--- title: How do I record footage for a video? question: record footage area: video order: 3 surface: desktop audience: beginner keywords: [record, recording, screen recording, screencast, camera, webcam, talking head, microphone, camera bubble, rec button, film footage, capture, demo video, tutorial] related: [what-is-the-video-tab, how-do-i-run-the-video-team, how-do-i-smooth-my-skin-on-camera, how-do-i-write-or-generate-a-script, what-can-the-video-editor-do] updated: 2026-07-21 --- # How do I record footage for a video? Click **rec** in the very top bar of codus (the small red dot), set up what to capture in the popover, and click **Start recording**. codus can record your screen, a single window, or your camera, with your microphone and an optional camera bubble. When you stop, the recording is dropped into a video project, and if you leave **Edit automatically** on it goes straight to the team to be cut. ## Before you start - You need the **Video module**. The **rec** button only appears for accounts that have it, the same as the **video** tab. - Recording is macOS only, and needs the recording helper that ships with codus. On a Mac that cannot record, the button is hidden. - The first time you record your screen, macOS asks for permission. If **Start recording** is greyed out with the tooltip "Grant screen recording first", click **Open the permission prompt** and allow codus, then come back. ## Two ways to open the recorder - **The rec button.** It sits in the top bar of codus, not inside the video tab, because you are usually recording another app. Click it from anywhere. - **A project's Film footage button.** Open a project in the **video** tab and click **Film footage** at the top. This opens the same popover with that project already chosen as the destination, so the recording lands where you want it. ## Step 1: Choose what to capture At the top of the popover, under **Source**, pick one: - **screen.** Records a whole display. If you have more than one screen, click the thumbnail of the one you want. The main one is labelled "Main display". - **window.** Records a single app's window. Choose it from the list. If the list is empty, the popover tells you to open the app first, then reopen the panel. - **camera.** Records your camera alone, with no screen. This is the choice for a straight talking-head take. ## Step 2: Set the microphone and camera - **Microphone.** Pick your mic under **Microphone**, or choose **No microphone** for a silent screen capture. codus notes that "System audio is always captured", so the sound your computer makes is recorded either way. - **Camera.** In screen or window mode, the **Camera bubble** dropdown adds a round camera of you on top of the recording (choose **No camera** to leave it off). In camera mode this dropdown is the recording itself. The little round preview is only for framing. codus places the bubble later, when it edits, so it can move it off anything important. - **Mirror** and **Enlarge.** Under the preview, **Mirror off** / **Mirrored** flips the preview so it feels natural (the recording itself is never mirrored, so any text behind you stays readable). **Enlarge** pops the preview out bigger while you set up. - **Touch up.** A skin-smoothing slider for your camera. It has its own page: see [How do I smooth my skin on camera?](how-do-i-smooth-my-skin-on-camera.md). ## Step 3: Decide what happens after you stop Under **After stop**, the **Edit automatically** switch controls everything. - **On (the default).** Stopping hands the recording straight to the video team to be cut. You then choose how much to make: - **The edit scope buttons: Very quick, Quick, Standard, Full.** These say how much to produce, never how carefully. Every level does the careful cut. A higher level adds more, such as an independent quality check, graphics, a thumbnail set, and a vertical version. codus shows a rough time estimate and a one-line summary under the buttons. - **Thumbnails.** A slider for how many cover-image concepts to design (0 to 20). - **Formats.** Tick **16:9** (normal widescreen), **9:16** (vertical for phones), or both. You cannot turn both off. - **Extra editing instructions.** A free-text box for anything specific, for example "keep it under 60s, no camera bubble". - **Off.** The recording lands in the project's **Files** and nothing is edited. Use this if you only want the raw clip. ## Step 4: Choose where it lands, and start - **Destination.** The dropdown at the bottom is either **New project** (codus makes a fresh one, named after the date) or **Assign to: (a project name)**. Assigning never overwrites an earlier recording in that project. Extra takes get a numbered suffix. - Click **Start recording**. The popover closes and a live timer replaces the **rec** button in the top bar. ## Step 5: Stop Click the timer in the top bar to stop. codus saves the recording, drops it into the project, and, if **Edit automatically** was on, hands it to the team. The **video** tab opens on that project so you can watch the work. ## How do I know it worked? - While recording, the top bar shows a red pulsing dot and a running timer instead of **rec**. - After you stop, open the project. The recording shows under **Source footage** in the **Brief** tab with a **RECORDED** tag, and it is listed in the **Files** tab. - If you left **Edit automatically** on, the **Team** row on the right starts lighting up as the Creative Director gets going. ## Common problems **"Start recording is greyed out."** Either you have not granted screen recording permission (use **Open the permission prompt**), or in camera mode no camera is selected. Pick a camera and try again. **"The window list is empty."** Windows have to be open and visible to be captured. Open the app you want, then reopen the recorder popover. **"My recording did not get edited."** Check that **Edit automatically** was on when you started. With it off, the clip is saved but not sent to the team. You can still edit it later by opening the project and clicking **Run team**. **"There is no rec button."** Your account does not have the Video module, or this Mac cannot record. See [Why can't I see the video tab?](why-cant-i-see-the-video-tab.md).