Record Videos OBS Studio and iPad with Good Notes

Working on the next-generation developer platform as a product manager requires constant demos. Attending every team gathering could work. I want to scale my time. Recording videos and writing are how I can make the best use of my time. The developer platform that we are building is difficult to explain solely through writing. Developers experience the situation where the documentation is unclear or vague. Video enables users to see step-by-step how to achieve the goal and removes a lot of vagueness in the process.

Recording Tips

In the past, I would use Loom to demo my product to users. I still use Loom from time to time. I am limited to 5 minutes of recording because I am not a subscriber. I like that Loom uses an image mask to hide my background and focus on my presence. I also like that it’s easy to trim and edit videos within their web interface. I want to bring a more Loom-like experience to my recordings using OBS Studio. The first thing I do is add my webcam and add it to a group. I add an image mask filter to the group to keep the source unchanged. According to these streaming video tips, audio and lighting are essential to good videos. Customize your webcam’s exposure and white balance. These are easy tweaks. You can use a backlight behind you to make your videos more pleasant to watch.

Highlighting Users Attention

I cover technical content that can be difficult to understand via written tutorials. I want to grab the viewer’s attention and focus on how to use new features. The mouse cursor can do this to a point. Some apps can make this work. I stumbled upon a video on YouTube that demonstrated what I wanted. In the video example, software streams the display of the iPad to the desktop so that you can use an app with a green background and remove it with OBS chromakey capability. In the video, the host uses a few apps you may or may not want to use. I did pick up APowerMirror for Windows. On Linux, there is UXplay which achieves a similar effect. The main difference for me is that I used Good Notes to be the app I am using for writing. It works amazingly well. I can use the laser pointer or a white brush to draw tips and highlight content. Fair warning, I already had an iPad and iPad pencil I invested in a while ago. I do think they are a must for remote teaching. A drawing tablet is an alternative to this kind of setup.

Conclusion

• Make engaging written content that walks your users through how to use the product.
• Supplement the written content with videos so they can figure out their issues on their own.
• Use OBS Studio to customize and enhance your video creation experience.