How to Screen Record MacBook Pro

Oliva Eve
2023-08-25 21:06:27 • Filed to: Screen Record on Mac

There are very many reasons why you would want to record the screen on your Mac Pro. Perhaps you want to create a screen-flow video that demonstrates how a product or service works for marketing purposes. Or you would like to record gameplay to share with other players or demonstrate how a particular game works. Either way, you will need to employ the services of a program that can capture the screen recording flawlessly, but one that is also not very hard to use.

Recording the screen on your MacBook Pro is a relatively simple process. Depending on the video you want to record and the purpose for recording the video, you can choose to use a series of keyboard shortcuts or you can choose a third-party tool with a lot of additional options. In this guide, we will look at these two methods exhaustively to help you decide the best solution for you.

Way 1. Use Shortcuts to Record Video on Mac

Before we start, it is important to point out that the series of short-cuts we will use in this section to help you record video on Mac will only be available on macOS Mojave or later. If you don't have Mojave, you may need to use QuickTime or scroll down below to use the third-party solution we will suggest.

Here's how to use these commands to record video of your screen on Mac;

Step 1: Use the Shift+ CMD + 5 Command

Press the Shift+ CMD + 5 on your keyboard to begin recording the screen. This will open an on-screen menu with various recording options for you to choose from. You can choose if you would like to record the entire screen, a section of the screen or the whole window.

open toolbar

You will also get a dotted border line that you can use to capture and image. This line is adjustable as needed.

Step 2: Record the Entire Screen

To record the entire screen, click on the fourth button from the right (it is the outline of a window with a circle).

The pointer will change and become a camera icon. Click on the screen you want to record and an icon will appear in the menu bar, indicating that the recording process has begun.

To end the recording, press the "Ctrl + CMD + Esc" and the video will be saved on the desktop.

Step 3: Record a Section of the Screen

If you want to record just a section of the screen, such as an application, select the third button from the right (it is the dotted box with a circle).

record mac screen with toolbar

A box will appear, showing the area of the screen to be recorded. You can click and drag the edges of the box to expand or shrink the recording area as desired. You can also click inside the box to move it to the desired location.

When you're happy with the selected recording area, click on "Record" in the options that appear at the bottom of the screen.

Step 4: Save the Recording

When the recording is done, you should see a thumbnail of the video at the corner of the screen. Simply swipe to the right and the video will disappear. In a few minutes, a saved file of the recording will appear on the desktop.

You can then move or share the file as desired. All files that you create using the process above will be in MOV format.

Step 5: Edit the Screen Recording

If you would like to edit various aspects of the video before saving it, click on the video's thumbnail when it appears.

A suite of simple editing tools will appear and you can use them to make changes to the video as desired. When you're done, click on "Done" to trim the video and save it to your desktop.

If you would like to change where the video is saved after the recording, Ctrl + Click on the thumbnail before it disappears to choose a different location. You can also just drag the thumbnail to the desired folder.

Way 2. Use a MacBook Video Recorder

If you don't have Mojave or you want a tool that gives you more options, we recommend using Wondershare DemoCreator. This is a third-party screen recording tool that will not just record what is happening on the screen, but goes a step further by allowing you to add both audio and webcam recoding to your project. This means that you can make your video as elaborate as possible, making DemoCreator the most ideal solution for demo videos, how-to videos, educational videos and screen-flow instructional videos.

The program is also very easy to use, with a simple interface. Just follow these simple steps to use DemoCreator to record a screen video on your Mac;

Step 1: Download the Program

The first thing you need to do is download the program on to your Mac. Just go to the DemoCreator main website to get the download link and follow the instructions to install the program.

Step 2: Customize the Recording Area

Once the program is installed on the computer, run it and then select "New Recording" to start the new recording.

democreator new recordings

You can then select the recording area by dragging the border or choosing a target window. By default, the program will record the entire screen. You can change the region by dragging or choosing a customized region by clicking on the drop-down arrow next to "Full Screen" under "Recording Area."

Step 3: Select the Input Device

The next setting you need to consider is choosing the input devices you would like to use, including microphone and camera.

By default, DemoCreator will use the Mac's built-in microphone and the FaceTime HD Camera. If you would like to use an external microphone that is connected to the computer, select it from the drop-down menu next to "Recording Device."

democreator input device

If you would like to add webcam footage to the recording, select "Camera On" in the camera section below "Recording Device."

Step 4: Start/Stop Recording

When all the settings are just as desired and you are ready to begin the recording, click on "Start Capturing" or use "Shift + CMD + 2" shortcut.

democreator recording macbook screen

You should see a 3-second count down before the recording starts. You can then use the same commands to end the recording.

Keep in mind that DemoCreator has an in-built video editor. So, you can open the video in the DemoCreator editor to make changes as you need.

Related FAQs

How do I My Screen with Sound on MacBook Pro?

The best way to screen with sound on the MacBook Pro is Wondershare DemoCreator. It can capture both computer sounds or sound from the built-in or external mic connected to the computer. The sound quality you get using DemoCreator is of very high quality.

How Do I Record my Mac Screen with Keyboard?

You can use the Keyboard commands that we used in the first part of this article. But this method will only work if you are running macOS Mojave or higher on the Mac.

DemoCreator also allows you to use keyboard commands to start, pause and stop the recording. But you must have customized the recording settings as described in the second part of this article before you can use the commands to begin the recording.

How Do I Record my Mac Screen in High Quality?

The only way to record high quality screen-flow videos on your Mac is to use the third-party screen recorder DemoCreator. This program is designed for this purpose and therefore has a lot of useful features that can facilitate the recording process. It also allows you to add webcam footage and external audio to the recording. This makes it the most efficient tool to record high quality how-to videos, educational videos and products demos.

MacOS has included the new screen recording feature that allows you to record the screen using a few simple commands. This tool is very useful as it allows you to record what is happening on the screen quickly. Once the video is recorded, you can use the simple editing tools to make changes to the video recording any way you want.

But if you want a program that goes a step further to create high quality professional screen recordings, then you should consider using DemoCreator. With DemoCreator, you have a number of options depending on the type of video you want to create, including adding audio and camera (webcam footage). And, once the video is created, you can use the impressive set of editing tools to increase the quality of the video by removing undesirable parts of the video.