How to use Screen Recorder - The Ultimate Guide

What is Screen Recording? How to use it? The Ultimate Guide

In this simple guide, we take you through everything you need to know about screen recordings. Take a quick look and start recording professional screencasts, tutorials, product demos, instructional guides and video presentations effortlessly.

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What is a Screen Recording?

A Screen recording is a recording that captures all the activities taking place on a computer, mobile, or tablet's screen. It usually includes both the system audio and microphone audio. Over the years, they have gained a lot of traction and have become one of the most popular ways to live stream games, create screencasts, tutorials, training video guides, how-to guides, etc.

Common Types of Screen Recording Videos

Traditionally, a screen recording was only used to create instructional manuals for software products. However, over time, people started using it for a variety of reasons. Let's take a look at the different types of screen recording videos that are widely used today.

  • product launch

    Product Launch Videos

    Product owners and marketers can easily create product launch videos using a screen recorder. It helps them highlight important product features to potential customers.

    Create Product Launch Video rightarrow
  • recording tutorials

    Tutorial Videos

    Teachers can create tutorial videos and screencasts with a screen recording software. Additionally, the videos can also be enhanced with screen annotation features.

    Create tutorial videos rightarrow
  • product demo

    Product Demo Videos

    Marketers and product owners can create product demonstration videos and provide a complete walk-through of their products highlighting all the important features.

    Create Product demo videos rightarrow
  • how-to videos

    How-to-Videos

    With the help of a screen recorder, anyone can create any number of how-to videos. Choose a software that records both system and microphone audio.

    Create how-to videos rightarrow
  • customer support

    Customer Support Videos

    Since customers enjoy interacting with people, and not robots, a brief response video solving customers' queries can go a long way and help provide a customized and unique experience to customers.

    Create Customer Support Videos rightarrow
  • sales pitch

    Sales Pitch Videos

    Marketers and salespeople can personalize their cold calls and sales pitches with personalized videos. This is far more convincing to prospects compared to traditional text emails.

    Create Sales Pitch Videos rightarrow
  • employee onboarding

    Employee Onboarding Videos

    Organizations can make use of screen recorders to create detailed training and instructional manuals to guide them through their onboarding process.

    Create remote onboarding videos rightarrow
  • educational videos

    Educational Videos

    Teachers can track assignments, share comments and feedback with the help of a screen recording software. It helps teachers address students' doubts and queries.

    Create Educational Videosrightarrow
  • educational videos

    Video Presentations

    A screen recorder helps you record and share your presentations with others. The screen annotation tools that come with the screen recording software will make your presentations more interactive.

    Create Video Presentationsrightarrow

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Who Uses Screen Recordings?

Over the years, the number of use-cases for screen recorders has increased drastically. A lot of organizations, marketers, YouTubers, online tutors and students have started using screen recordings for a variety of reasons. Let's discuss its use cases in detail.

Youtubers
Youtubers

Youtubers extensively use screen recordings for a variety of reasons. Most YouTubers rely on screen recording tools to record their youtube tutorial videos, how-to videos, product review videos, educational videos, product demonstration videos, reaction videos, vlogs, gameplays, etc.

Educators

Screencasting has become hugely popular amongst Educators. It helps them create and share quick lectures with real-time audio and video. With the help of a screen recorder, educators can easily create courseware videos, and provide feedback on students' assignments in a matter of a few minutes.

Educators
SHRs
HRs

Onboarding new employees is often a stressful task. That's why many leading organizations have started using screencasts to create how-to videos and tutorials explaining all the joining procedures in detail. This makes their job much easier and saves a lot of their time. And, with remote onboarding becoming increasingly popular post the pandemic, a screen recording tool will only help recruiters make the company's onboarding process simpler.

How it Aids Communication & Collaboration Across Different Sectors

Asynchronous communication has somehow become the go-to mode of communication. Employees and teams working remotely are now aligned to work asynchronously with lesser meetings and calls. Employees can use screen recordings for code reviews, closing support tickets and providing feedback amongst teams. Let's dive deeper and have a look at how a screen recorder aids team collaboration and communication.

sales
Sales

Salespeople can showcase their product benefits via product demonstration videos, video presentations, personalized video messages, video emails, and video testimonials. This helps them increase sales and establish a personal connection with their prospects.

  • send a personalized video note to book a demo,

  • create product training videos highlighting product features,

  • reach out to outbound leads via personalized cold calls.

marketing
Marketing

With marketing trends constantly evolving over time, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find an effective formula to increase customer engagement and lead generation. As videos are far more engaging and interactive, marketers can incorporate videos into their marketing campaigns.

Support
Support

Support teams can utilize screen recording software to elevate the overall customer experience by providing customized solutions through videos. This way, it becomes easier for customers to get their queries answered without getting in touch with the customer support team.

