A couple days ago, I spent $9 on the Rails Envy guys’ latest screencast, covering the new features in Rails 2.2. I had not checked out their first screencast, but I had heard about their green screen. They have taken a unique approach to screencasting by putting themselves right in front of the code and graphics, and I was very curious to see how it works in practice. I’ll tell you now that I was blown away.

First off, the production quality is amazing. The code samples are gorgeous, and the added graphics were very sharp. Jason and Gregg both wear lapel microphones so their voices sound crisp and clear. Everything about the production quality screamed professionalism. If these guys don’t spend an atrocious amount of time in pre- and post-production, they’ve got some amazing tricks up their sleeve. If you’re listening, guys, I’d love a blog post on the tools and techniques you use to create your screencasts.

I was also very impressed by the content itself. If you’ve given a full-length technical presentation before, then you know the amount of time and effort it takes to do the research and put it all together. Jason and Gregg not only did their research, they explained things amazingly well. The pace was just right, and the combination of spoken explanations with accompanying code samples and graphics made each of their examples very easy to follow.

One thing to be prepared for is the amount of cheesy jokes. If you’ve heard their podcasts (of which I’m also a fan), then you know what to be prepared for. If you want serious and professional, then their style is probably not for you. If you can have some fun with a little cheesiness and some politically incorrect humor, though, then you’ll be right at home.

My only real gripe is one that I share for all other screencasts that I’ve purchased (Peepcode and the Prags). Here at EdgeCase we want a legal way to watch these screencasts as a group. We’re happy to pay a little more, but probably not willing to purchase the screencast for everyone in the group. Group discounts or licensing? I honestly don’t know the solution, but there is likely profit to be made for those who figure it out.

The bottom line is that nine dollars is an absolute steal for this kind of instruction. I plan to purchase their first screencast to discover some nuggets of ActiveRecord that I might have overlooked, and I hope to see much more from them in the future. Amazing work, guys.