Interactive walkthroughs are essential for engaging communication, but traditional tools like Loom can be time-intensive. BaseStation simplifies this process with modular walkthroughs designed for efficiency.
BaseStation at a glance:
- Create bite-sized videos for each section of your document and attach them directly where they belong.
- Avoid recording one long, 10-minute video.
- Adjust individual clips without re-recording the entire video if you make a mistake or need to make a small change.
- Update specific clips with custom intros or client-specific details without starting over.
- Viewers see the exact video they need at the moment they need it, thanks to the modular format.
Loom at a glance:
- Loom is a go-to tool for quickly recording your screen and explaining content.
- Hit record, walk through your document, and share the video—perfect for simple, full-length recordings.
- Label sections within the video to help viewers jump to the relevant parts.
- Ideal for quick demos or informal updates where a single recording works well.
- Personalizing for different clients can be tricky—editing requires re-recording or splicing multiple clips together.
Key differences between BaseStation and Loom
Why BaseStation outperforms Loom for document walkthroughs
There are many great things about Loom. It’s good for presentations, tutorials that need you to share your screen, and for recording one-off long-form videos with dedicated sections.
But let’s be honest, it wasn’t built for walkthrough videos. It wasn’t made to highlight the specific sections of your client proposals, contracts, or insurance docs.
BaseStation was.
These are the reasons it comes out on top here.
Modular videos
BaseStation lets you create bite-sized videos for each document section. Clients can jump directly to the part they’re interested in—whether it's pricing, timelines, or deliverables—without scrolling through a lengthy video. Loom, on the other hand, requires a single, long recording that viewers have to scrub through to find the section they need.
Personalization made easy
With Loom, personalizing your content means re-recording the entire video. But BaseStation allows you to edit and swap individual clips without starting over, making it easy to add specific details for different clients or prospects.
Better collaboration
If multiple people need to weigh in on a proposal, BaseStation’s modular videos allow you to swap out individual clips, maintaining the integrity of the overall walkthrough. Loom’s single, long video format makes this process more cumbersome.
Simpler, more efficient workflow
Loom's interface is straightforward for quick recordings but lacks the flexibility needed for detailed document walkthroughs. BaseStation is built for exactly this task, offering a more structured workflow that is intuitive from start to finish.
Contextual sharing
With Loom, you share a single video link, forcing clients to navigate the whole video. BaseStation allows you to embed videos directly into specific sections of your document, guiding the viewer to the relevant content without extra effort.
Loom vs BaseStation: a more detailed breakdown
For the purpose of this piece, I compared BaseStation and Loom against five criteria:
- Ease of use
- Video creation options
- Personalization features
- Integration and sharing
- Pricing
Here’s what I found.
Ease of Use
- Loom. Is pretty intuitive. It can take a while to familiarize yourself with the dashboard, but once you’ve got it down you can just hit record and you’re off.
- BaseStation. Also incredibly intuitive. The platform’s structured workflow and video-attachment options are designed to save you headaches later on.
Video creation options
- Loom. Great for full-length recordings, but if you need to break things into smaller parts, you have to manually record multiple videos.
- BaseStation. You can easily create bite-sized videos for each section of your document, and it’s simple to tweak or update individual pieces without starting from scratch.
Personalization features
- Loom. Personalizing with Loom can be tricky. You often need to re-record entire videos to make specific changes.
- BaseStation. You can easily update the specific video clips you need and the rest of your walkthrough stays intact.
Integration and sharing
- Loom. The one-size-fits-all approach means you have to sharie links rather than embed them contextually.
- BaseStation. You can attach videos to specific sections, so your clients can see the right content at the right time without extra navigation.
Pricing
- Loom. There’s a free plan you can use for up to 25 videos. The downside is you only get 5 minutes of recording time on each video—otherwise, it’s $15 a month to upgrade.
- BaseStation. Create five video walkthroughs on the free plan or upgrade to the $ 20-a-month plan for access to all features.
Putting Loom and BaseStation to the test: an experiment
To really get a feel for how each tool works, I used both to create a document walkthrough for a client proposal.
Here’s how it went.
How to do a video walkthrough with BaseStation
BaseStation is incredibly easy to start using.
There are basically three steps to the process:
1. Upload your PDF document (this opens a new workspace for the doc)
2. Click “Add Video” and choose where you want to attach the video
3. Record the video
Voila!
When you click “Add Video”, you can choose to either record a new video, upload a pre-recorded one, or choose one from your library (all videos you record will be stored here so you can mix and match modular elements from different documents).
If you choose to record a video, a new window will open where you can see yourself and choose what mic and camera you want to use.
Hit “Start Recording” when you’re ready and you’re good to go.
You can then repeat this process for every new section you want to walk through in your doc. For example, I added videos for each section of this proposal to give clients further info. The great thing is if I need to personalize, say, the intro video for each client, I can just swap out that video and leave the rest in place.
How to do a video walkthrough on Loom
Loom is a little more confusing when you first sign in. Unlike BaseStation, which lists all your current documents right in the dashboard, you have to navigate to your video library. From there, you can click “New Video” to record a new video.
When you click record it’ll open up two new windows: one that shows your face (you can move this around) and another window where you can choose your audio and camera options.
The clunky part here is you then have to select the window or tab you want to film. So, if you’re doing a walkthrough of a proposal document, you need to have that open on your computer.
The annoying thing is, if you’re using the browser version of Loom, the thumbnail of your face doesn’t move with you to another tab. You have to download the desktop app or use the Chrome extension. Using either of these versions also lets you hit record on any page, so you don’t have to keep going into Loom to start a new video.
You then have to record your entire script or walkthrough in one hit—you can stop and start the video as you go, but it joins it all together at the end.
The chapter feature is quite handy for breaking down longer videos, but note that each section needs to be at least five seconds long, and viewers will often still have to scrub through to find the bit they’re looking for.
As you can see, two very different processes.
BaseStation’s sole purpose is to build out really useful document walkthroughs with bitesize video clips, and every part of the process ties into that. It’s intuitive and easy to add new videos as you work your way through the doc.
Loom, on the other hand, takes more of a “presentation” approach. You need to have your document fired up on your computer and then record your screen to walkthrough it. The Chrome extensions and desktop app make it easier to record videos from any page, but that adds another step in the process.
BaseStation: your new tool for document walkthroughs
Video is a valuable way to explain your work. Nothing gets lost in translation and it adds a human touch.
But when it comes to creating personalized walkthroughs that clients actually find useful, BaseStation is in a league of its own.
The modular, customizable approach means you can tailor walkthroughs to each client without any extra effort. They get the information they need, exactly when they need it.
