How to do a screen recording with sound

How to Screen Record with Sound: The Complete Guide

How to screen record with sound
How to choose a screen recorder
Conclusion

If you've been trying to figure out how to screen record with sound, this post is for you. You may have already downloaded some screen recording software and then been surprised that it didn't do what you needed it to do.

Perhaps you are just being diligent and want to understand the whole process before getting started. Either way, this post will explain the difficulties that may arise when you try to screen record with sound. By the end, you'll be able to spend less time fighting with your tools and more time getting some quality recording done.

How to screen record with sound

How you approach recording your screen depends on what you are trying to do. This applies not only to the audio portion but to other areas as well. For example, if you want to have a video of yourself in the corner of the screen, you'll need a camera set up in addition to your audio recording equipment. Let's take a look at what all goes into recording a screen.

Camera

If you want a video of yourself on screen, you'll need some way to capture it. Although you can use your webcam, those tend to have grainy pictures and do not provide the highest quality. A point-and-shoot camera of good quality is generally sufficient for recording simple video like you talking into a microphone. If you find you need more control over the image, a DSLR camera can be used, though the learning curve is higher.

Audio Types

So, how can you screen record with sound? The answer depends on the capabilities of your software, which we'll discuss later, and the type of audio you want to record. There are two ways that a screen recording can capture audio. Not realizing this is a major reason why people end up with software that doesn't fit their needs. Let's look at the two ways now.

System audio — Your system audio is that sound that comes out of your speakers. If you are screen recording yourself playing a game, you certainly want to capture the system sound. The same is true if you are recording a webinar or other video.
Microphone audio — Many times, you want to put your own voiceover on top of the recorded audio as you record. In those cases, you want a tool that will allow you to record audio from the microphone.

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How to choose a screen recorder with sound capabilities

One thing to keep in mind when choosing which software to use is that your requirements now might not be your only requirements in the future. It's a good idea to look for a screen recorder, like VideoStudio, that can handle both system sound and microphone sound. VideoStudio is a complete video editing solution, which is something else you should be considering. Even if you don't need it right away, at some point, you'll need to edit the video. Getting to know your way around a powerful video editor right from the start will ease that transition.

Good video editing software will offer you a free trial. Be sure to take advantage of that for any software you are considering, so you can be sure that it suits your needs.

Conclusion

Once you understand that there are two separate ways of recording sound on Windows 10 computers, it becomes much easier to find the tools you need in order to accomplish that task at hand. With a tool like VideoStudio at your disposal, you'll be creating professional-looking videos, with all the sound you want, in no time.

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When it comes to recording your Mac’s screen, you have plenty of options to choose from. macOS actually has a built-in tool to record screen, including with audio. Or you can use handy third-party apps that help you unlock more advanced screen recording capabilities, edit your recordings and share with your teammates.

Let’s take a look at all the tools.

Screen record on a Mac with one click

The simplest way to record your Mac’s screen is to use CleanShot X. The app allows you to choose how to record your screen captures — as a GIF or an MP4. Moreover, you can include audio from your device’s Mac when recording or even try out the app’s experimental feature of recording computer audio.

All you have to do is click on the CleanShot X icon in your menu bar and then select Record Screen and press Space to begin recording your current window. You can also set up a shortcut for screen recording.

In CleanShot X, you have the option to add your camera feed to the recording, as well as show clicks and cursor and highlight keystrokes in your recording. Additionally, you can enable Do Not Disturb while recording in the app’s screen record settings before you begin.

By the way, you can also create quick GIFs out of your screen with Gifox. This smart GIF maker for your Mac is quick and efficient, plus provides you with quite a few GIF editing options to adjust the size, framerate, max colors, and more.

How to record a video on Mac with your webcam

Capto is another app that allows macOS users to do screen capture with audio. What’s more, it allows you to record video using your webcam and choose between recording your Mac’s mic or computer audio. Here’s how to record with webcam:

Open Capto via Setapp
Click Record in the toolbar
Choose “FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)”
Start Recording.

On top of that, Capto offers great video editing capabilities and you can add visuals to your recording to make it more informational.

Tip: You can substantially upgrade the quality of your video recordings if you replace your built-in webcam with an iPhone camera. It’s easy to do with Detail.

