happy, and now he is even more eager to create new explainer-videos using Powtoon!

If you have tried this and it worked, please write a comment to say thanks. Should you have a question, write it down and Thomas will do his best to help you out!