  • Create troubleshooting guides

  • Provide personalized video replies to support mails/tickets

  • Create a detailed report analysis

  • Handle escalations effortlessly by recording calls

Development
Development

Developers can use screen recordings to communicate changes and reviews across internal teams. In fact, many have already started to use screen recordings to conduct code reviews, QA verification, bug tracking, tech stack and architecture review.

  • Conduct code reviews and feedbacks

  • Create a development tool guide for new hires

  • Provide a visual walk-through of project status via project Management tools like Trello or Asana

Design
Design

Designers can easily report technical, visual, or UX bugs via screen recordings. It also helps them share design feedback across teams effortlessly. It bridges the gap between a design team and development team by helping them convey changes effectively.

  • Communicate their thoughts and ideas clearly to developers

  • Share design ideas, reviews, feedback, and knowledge with peers

  • Reduce feedback loops using videos

Game screenplay
Game screenplay

Gaming is another popular industry where screen recordings are heavily used. Gamers can record their gameplays on gaming platforms like Twitch, and upload it to their favourite social media accounts.

  • Record and live stream unlimited gameplays

  • Record both browser-based games and app-based games

  • Edit and create highlights with a built-in video editor

  • Share their gameplays on social media platforms

You can also use it to record
synchronous meetings

Even though asynchronous communication has its set of benefits, it has some downsides as well. When we connect asynchronously, we cannot brainstorm, and have one-on-one conversations simultaneously. That’s why synchronous meetings are important. They play a significant role in building relationships and solving problems.

However, it's impossible to provide your complete focus and attention to all your scheduled synchronous meetings. This is where a screen recorder comes to your rescue. Using it, you record the meeting, and get back to it whenever you want.

You can easily record any of these following meetings using a screen recorder.

Check out Vmaker’s How-to Guides

How-to Guides

How to use Screen Recorder?

Screen recording can be done in two ways.
  • i). You can either choose to record only the contents of your screen and share it with others

or

  • ii). You can choose to record the contents of your screen with audio narrations by turning your webcam on.

Let's go ahead and see how to get a screen recording done in both these ways.

Record only the contents of your screen

Capturing your screen alone doesn't take up much effort and is fairly easy. Here's how it can be done in five quick steps.

Step 2: Sign up for Vmaker.

how to use vmaker screen recorder

Step 3: Choose your recording mode. If you're choosing to record only your screen, select the screen recording option.

how to record screen

Step 4: Add frames, customize your background and start recording.

screen recorder with customize background

Step 5: Click on the 'Stop Recording' button to stop the recording.

how to stop the screen recording

That's it. Your screen recording is done. The recording will now automatically be exported to your dashboard. From there, you will be able to edit, share, download or upload it to various social media platforms.

Record your screen with audio narration & webcam overlay

Recordings with audio narration and webcam overlay can be used to create tutorials, how-to-videos, demo videos, and screencasts. Let's take a look at how we can record the same easily.

Pro Tip: Before you start recording, make sure you have a video script ready. If you have the time, you could also do a few test runs to fine-tune yourself before the actual recording.

Step 1: Sign up and download Vmaker Screen Recorder for Mac.

how to use screen recorder on mac

Step 2: Choose your recording mode. If you choose to record both your screen and webcam together, select the 'screen + webcam' option.

how to record screen and webcam

Step 3: Perform a camera and microphone test before you start your recording.

how to record screen with audio

Step 4: Click on the ‘Start Recording’ button to start the recording

how to save screen recorded video

Step 5: Once you're done recording, click on the ‘Stop recording’ button to stop the recording.

screen recording guide

That's it. You are now free to download, share or upload the recorded video to any of your social media platforms.

Here’s a screen recording tutorial video that was scripted and recorded using Vmaker.

Learn more about how to use Vmaker from our personalized tutorials centre.

Bonus: Tips & Tricks to Help You Screen Record Videos Effectively

We have also come up with some useful tips and tricks to help you create endless video recordings efforltlessly.

  • Prepare a script:

    It's always better to have a rough outline ready before you start your recording process. This helps you maintain your flow. Oftentimes, when we try to record videos without a script, we tend to deviate from the main point of discussion and start talking about irrelevant things. That’s why it’s always advisable to have a script at hand.

  • Choose your screen recording software and start practising:

    Choose a screen recording software that suits all your requirements and start practising with a few mock sessions. This will help you reduce your number of retakes and prepare you for your actual recording.

  • Decide on your basic recording preferences:

    Select your basic preferences to start your recording. Decide whether you'd like to record your entire screen, tab or just a small section of your screen. It's always ideal to record only relevant sections of your screen as recording your entire screen can be distracting to your viewers.

  • Choose the right microphone and webcam for your recording:

    Choosing the best microphone and webcam is also important as it improves the quality of your recording to a great extent. Investing in a good microphone and webcam will help increase the overall user experience.

  • Make it short and sweet:

    Lengthy videos could impact effectiveness. As people have a very short attention span, it's important to make sure you add only relevant points that add value to your audience.

