Camtasia--Editing Video(s) Part 4:Callouts

One of the benefits of working with Camtasia, is having a built-in studio, eliminating the need to save the file in a specific format and import it into another program to crop or otherwise edit your clips or videos. Today, we're going to talk about how to add emphasis to slides, or something within them by adding callouts.

Callouts are exactly what they sound like, a sort of virtual person within your video yelling out "Hey, pay attention to this" to whomever is viewing your video. Arrows are perhaps the most commonly used callouts, but you can also select speech bubbles, and a variety of other shapes and tools to call attetnion to what is important within a clip.


1)Once you have brought up your video, select Callouts... from your Edit menu on the Task List.
(Like Transitions or titles, this will bring up a new screen in your window.)

2)Click on Add Callout, found below the box of previously made callouts.

3)Next, select the shape or type of callout you would like to use. (i.e. arrows, speech/thought bubbles, etc.)

4)Chose a border and Fill color for your callout.

5) By selecting the Make Flash Hot Spot box, you can chose both the time during the clip which your callout enters and exits.

6)Similarly to titles, you can chose where on the screen you wish your callout to appear by moving the light green outline surrounding your callout on the preview screen.

7)Finally, in the box below write and format your text as you wish it to appear in your callout.

8)Properties will allow you to set whether or not your callout fades in or out, or has a shadow when it appears in your clip.

9)When you have finished, scroll back up to the top of the window and select OK.

10) Your callout will now appear in your video where you have specified. You may add another by clikcin the add callout button below the box, or you may modify, copy, or delete the one you have just created.

If you are trhough with adding callouts select the finished button at the top of the page to return to Camtasia's main page.


[Be sure to stay tuned for more tips and tutorials about using Camtasia!]