When editing your project, you can now draw an annotation over top your recording with a mouse (or with a Wacom tablet as we do). This has pros and cons, in my opinion, but is ultimately a great step forward. Rather than offer the ability to use a built-in pen tool while recording, Screenflow 8 now allows you to add them in post-production.

Screenflow’s new option for adding handwritten annotations offers a new approach, though it’s still not perfect. This can make recording a video even more overwhelming for an instructor. However, many pen tools are obtuse with too many buttons or don’t work overtop slides in presentation mode. And seeing an instructor actually write and annotate gives the video a personal and intimate feel. It’s an easy concept for instructors to grasp onto since it’s so similar to their existing teaching style. It’s similar to using a white board but more legible for digital audiences. One of the easiest ways for translating classroom lectures to a format tailored for online video is simply doing a screen recording of an instructor using a pen tool to annotate over their slides or a blank background. Among some of the smaller new features in Screenflow 8, there was one that immediately stood out: handwritten annotations. Mostly, this means preset styles, project templates, access to a stock media library… Like Camtasia, these new features are great if you’re looking for all-in-one shop at the cost of limiting the control of design and animation. With Screenflow’s new version (8 for those counting), many of the new features are keeping pace with it’s competitor Camtasia.