  • Avoid moving your mouse cursor continuously:

    It distracts the audience and makes them lose focus on what you're trying to say. Since the movement of the cursor helps people follow instructions, and allow them to understand what's happening on the screen, it's important to pay attention to your cursor movements as well.

  • Avoid using the control menu and switch to hotkeys:

    Most screen recorders come with a control menu that allows users to access shortcut keys such as 'pause', 'finish', and 'delete'. Constantly switching between these keys might be distracting for your viewers. So, the best way to record without using the control menu is by switching to hotkeys.

  • Always add an Introduction and conclusion to your recordings:

    By adding an intro and outro to your video, you'd be able to communicate what the video is about to your viewers clearly.

  • Crop out unnecessary portions of your recording using the built-in editor:

    A screen recorder that comes with a built-in video editor will always come in handy. A screen recorder that comes with a built-in editor will help you get your recording and editing done on a single application. You can make good use of Vmaker's built-in editor that allows users to trim, crop, rotate, flip, add subtitles, music, backgrounds, etc to your recording. It's easy to use and allows users to chunk out unnecessary portions of their screen recordings easily.

Record Yourself Without Freaking Out

Camera shyness is a common problem for people across the world. To combat it, we have come up with a few tips and suggestions. With these simple tips, can overcome camera shyness and record videos without freaking out.

  • Plan what you are going to say:

    Again, as we said before, it's always advisable to have a script ready. Plan ahead and come up with a clean script.

  • Practice, Practice, and Practice:

    Practicing once or twice before the actual recording will help you omit unnecessary fillers, and help set the pace of the video. Once you've practised a few test recordings, you'd start feeling more confident.

  • Set up a suitable space for recording:

    It's also important to choose the right recording space. Make sure you choose a space that's quiet and serene. Inform your roommates or family members beforehand, so that they don't disturb you while you record.

  • Don't worry if you make mistakes:

    Don't aim for perfection in the very first shot and don't be afraid to make mistakes. If you make a mistake, you can definitely rectify it. So, don't worry about making mistakes.

  • Avoid using vocal fillers:

    Using fillers in sentences undermines the real meaning behind your messages. It detracts your confidence and credibility. So, try to reduce the number of 'umms' and 'ahhs' in your speech.

  • Speak slowly, clearly, and loudly:

    It helps you communicate better with your audience and gets the message across easily. While you speak slowly, you'll appear organized, confident and clear-headed. Your words will also have much more impact when you For Windows users deliver them this way.

Choose the best screen recorder that suits your requirements

Selecting the right screen recording software is often a trickier task. With so many options in front of us, we are bound to get confused. To make your job easier, we have created a series of listicles that lists the best screen recording tools for different use cases and devices. This will help you choose the right software that suits all your requirements.

Vmaker, Loom, Record it, Go Record, Techsmith capture, DU Recorder, Web recorder and Screen Recorder+
Vmaker, Awesome Screenshot, Screencastify, Loom, Nimbus, Vidyard, Vimeo record, Hippo Video, Scre.io, and Fluvid Screen recorder
Vmaker, Loom, Getcloudapp and Screencastomatic
Vmaker, Screen Rec, OBS, Bandicam, Loom, Icecream Screen Recorder, Flashback pro/express, Movavi, Ashampoo Snap and Apowersof
Vmaker, Screenrec, Camtasia, Active Presenter and Nimbus Capture
Vmaker, Ezvid, Filmora Wondershare, Bandicam and Screencastomatic
Vmaker, QuickTime Player, Loom, OBS Studio Gamebar for windows10, ScreenRec, TinyTake, Screencastify, Apowersoft and Screencast-O-Matic
Vmaker, Active Presenter, Loom, Screenrec, Bandicam, Camtasia, Ezvid, Screencastify, TinyTake and Nimbus
Vmaker, Camtasia, OBS Studio, ScreenFlow, Loom, Snagit, ActivePresenter, Screencast-O-Matic, TinyTake and Claquette
Vmaker, Screencastify, Screencast-O-Matic, Loom, Nimbus Screen Video Recorder, ActivePresenter, Apowersoft, OBS Project
Vmaker, Techsmith, Capture, GoRecord, Screen Recorder+, Record It, Screen Recorder - Z Livestream Screen Recorder AZ, Screen Recorder °, DU Recorder, Game Rec
Vmaker, Screencastify, Loom, Screencast-O-Matic, Active Presenter, Nimbus Capture and OBS
Vmaker, Screencast-O-Matic, Screenrec, Loom, Camtasia, Screencastify, Bandicam and Active Presenter
Vmaker, Screencast-O-Matic, Screencastify, Zoom, Nimbus Capture, Microsoft Teams (Classroom version) and Loom
Vmaker, QuickTime Player, Loom, OBS Studio, Xbox GameBar, ScreenRec, Screencastify, TinyTake and APowersoft
Vmaker, OBS Studio, Bandicam, NVIDIA ShadowPlay, Action, Camtasia, Snagit, ShareX, Ice Cream Screen Recorder and RecMaster

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