Vara Software's fantastic screencasting application, ScreenFlow, has just been updated to version 1.2. Brett and I have both raved about ScreenFlow in the past, but the more I use the program, the more I love it. If you are even marginally interested in doing screencasts, you owe it to yourself to give ScreenFlow a shot.

Some of the highlights from version 1.2:

• French and German localization
  
• Redesigned keyboard modifier display
• You can now copy and paste clips and actions in the same document
• Lasso tool added to the timeline to select groups of clips
• Separate mouse click radar animation for mouse up and down
• General improvements to smoothness and memory usage

You can see the entire list of changes/additions here. ScreenFlow won the Apple Design Award for Best OS X Leopard Application and Best OS X Graphics and Media Application at WWDC 2008 and for good reason -- it is one of the best native Leopard apps that I've come across, taking advantage of Quartz and Core Image to produce stunning results.

ScreenFlow is Leopard only and is $99.99 US for new users. You can download a full-functioning trial program here (final video will have a watermark until the software is unlocked).

I missed my chance to meet up with Vara Software at WWDC, which I was lamenting even before they went and won two Apple Design Awards, including Best Mac OS X Leopard Application. I called Paul Carnine, Vara's founder and one of its developers, to talk about the achievement, Vara Software in general, and their increasingly impressive software lineup.

The software winning all of the acclaim right now is ScreenFlow, which we excitedly covered when it was initially released. With the last several releases it's become increasingly polished and continues to be one of the best screencasting applications on the Mac market. It's possibly the only application in it's category to rightfully bill itself as a complete "studio." Apparently Apple appreciates this one as much as I do.

ScreenFlow 1.1 hit today, and there are over 80 fixes and improvements in the release notes for the current top-dog Mac screencasting application. If you weren't excited the first time we covered this, it might be time to look again. As for me, I had already forged a committed relationship with ScreenFlow. It's always a pleasure to see your partner get smarter and better looking after you tie the knot.

The new version exports faster, thankfully. The press release says export speeds are up 20 to 40% (across most presets), but a little TUAW testing showed that the web-preset exports were 40% faster and then some. And that's with video and audio actions, embedded QuickTime video and an additional MP3 audio track. Export time was a drawback of version 1.0 that I was willing to live with, but I'm quite grateful that I don't have to anymore.

I haven't experienced the oft-mentioned crashing that was plaguing some users, but improvements to overall stability may be of interest to those who have. There are interface improvements such as audio waveforms visible in the tracks, as well as the addition of markers which can be converted to QuickTime chapters. I won't drone on about the dozens of other fixes/changes right now but -- if release notes are your thing -- you can read them here. Or just grab the demo and see it in action. ScreenFlow has a price tag of $99 for a registered version, and 1.1 is a free upgrade for current owners.

Whether you love them or hate them, screencasts made on Macs just got exponentially better. We at TUAW are in awe of the latest contender for your screencasting love: ScreenFlow, from Vara Software (the maker of Wirecast and Videocue). The feature set is, well, unbelievable in comparison to what is currently available on our platform of choice. And it's an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink solution, with a fantastic editor, amazing effects and simultaneous recording of a video camera (or iSight), your full screen, microphone audio and computer audio without even kicking up my fans. Am I gushing? Definitely.

The fans on my MacBook Pro tend to go nuts after a little while of full-screen recording. Screenium was pretty good with that, but it was only a fraction of the solution that ScreenFlow seems to be. The real magic of ScreenFlow starts after the recording is finished. Once you're in the editor, you find that it's tracked all of your movements, foreground windows, keypresses, etc. with precision.

You can cut and fade, zoom and rotate, add callouts for foreground windows or mouse clicks ... I'm still in amazement. No longer will I need Mouseposé; not only does it automate the process of highlighting the mouse position and calling out clicks wherever you want them, it relieves any need to be hitting hotkeys to turn it on and off while you record. Is this finally the Mac Camtasia? Quite probably.

ScreenFlow costs $99.99 and is available for purchase. A fully-functional (watermarked) demo is right here along with a screencast that's seriously worth watching.