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I'm making a screencast tutorial of a webapp. It's primarily boring.

Can anyone recommend an appropriate soothing background music from the FCP audio content?

This will be my first time using Final Cut Pro X (or any video editing software).

Rory Alsop
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During the tutorial I'd recommend that you didn't have any music playing at all, it can be distracting to your audience and even sometimes annoying for somebody who is trying to follow what you are saying. I would however suggest that you use music in your intro and outro at the beginning and end of the tutorial respectively. There are loads of great Apple loops to choose from, some that you should try out are, Adrenaline Electronica, Crime Lab, Phazed and Infused, Sixties Rock Short or Whos Blues Short...At the end of the day it's all about what goes with the video, but I would definitely just leave music for an intro and outro...The best tutorials are the ones that are easy to follow, clear and concise...your audience will be watching it to learn not to be entertained, so I wouldn't worry too much if you personally find it boring!

Hope this helps!

  • +1. KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid. The less irrelevant things you have going, the better. Anything that holds no pertinence will detract from your product and music all the way through can often be a deal breaker. –  Jul 16 '11 at 07:42
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    KISS: Haven't heard that one before, like it! –  Jul 17 '11 at 02:12
  • I wouldn't put KISS on a screencast. – Sam Greene Jul 21 '11 at 21:17
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Educational screencasts (tutorials) shouldn't have any background music when instructor speaks. Commercial clips on the other hand should. Please note that no standard exist for these items. Rather, there are some de-facto conventions and patterns which people follow. See Youtube, Vimeo, or other video sharing sites and search for many tutorials. You shouldn't find tutorials with background music.

Therefore, I think that not having a background music for a tutorial is a kind of norm in the world of education, which means that if you want to be normal (someone who follows norms) you gotta avoid putting background music. However, please also consider that this is your tutorial and you're free to do almost whatever you like to do with it. Who knows, maybe your tutorials become new models for other educational screencasts.

As a technique for making your tutorials more appealing, I recommend rising and falling your voice. Also use good color, typography, and layout for your presentation slides. Good video and audio quality and having no noise is also another factor which matters. Good luck!

Saeed Neamati
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