Do I really need a script?

Some teachers, presenters, and screencasters are so accomplished at presenting their material that they feel comfortable working without a script. Using this method, the presenter simply records his or her own voice while recording the video. They may feel comfortable working from notes or an outline with just a few words to remind them what to cover. If you want to try this approach, by all means do. It does not work for me. The following illustration shows the components of a vocal recording session, including a microphone, headphones, a script document, and a computer to record the audio:

If you try to "wing it" through the script, you should be aware of the pitfalls. While you may save some time if you can record video and audio together, the finished product will seem less well organized and might even look and sound amateurish. You may find yourself rehearsing and rerecording more if you work without a script.

Using a script and recording the audio and video...