Google Season of Docs Update #1

Google Season of Docs came to me at the perfect time in my career. I just started a technical writing position less than a year ago, and I felt like I had a lot to learn. This is my second career after spending six years in higher education. Luckily, the transition was not too difficult, and I have found a lot of similarities between both fields. This was the career I was always meant to pursue but never knew existed! This program allows me to work on other projects—completely different from what I work on in my day job. My first task was to create an explainer video discussing how the Internet works. To be honest, I am not fully versed in the subject, but this was the challenge I was looking for.

The Tools

In the past, I worked with video creation tools such as Camtasia and Articulate; however, I do not have licenses for these tools or anything similar on my personal computer. It is always a challenge to work with limited resources and create something professional. I decided to work with what I had. Microsoft PowerPoint is surprisingly well-suited for creating this type of video.

The Process

I created vector illustrations using the drawing tools that are native to PowerPoint. I recorded all of the audio in Audacity and applied noise reduction effects to get the best-sounding voiceover. I worked with advanced animation functions in PowerPoint and matched the animations' timing to my voiceover by setting triggers in PowerPoint. From there, I was able to add transitions and rehearse timings. The video came together really well, and I am really satisfied with the final product. Through this process, I found a method that worked for creating animation triggers based on the embedded voiceover. I am sharing a tutorial as well as some of my observations in the video below.

Until next time, happy writing!