Creating a screen recording
In addition to creating original video and audio recordings, QuickTime X Player allows you to make a screen recording of your Desktop. Creating a still screenshot has been a feature of the Mac OS X operating system for a while, however, creating a screen recording in Mac OS X always required a third-party application. Now, you can create screen recordings for tutorial or other purposes using the built-in capabilities of QuickTime X Player.
1. In QuickTime X Player, choose File > New Screen Recording. The simple Screen Recording controller appears.
2. Click the small menu in the bottom-right corner to view options for screen recording. For the Microphone settings, you have three options: None, Built-in Input, and Builtin Microphone. If you choose None, you will have no audio track, just video. Built-in Input allows you to connect an external microphone or other audio source, and Built-in Microphone uses your Mac’s internal microphone (if available). If you have an internal microphone, choose the Built-in Microphone option; otherwise, choose None.
To see if a sound input is active, check to see if the audio meter is activated by clapping. You should see levels appear if the audio input is functioning. If you still do not see audio levels, you may need to check the sound input on your system. Open System Preferences, click the Sound icon, then select the Input tab. Here you can set the input volume for the microphone; make sure it is not set to mute. A sound level of about half way is a good place to start.
3. In the Sound Recording menu for Quality, choose High. You only have two choices here: Medium and High. Both record the entire screen; the main diff erence is the codec used. Medium quality uses Photo-JPEG compression, and High quality uses H.264. Creating files using the High quality setting can result in smaller file sizes than Medium quality, however older systems may not have the processing power necessary for this option.
If you have used third-party screen-capturing software in the past, you may be used to setting the frame rate and resolution for your recordings. QuickTime X Player automatically sets the frame rate based on the characteristics of your system and always records full screen. Before recording any important screen recordings, you should always do some tests using any sample applications you want to record. Also, close any non-relevant applications that you have open in order to maximize your system resources.
4. Ensure that the Save to section in the menu is set to Movies. Like the video recording from the last exercise, this places the screen recording into the Movies folder.
5. Press the Record button. A warning appears, letting you know that the window will be hidden during the recording. This is necessary to allow a clear view of your Desktop during the recording. Press the Start Recording button.
6. To record a brief sample of video, click the Safari icon in the dock. If you want to test your audio, say a few words as the recording is taking place. After 10. or 15. seconds, close Safari, then stop the recording by pressing the Stop Recording button in the top-right corner of your screen. (You could also use the keyboard shortcut Command+Ctrl+Esc.) Press the Stop Recording button.
7. When you are done recording, the final movie appears on your screen. Press the spacebar to play the screen recording. After a few seconds, press the spacebar again to pause. By default, QuickTime X Player scales the size of the movie to fit on your Desktop; however, the movie is actually the same size as your screen.
8. Choose Window > Full Screen, and your movie expands to full screen. Although this is when the recording looks the best (because there is a 1:1. ratio between the monitor resolution and the movie), it may be impractical for the user to view, as they will not have access to their Desktop. In certain cases, exporting this movie at a smaller width and height may provide a more usable experience for the user, although, as you will see in later exercises, iTunes provides a convenient interface for viewing high-resolution movies.
9. Press the Esc key to exit the full screen view.
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