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How to Record Video on Your Mac

It's easy to take a video on a Mac

By Jordan Baranowski Jordan Baranowski Writer University of Kansas Avila University Jordan Baranowski is a former Lifewire writer and educator with experience writing for SVG, The Nerd Stash, and Feast Magazine. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on May 6, 2021 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email

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Expand Jump to a Section Using QuickTime Player Recording Without an App Using Photo Booth Using iMovie Recording video on your Mac is easy once you get the hang of it. Although there are plenty of commercial video editing applications out there, you don't have to start by buying one of them. Several apps that are capable of recording video ship with the Mac. Here are the different ways to record video through the various apps already on your Mac.

Record Video on Mac With QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player is a free bare-bones version of the QuickTime video recording application. It comes installed on your Mac. Open the Applications folder, which you can reach by clicking the Applications folder in the Mac Dock or a Finder window. Then, click QuickTime Player to open it. Once QuickTime is open, click File in the menu bar. In the drop-down menu are two movie options: New Movie Recording or New Screen Recording. Select New Movie Recording to open your Mac's video camera and record what it sees. Select New Screen Recording for options to record what occurs on the entire Mac screen or in only one section of it. After you chose an option, the QuickTime control panel appears. To start recording video, click the button with the red dot. To stop recording, click the same button. How to Record Audio on Mac: Learn More

How to Record on Mac Without Using an App

If all you want to do is record your screen activity, there's a way to cut out some of the steps of going through QuickTime Player. If you downloaded the Mojave update for macOS, press Command+Shift+5. This should sound familiar if you've used the similar keyboard shortcut (Command+Shift+4) to take a screenshot. When you use this keyboard shortcut, a toolbar opens with two options in the middle: The first looks like a solid box with a record symbol in the lower-right corner. Select it to record the entire screen.The other looks like a dotted box with the same record symbol. Use it to select a portion of the screen to record. For either option, stop recording by either clicking Stop in the toolbar or by pressing Command+Control+Esc. Use the thumbnail that appears to trim, save, or share your new video.

Use Photo Booth to Take a Video

Photo Booth is another app you can use to take a video. Open Photo Booth by selecting its icon in the Mac Dock or by opening the Applications folder. Once the app is open, look in the lower-left corner of the window for three icons. Starting from the left, your options are: Take four quick pictures.Take a still picture.Record a movie clip. Select the third option and then click the red camera in the center to begin recording. Click the red camera again to stop recording.

Use iMovie to Import Directly Into the App

Your final option for easily recording video on a Mac is by using iMovie. This app is more involved than the others covered here, but it gives you more freedom in editing your videos. Open the iMovie app. Click the Import button, represented by a down arrow. Select the camera you want to use, which will usually be the built-in camera. Select the Event you want the video to be added to in the Import to menu. You can either open an existing one or create a new one. To begin recording your video, click the Record button at the bottom of the screen and click it again to stop recording. Close the video window when you're done recording. The clips you recorded are added to the selected event. Edit the clips with the standard suite of iMovie tools. You don't need to go through this entire process each time you record a new clip. Every time you start and stop recording, a new clip is made. You can create several in a row. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Screen Record with Audio in Windows 11 How to Stop Screen Recording on Mac How to Use the Video Editor in Windows 11 How to Screen Record on the iPhone 12 How to Record Your iPad Screen to Your Mac for Free How to Make Screencasts With Windows 10 Xbox Game DVR How to Mirror an iPhone to a Mac How to Screen Record on a Laptop How to Splice and Edit Video on the iPad How to Import Video to iMovie How to Screen Record on Your Mac The 7 Best Screen Capture Software of 2022 How to Record Audio on Mac How to Repost a Video on Instagram How to Record Your Screen on Windows 10 How to Screen Record on FaceTime Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies