Record Your Screen and Webcam

A face in the corner turns a recording into someone explaining something to you, rather than a cursor drifting around on its own. It helps most with onboarding videos, course lessons, product demos and updates to a remote team, where tone matters as much as the content.

It isn’t always the right call. For a bug report or a ten-second how-to, the bubble can get in the way of what matters. Switching between Screen and Screen + Camera takes one click, so decide per recording.

The bubble is drawn into the video itself. It looks the same in every player, and you don’t need an editor to line up two separate files afterwards.

Every option can be changed before you start, and the preview shows exactly what will be recorded.

• Shape: a circle suits a talking head. A rounded rectangle shows more of your surroundings, which helps if you’re holding something up to the camera.
• Size: three sizes, from a small bubble that stays out of the way to a larger one for when you’re the main subject.
• Corner: any of the four. Most apps keep menus at the top and status bars at the bottom, so pick the corner your content uses least.
• Mirroring: the camera image is mirrored, which is how most people are used to seeing themselves.

None of these need new equipment:

• Light your face from the front. A window or lamp behind you turns you into a silhouette.
• Raise the camera to eye level. A laptop on a stack of books works fine.
• Look at the lens when you make a key point, not at your own bubble.
• Close anything private before sharing the entire screen, or share a single window or tab instead.
• Record a ten-second test and play it back to check your sound and framing.