How to conduct a Screen Capture with Audio

Here at the Help Desk we’re occasionally asked “How do I record my screen and include the computer’s audio.” Actually, it’s usually phrased “I need to download this YouTube video”.

If you’ve followed our guidelines on how to record your screen using QuickTime from this YouTube video (also on Brewster Academy’s ITD YouTube Channel) you may realize that this method for capturing a video WILL NOT capture the AUDIO “directly” from the computer. Rather, it can only record the microphone input (for copyright protection). Some users simply turn up the sound and have QuickTime record that input along with the screen to give a full audio/visual recording. It requires a very quiet space in which to record.

In circumstances where audio quality is really important to you, you may need to purchase a third party application to record video AND audio together, directly from the computer. These products can become quite expensive ($60-$100), so after review, we have chosen to recommend a product from the Mac App Store called Voila. ($19.99). NOTE: An additional Component must be installed to record computer audio. Faculty and staff can install this on their own after you purchase Voila. Students must come down to the Tech Office so that we may help them install the audio component.

To record your screen using Voila. First open the application (after installing as per the above note) and select “Record” from the top of the application window.
Choose whether you want to record a specific portion of your screen, or the whole darned thing!
You will notice that ALL of the Voila windows disappear! This is so it isn’t in your way while you record! In order to stop or pause the recording click back on the Voila icon in your dock.
The main Voila window will appear again, however, the “Record” button you used to start the recording is red! Click on this to either pause or stop and save the video.
There are many ways to save the video out to iMovie, Final Cut, etc. Or, if you prefer, you can automatically upload the video to YouTube, Google Drive and more.

Note: Voila also has a number of other useful features such as