Screen recording for teams

But what if you want to record your screen to exchange quick messages with your team? With remote work becoming a much bigger part of our lives, more and more tools surged in popularity to enable teammates to collaborate remotely just as effectively as in person. Sending a quick voice or video message for your team is what these apps are made for.

Yac is an asynchronous tool to help teams communicate quickly and efficiently with the help of voice as well as video messages. Record your screen, do a voiceover, and send it to colleagues — even if they don’t have Yac!

Tape is a dedicated screen recorder for collaborations with a great capability to choose the window you want to record right from the menu bar. Make instant screen recordings with this app, make highlights in your record, include webcam feed, and quickly share with colleagues or customers. Don’t want bulky files taking up space? Set expiry dates for your recordings.

How to record audio in screen recordings

As we’ve described above, you can record audio with your screen recording on Mac using tools like Capto, CleanShot X, Yac, Tape, and even Mac’s own built-in screen capture.

One other unexpected way to record screen with audio is with Dropshare app. Essentially a sharing tool, Dropshare allows you to make instant screen recordings and save them to your synced cloud accounts. Just click on the mic icon in the screen recording video prior to hitting the red record button and your voiceover will be recorded along with your screen.

What we love about Dropshare is that it lets you save your recordings to the cloud and then quickly share them with anyone via a link. This way, you’re not cluttering up your Mac storage.

Edit recorded video

With most tools listed above, you can do basic edits of your recording, like cutting its length. You can also add speech bubbles, text, and more information to your screen recordings with Capto.

CameraBag Pro is a dedicated photo and video editor where you can adjust image brightness, sharpness, colors, change temperature and exposure, and even add filters.

How to screen record on a Mac with QuickTime

When you are recording your Mac’s screen with its built-in screen capture tool, you are actually using native app QuickTime. You can either use the keyboard shortcut we’ve listed at the very beginning of this post or open the app, then go to File > New Screen Recording and choose to record the entire screen or its portion, as well as enable audio recording in Options.

Screen record FaceTime and Handoff with audio

Now that we’ve sorted out the basics of how to record screen and audio at the same time on your Mac, let’s look at more narrow applications of the screen recording functionality.

Did you know that you can actually record your FaceTime and Skype calls on Mac?

How to record calls on your Mac

If you want to record your FaceTime call, you can use QuickTime as outlined above. All you have to do is start your FaceTime call on your Mac (or drop it off from your iPhone to your Mac via Handoff), let every call participant know they are being recorded, then open QuickTime, go to File > New Screen Recording and choose to record the entire screen or its portion, as well as enable audio recording in Options.

When you are done recording, click the stop button that appears in your menu bar during the recording. Your video will open in QuickTime automatically. You can change its name and location. The file format of the video will be MOV.

How to record Skype meetings

To record your call on Skype, you need to first inform all participants that they will be recorded and receive their explicit consent. Next, click the three dots at the bottom right of your call and select Start recording. Your call participants will see a banner at the top of the call informing them the interaction is being recorded.

Screen recording using the Screenshot Toolbar is a built-in Mac feature that requires you to simply remember a keyboard shortcut to prompt the Screenshot Toolbar — Command + Shift + 5. Hit Record to begin your screen recording or go to Options to turn on audio recording and adjust other settings.

Get Setapp for effortless screen recording

If you need to make a screen recording on your Mac with audio, you can do it with built-in tools on your computer, but you’ll get a much wider range of tools with Setapp.

All apps we’ve mentioned in the post — CleanShot X, Capto, CameraBag Pro, Yac, Tape, Detail, Dropshare, and Gifox — are available on Setapp, a suite of apps for productivity and daily workflow. Save time on picking out the right apps for your tasks, and use Setapp to get the tools you need to tackle your work and life agenda.

FAQ

Where do screen recordings go on Mac?

If you use the macOS native screenshot utility, your screen recordings will be saved to Desktop by default, unless you’ve changed the saving location (Command + Shift + 5 > Options > Save To). The most convenient storage method is offered by CleanShot X, an app that comes with its own dedicated internal cloud.

How to screen record with internal/external audio on Mac?

Most tools we’ve mentioned in the article, including the macOS native utility, QuickTime, CleanShot X, and Capto allow you to switch between internal and external audio. Usually, this option is available upon clicking the audio icon.

Can I record my screen on Mac for free?

You can use the macOS screenshot utility, QuickTime Player, and all the screen recording tools available with Setapp as long as you’re on a trial for free.