To make a training video people can ask questions on, record your screen as you demonstrate a task, explaining each step as you go. Add chapters so viewers can easily revisit specific parts, then share the recording with comments enabled. With SceneNote, questions are pinned to the exact moment, and your replies stay there for anyone watching later.
The short version
- Pick one task per video.
- Record your screen while you do it, explaining as you go.
- Add a chapter for each step.
- Write a description of what it covers.
- Turn comments on and share the link.
- Answer questions where they land.
ON THIS PAGE · 7 SECTIONS
What makes a good tutorial recording?
A good tutorial shows one task from start to finish, at the pace of someone doing it for the first time. In post-production, that might be training an assistant to sync and organise rushes, showing a new freelancer your house style, or teaching a colour grading technique. Outside it: a software how-to, onboarding for new staff, a lesson for a class, or a guide for your team.
- One task per video. “How we sync rushes” beats “everything about our workflow”. Short videos are easier to find, and easier to redo when something changes.
- Do it for real. Show the actual steps, mistakes and fixes included, rather than describing them.
- Slow down. Pause on each click long enough for someone to find it on their own screen.
- Say why, not just what. People remember a step better when they know what it's for.
A tutorial is for anyone, again and again. If you're showing one editor one project, How to walk another editor through your project is the better guide.
How do you record a tutorial, step by step?
How to record a video walkthrough covers every step in detail; this is the short version.
- Open the app or files you're teaching, at the first step.
- In SceneNote, choose New project, then Record screen, and name it after the task, like “How we sync rushes”.
- Share the window you're working in, so viewers only see what matters.
- Do the task, explaining as you go. Pause when you need to set something up.
- Trim it, cut any long waits (a render, a slow load), and add a chapter at each step.
- Write the description, turn comments on and share the link.
How do you make a tutorial easy to follow?
Make a tutorial easy to follow by giving people ways to find a step again without watching from the start.
- A chapter for each step. Chapters show on the timeline and in the About tab, so people jump straight back to the step they need.
- A description that lists what's covered, and anything to have ready first. It sits in the About tab beside the video.
- A transcript and captions. SceneNote transcribes your voice automatically. People can read along, search for a word like “export” to find the moment, or turn on captions with the CC button.
- Zoom in on small things. Settings panels and menus are hard to read on a whole screen. Zoom in, or share just the window.
- Keep the camera small. Your face helps, but the screen is the lesson. Make the bubble smaller, or swap it with the screen when you're talking straight to camera.
Here's a description you can copy and adapt:
How we sync and organise rushes, in five chapters: importing, syncing sound, naming clips, bins, and the first timeline.
Have the card copies and sound files from the shoot ready. If anything's unclear, pause and leave a note at that step, and I'll answer there.
How do people ask questions on each step?
People ask by leaving a note at the moment they get stuck, and you answer under it.
- Turn comments on: Allow comments in the recording editor, or Comments in Project settings.
- Share the link. Nobody needs an account; people type their name the first time they leave a note.
- They pause where they're stuck and leave a note, or select a few words in the transcript and comment on them.
- You reply under the note. Questions and answers stay on the video, so the next person can read them too.
Over time, the notes become a list of questions for that tutorial, pinned to the steps people actually find hard. If one step keeps getting the same question, it's worth recording that step again.
For a finished course or training video you don't want discussed, leave comments off: How to share a video without inviting comments explains how.
What does this look like on a real project?
A friend wanted to learn colour grading, so instead of getting him on a call, I recorded myself grading and talking it through. I didn't want to be interrupted, I wanted to get it all out, and I knew he'd want to rewatch parts of it. That's what tutorials are like.
It ended up a full hour, so I split it into chapters for each part of the grading process, and he could jump straight back to whichever part he needed. I left comments on, so if he had a question about something I hadn't covered, he could leave a note at that moment and I'd answer him right there.
The best part is that it's still there. On a call, he'd have had to remember it all. Now every time he gets stuck or forgets a step, he goes back to it, and if he has a question, I get a notification and answer it.
One tip: training videos have information all over the screen, so don't stress if the camera bubble covers a corner. You can move it afterwards, and viewers can move it themselves too.
How to handle common problems
The software changes after you record
Say in the description which version of the software you used. When the steps change, record that one task again rather than the whole series. That's another reason to keep to one task per video.
The tutorial needs to last
On the free plan, uploaded media, recordings included, expires 30 days after it's uploaded. For a training library people come back to, Pro keeps your recordings with no expiry.
People skip ahead and miss a step
Number the chapters (“1. Logging in”, “2. Dashboard” and so on) so the order is obvious, and say at the start which steps they can't skip.
It runs too long
Split it into one video per task. A short series is easier to follow, and easier to update, than one long video.
FAQ
Can viewers turn on captions?
Yes. The CC button shows the transcript over the picture as captions, one line at a time.
Can I record a tutorial in another language?
Yes. Transcription works in about 100 languages, and the transcript can be translated into English.
Can I fix a word the transcript got wrong?
Yes. Double-click a line on the Transcript tab to correct it.
Do viewers need an account?
No. They open the link and watch, and type their name the first time they leave a note.
Can I record on a phone or tablet?
No. Recording needs a browser on a computer, but people can watch on a phone.
What's the simplest way to make a training video people can ask questions on?
Record one task at a time with your screen, camera and voice, add a chapter for each step, write a short description, and share the link with comments on. People ask at the exact step they're stuck on, and the answers stay with the video.
Show and tell in one go. Let them watch at their own pace.
Record your screen, explain each step and share a tutorial they can revisit. Free with an account.
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Bryn North
Filmmaker and creative director · part of the team behind SceneNote
Bryn North is a filmmaker and creative director who has been making films since 2013, mostly documentaries and travel films, with a soft spot for stories about cultural heritage. He has directed, shot and edited launch films for DJI, worked with brands like Audi and Samsung and with a number of tourism boards, and some of his personal travel films have had millions of views. Working with a new client almost every month, he found that most of the job was communication, and that every client gave feedback differently. SceneNote is his answer: one simple way for clients to leave detailed notes and talk them through.
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