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In the realm of internet marketing, new techniques and approaches are latched onto with great verve and are the immediately flogged to death as the method gets watered down and abused. One thing that has managed to survive and thrive despite being misused by numerous marketers is the use of video in pre-launch campaigns.

The ability for marketers to quickly and cheaply product high quality promotional videos has become commonplace as the technology has become readily available. What used to take dedicated workstations to do can now be done on standard laptop computers.

What used to take professional film crews and high-end betamax recording cameras that cost tens of thousands of dollars can now be done for next to nothing. A Flip Cam or Kodak Zi8 can record hours of 720p, high definition video right inside a device not much bigger than a pack of playing cards. Even the mobile phone in your pocket may be able to record high definition video.

Powerpoint and Keynote are now prominent tools in the toolbox of the internet marketer who is turning out videos as products or for promotional purposes. The tools have the ability to take slides and add advanced animation and movement while at the same time being easy to use for just about everyone. In years gone by, graphical tricks were the domain of Hollywood for television and movies, now just about anyone can put these things together and place them on the internet.

While the cost and quality in video has shifted dramatically, sound has also seen dramatic changes. By recording everything digitally, the audio is very easy to work with in post-production and can be manipulated and corrected before final mixing. Lapel mics and digital recorders are very cost effective solutions for live shoots while USB microphones and headsets can produce outstanding results for screen captures.

Technology has not stopped changing just in the field, the editing suite has also undergone a massive transformation. Almost all video and audio can be edited using tools like Adobe Premier Suite and Final Cut Studio on affordable Macs and PCs. At these prices, the tools aren’t out of touch for even small scale producers. In the screen capture are, Camtasia and Screenflow make producing these type of videos easy and cheap.

All of these tools now make it possible for anyone with a reasonable camera or average computer to produce their own high quality videos. These videos can be used to tell stories or market products. When you add to it systems like YouTube, Vimeo and Viddler – the average person now has the means to create and widely distribute high definition video at their own leisure.

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Video recording software is made to help users in producing videos of their pc screen by capturing all actions. These actions carry even the cursor movement on the display. Most of these products let you tape both video and audio at the same time. The normal output of these products is in AVI format. In addition to this, some of these applications enable you to change the quality of the video, its frame rate and the option to show the cursor or not. You can also set the product if you need to record in full screen, window or in a selected area. These products are normally uncomplicated and easy to employ. This implies that even a novice can utilize and savor the software’s features.

There are many free and paid video recording software usable today. Here are some details on a couple of them. First is the Jing program. Jing gives both screen shot and screen casting features. It is also known for its uncomplicated and user-friendly interface. This application is also totally free of charge, so that should be a certain plus. Jing puts a little icon on the top of the screen which permits you to take a screenshot or make a screen recording. The screen recording will be in .SWF format. The results of the screenshot and recordings can be stored to your local machine or put on screencast.com. Like most video recording programs, Jing records both video and audio.

Another example of a great video recording application is Camtasia Studio. This program is created by the same folks who developed Jing. Camtasia Studio is a Windows program that captures everything that is happening on your monitor. It is outstanding for producing videos for walkthroughs and instructionals. These types of applications are really in high demand nowadays because of the increasing number of folks making instructional videos for sites like YouTube. This product doesn’t neccesitate the user to be a professional in order for him to create professional looking videos.

Camtasia Studio’s interface can be a little puzzling for ordinary users at first. Luckily it comes with a 5 minute instructional video showing all there is to know about the application’s features. This bundle costs $299 US dollars and it also provides a 30 day free trial.

CamStudio is another fantastic video recording software that is available for no cost. This application is able to record all screen and audio activity on your computer and build video files in AVI format. It also has a built-in SWF producer that can turn those AVI files into Streaming Flash Videos.

All of these products can be utilized to make demonstration or instructional videos for any software program. Don’t forget though that there are also several other wonderful video recording applications aside from the ones mentioned here. Whilst not all of them might work to your preference, it is best to try and test what you can and then determine what software suits you best.

Check out The Six Figure Code for advanced help on using video marketing for your own product launches.