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I have created a PowerPoint presentation and I want to create a video of me presenting it. I'm looking for a software to make my life easier. The features I'm looking for are:

  1. Can record a 25-minute video for free.
  2. Works on Mac.
  3. Can record the screen and me (audio+video).
  4. Lets me rewind while recording and continue from there, so that if I make a tiny mistake I can just go a few seconds (or one slide) back and continue recording.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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  • $\begingroup$ I'm hearing good comments on obs studio obsproject.com $\endgroup$
    – Rushi
    Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 6:48

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OBS Studio fills your description.

It is not the easiest program to use, but you can find plenty of tutorials on YouTube.

While rewinding the recording again might seem appealing, it is very common to find out more errors after you complete the recording. In that case, you need a better video editor. OBS studio might be enough, but shotcut is your best bet.

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  • $\begingroup$ Been using OBS for the past few years and it's excellent. $\endgroup$
    – Ryan Nutt
    Commented Jul 30, 2020 at 23:07
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For high-stakes presentations, I suggest writing a script. 1 page of well-spaced A4 reads back at ~3 minutes and allows you to get your points across clearly and concisely, especially points that need to be well-phrased.

This should enable you to do a one-take presentation on Zoom or OBS.

If you baulk at writing a presentation, record yourself, transcribe it (I think that’s built into Word on a Mac) then tidy it up. If you are like me, that will involve deleting many instances of the word “arm”.

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    $\begingroup$ Good idea, but as a non-native English speaker, even when I write a script or memorize everything, I still make silly pronunciation mistakes and sometimes get stuck in saying a word. Anyway, in the end, after many many rehearsals, I just recorded a single take presentation as you suggested, and yes it is not perfect but I guess I'm okay with that. $\endgroup$
    – Ella Sharakanski
    Commented Aug 20, 2020 at 11:56
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    $\begingroup$ Well done Ella! I don't try to memorize the script... I make sure the script is just underneath my webcam so it looks like I have an amazing memory :) $\endgroup$
    – David Lovell
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 0:44
  • $\begingroup$ hahahaha nice :) $\endgroup$
    – Ella Sharakanski
    Commented Aug 23, 2020 at 12:37
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If you don't mind skipping your own face, your easiest, cheapest option is probably PowerPoint itself. PowerPoint allows you to record audio (and animations) for each slide, set up timing for the next slide to start automatically, and export the entire thing as a video.

I'm not aware of any product that both fits criteria 1 (free) and criteria 3 (video of you).

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  • $\begingroup$ You are right, that's a good solution, except I do want to show my face. Regarding products that are free and show a video of me + the screen, there is zoom (you can start a conversation with yourself, share the screen and record), and also you can use the built-in "screenshots" program, and from there you can put your face on the screen and record the screen $\endgroup$
    – Ella Sharakanski
    Commented Jul 28, 2020 at 11:46
  • $\begingroup$ By the way if you know a program that answers the requirements and has a trial period of two weeks, that would be enough for me. $\endgroup$
    – Ella Sharakanski
    Commented Jul 28, 2020 at 11:56
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    $\begingroup$ @EllaSharakanski Why not just use Zoom, then? $\endgroup$
    – Ben I. ♦
    Commented Jul 28, 2020 at 12:56
  • $\begingroup$ OBS studio (open broacaster system) should do the job. $\endgroup$
    – Michel Billaud
    Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 6:01
  • $\begingroup$ @BenI. It's okay, but I was hoping for a program that answers requirement number 4 to minimize edit time. I often say the wrong word or sentence and I would really like the possibility to easily go a few seconds back and continue from there. $\endgroup$
    – Ella Sharakanski
    Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 10:09
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If we look at the world of movies. We see that long single takes (cut less scenes) are rear and often talked about. There are hard to do, and slow down the pace of a movie. Consider recording in smaller slices.

Next consider that mistakes can improve teaching. If you show your students that you also make mistakes, then you can improve their confidence. When I teach the same class over and over, I get good at it. When doing demonstrations, I have to concisely add in mistakes. I am demonstrating how to program. If I show that I get it correct first time, then I am not showing right.

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    $\begingroup$ Thank you, but my presentation is for a well-known computer science conference and it's about theoretical computer science, so I don't think I should add any mistakes. Usually those lectures are with an audience, but because of the virus it will be pre-recorded. So it's not like a movie, it is more like a ted lecture, which is usually a single take. $\endgroup$
    – Ella Sharakanski
    Commented Aug 3, 2020 at 16:07

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