{"id":174860,"date":"2021-11-05T11:25:39","date_gmt":"2021-11-05T15:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techsmith.com\/learn\/?post_type=tutorial&#038;p=174860"},"modified":"2025-01-07T09:36:44","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T14:36:44","slug":"making-your-first-how-to-video","status":"publish","type":"tutorial","link":"https:\/\/www.techsmith.com\/learn\/tutorials\/academy\/making-your-first-how-to-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Your First How-To Video"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\n<script src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/embed\/medias\/7717v4leti.jsonp\" async=\"\"><\/script><script src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/assets\/external\/E-v1.js\" async=\"\"><\/script><div class=\"wistia_responsive_padding\" style=\"padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;\"><div class=\"wistia_responsive_wrapper\" style=\"height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;top:0;width:100%;\"><div class=\"wistia_embed wistia_async_7717v4leti seo=false videoFoam=true\" style=\"height:100%;position:relative;width:100%\"><div class=\"wistia_swatch\" style=\"height:100%;left:0;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0;transition:opacity 200ms;width:100%;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/embed\/medias\/7717v4leti\/swatch\" style=\"filter:blur(5px);height:100%;object-fit:contain;width:100%;\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" onload=\"this.parentNode.style.opacity=1;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-set-up-your-digital-environment\">1. Set up your digital environment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Hide your desktop icons. On Windows this can be done by <strong>Right-clicking on the desktop, choosing View and deselecting Show Desktop Icons<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Close or turn off notifications from programs so that they do not appear on your screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have programs open and ready for recording before hitting the red record button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.techsmith.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Clean-Up-Your-Desktop-1024x576-1.png\" alt=\"Windows desktop with right click menu open pointing to show desktop items.\" class=\"wp-image-174887\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.techsmith.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Clean-Up-Your-Desktop-1024x576-1.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.techsmith.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Clean-Up-Your-Desktop-1024x576-1-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.techsmith.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Clean-Up-Your-Desktop-1024x576-1-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.techsmith.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Clean-Up-Your-Desktop-1024x576-1-150x84.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-draw-attention-to-key-parts\">2. Draw attention to key parts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Zoom and Pan<\/strong>&nbsp;helps to focus on areas of the screen<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Annotations, like callouts, arrows, and text, offer clarity for your viewers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<script src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/embed\/medias\/k0az8ch5gm.jsonp\" async=\"\"><\/script><script src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/assets\/external\/E-v1.js\" async=\"\"><\/script><div class=\"wistia_responsive_padding\" style=\"padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;\"><div class=\"wistia_responsive_wrapper\" style=\"height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;top:0;width:100%;\"><div class=\"wistia_embed wistia_async_k0az8ch5gm seo=false videoFoam=true\" style=\"height:100%;position:relative;width:100%\"><div class=\"wistia_swatch\" style=\"height:100%;left:0;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0;transition:opacity 200ms;width:100%;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/embed\/medias\/k0az8ch5gm\/swatch\" style=\"filter:blur(5px);height:100%;object-fit:contain;width:100%;\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" onload=\"this.parentNode.style.opacity=1;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-make-your-videos-repeatable\">3. Make your videos repeatable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Create a <strong>Template<\/strong> to easily repeat a video style:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use <strong>Placeholders<\/strong> to create sections in your video that can be used in varying videos<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Save as a Template<\/strong> to quickly recreate a video in a previous style, based on a video you already created<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<script src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/embed\/medias\/2vdrj934y1.jsonp\" async=\"\"><\/script><script src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/assets\/external\/E-v1.js\" async=\"\"><\/script><div class=\"wistia_responsive_padding\" style=\"padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;\"><div class=\"wistia_responsive_wrapper\" style=\"height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;top:0;width:100%;\"><div class=\"wistia_embed wistia_async_2vdrj934y1 seo=false videoFoam=true\" style=\"height:100%;position:relative;width:100%\"><div class=\"wistia_swatch\" style=\"height:100%;left:0;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0;transition:opacity 200ms;width:100%;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/embed\/medias\/2vdrj934y1\/swatch\" style=\"filter:blur(5px);height:100%;object-fit:contain;width:100%;\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" onload=\"this.parentNode.style.opacity=1;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1. Set up your digital environment Hide your desktop icons. On Windows this can be done by Right-clicking on the desktop, choosing View and deselecting Show Desktop Icons. Close or turn off notifications from programs so that they do not appear on your screen. Have programs open and ready for recording before hitting the red [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":175271,"template":"single-tutorial-redesign.php","tcategory":[1928],"ttag":[],"tutorial_folder":[],"class_list":["post-174860","tutorial","type-tutorial","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tcategory-using-video-in-online-courses"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Making Your First How-To Video | Academy Tutorial<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Setting up How-To content has never been easier. 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