In this guide, we'll show you how to create a screencast in Descript.
Making a screen recording in Descript
Set up your screen recording
- At the top of the editor, click and open the
Record panel.
- Select Screen.
- Click
Settings and make adjustments to your recording settings as needed. Learn more about recording settings.
- Choose the audio and video inputs you want to record. You can record
computer audio, your
microphone, and your
Camera. If you're using macOS version 12.3 or earlier, camera preview will not show up while you're recording both your screen and camera at the same time. Don't worry—once you finish recording, you'll see the camera recording in the editor.
- Click
Settings and decide if you want to add Studio Sound, transcribe, or record separate audio tracks.
- If you'd like, add speaker labels by typing them in the text box next to your audio inputs.
Include in script
This setting is available in video compositions that already contain content in the script. Generally, if you plan on transcribing and script-editing the recording, keep include in script enabled. If you need to record b-roll or background audio, just toggle it off. Disabling the setting will add the recording to your scene.
Capture your screen recording
- Click the
button across the bottom of the Record panel to start recording.
- Click and drag over the part of the screen you want to record, then click
. Or, press
Spaceto start recording your full screen. - Press the
Stop to end the recording.
Multitrack screen recordings
If you recorded your camera input, computer audio, or enabled record separate audio tracks, each input will be recorded on separate tracks and put into a multitrack sequence. You can edit the individual tracks from the Sequence editor. Learn more about sequences or using the Sequence editor.
Tips and best practices
- Before making your full screen recording, consider doing a 5 to 10 second test recording to make sure you have set everything up correctly.
- If you enable transcription during the recording, you can script-edit as you record!
- If you need to transcribe the recording afterwards, right click the recording in your script and choose transcribe file; or, you can transcribe the file from the media library. If you recorded multiple tracks, you'll need to transcribe the individual files from the media library.
- If you want to apply Studio Sound after recording, check out how to add Studio Sound to a single file, or how to add Studio Sound to tracks in a sequence