Stream your message – easily create video communications

Matthew explains how you can record and edit videos with Microsoft 365

Reading time: 4 minutes

Something positive that happened in 2020, was that many of us suddenly became more comfortable being on camera, because of the necessity of the situations we were dealing with.

We also learnt that while, to steal a Microsoft term, being together face to face is the ‘premium’ experience, a video can achieve a warm, authentic engagement as a message sharing platform too.

It was during the depths of the pandemic that I discovered two things that I didn’t necessarily expect.

Firstly, Having worked at a sub-office of an organisation for many years, despite now really being on my own, I felt much closer to the leadership and direction of the company. A main reason for this was the regular video messages from the board. The magic to me, was that I knew the person had recorded it themselves, and there wasn’t a glossy production over it. (Don’t get me wrong, there is a place for well produced materials too!)

Secondly, I could just as easily show someone how to do something on their computer by showing and talking them through the process on my own screen, and that I found the experience much quicker than writing down the steps to share them.

At that time I was using a web based design tool to create my videos, download them and then share them on Stream. Recently I’ve discovered (I must have missed the memo) that I can skip the middleman and create videos easily in Stream too.

What is Stream?

Stream is a video app included with Microsoft 365, it replaces an older app called Stream Classic that you might see references to.

Stream is essentially a player and editor for videos, it’s the app that you watch back Teams meeting recordings in. Stream doesn’t host your videos, instead it files them in either your OneDrive or in SharePoint, exactly how you’d handle documents and presentations.

When you launch Stream from the App Launcher (Waffle) along with being able to browse your video content you’re able to do four things:

1. Upload a video – it will be saved to your OneDrive, you can then share it with others.
2. Screen recording – record your actions and include a narration
3. Camera recording – use your webcam to record a video message
4. Playlist – create a playlist of existing videos

Focusing on the recording options, what are the things I really like about Stream?

Simplicity

It’s really straightforward to use to create useful, practical outcomes. The content created is automatically saved back to my OneDrive, so when I’m finished I can quickly share the content.

Screen recording

Creating a screen recording is super simple, you select your screen or window press record and start narrating your actions. You can choose if you like, to appear as a picture-in-picture in the corner to add that extra touch.

Recording a message

You’re not going to be making blockbuster movies in Stream but to record a candid one to many message it’s perfect. Some nice bits are the ability to add a background, some on screen effects, but the really great feature is the teleprompter that allows you to copy and paste a script to keep you focused.

Post record

Once you’re done you can quickly trim or cut out mistakes before the video is available in Stream where you can then add captions and chapters if you need.

Overall, I was really impressed with using Stream to create simple, useful and engaging video content.

Matthew

PS – Did you also know you can send video messages in Teams chats? – Press the little plus button on a chat to find out how! 😉

Matthew is a Consultant at Your 365 Coach

Published 12 July 2024

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