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How to break down music into individual instruments
by David Lee
Mac tip: recording video screenshots with audio
The Mac’s integrated screenshot app can take video screengrabs too. The trouble is, these recordings don’t include system sound. Here’s how to use the freeware program OBS to resolve the issue.
On a Mac, you open the Screenshot app by pressing ⌘+Shift+5. In addition to photos, it also captures videos of your screen, windows or a custom area of your monitor. When recording videos, you can speak into a microphone. However, the tool doesn’t record your computer’s original sound output. Video screengrabs of games, for example, are rendered silent.
When you make screen recordings on an iPhone or iPad, the audio’s captured. On a Mac, however, this doesn’t happen.
On the bright side, you can resolve the issue by using the free add-on tool OBS, also available on Windows and Linux. Now, you don’t necessarily need OBS to record system audio on Windows; the integrated snipping tool does the job too. But OBS is handy on Windows, because there’s so much more it can do. Streamers use the software to produce their live videos on Twitch or YouTube. However, these advanced features aren’t the focus here. Instead, they’re simply a replacement for the Mac’s limited integrated app.
OBS requires permissions
To make sure OBS will work properly on your Mac, you’ll need to grant the app the permissions it needs. Although the software tells you that, these notifications are easy to ignore. Don’t do that! Without the right permissions, none of this will work.
In our simple scenario, OBS needs permission to record your screen and access your microphone. You can find both of these in System Preferences under Privacy & Security. OBS takes you there automatically the first time you open the program.
How to set up recordings with sound
If all you want to do is record a screengrab with its original audio, you just need to set up «macOS Screen Capture» as a source type. Your screen recording will then capture audio too by default.
When you create a new source by clicking the plus icon, you also define the area you want to record. This might be a specific screen, window or application. You can change this later on by double-clicking on the source.
To add commentary to your video, you need to create a second source. This time, you should go for the «Audio Input Capture» type and enter the microphone you want to use. I wanted to be able to switch quickly between the two recording modes, so I created a new scene, then gave them both fitting names (left column).
Tweak the settings before your first recording
Before you start recording, it’s a good idea to open your settings. Many of them are customisable, but two are particularly important. Under Output, you can specify where your videos will be saved. And under Hotkeys, you can set a keyboard shortcut that’ll start and stop recording. If you can, try to choose a shortcut that’s not already being used in your target application.
To guarantee these shortcuts will work when the window you want to capture’s open and OBS is running in the background, you need to enable additional system permissions. If you go to Review App Permissions in the OBS menu, OBS will display a list of all permissions. Clicking Request Access takes you straight to the right place in your system settings.
With that, you’re now ready to start your video recording, complete with audio.
David Lee
Senior Editor
David.Lee@digitecgalaxus.chMy interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.
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