Screen recording guide
Contents
If you plan on recording a demo, a screen share, or the PostHog UI for use on the PostHog website and/or YouTube channel, the PostHog YouTube team kindly asks you to watch the video below and follow the corresponding instructions for your recordings.
Important! While Loom is great for personal use videos, it does not meet our quality standards for videos that will be going on the PostHog website and/or YouTube channel. Please use Screen Studio for such recordings, steps listed below.
Feel free to ask any questions in the #team-youtube Slack channel.
Video:
You like cookies? Then watch this video. Plus, you’ll learn about how to properly set up Screen Studio and your recording area aspect ratio for PostHog videos:
1. Download Screen Studio
Screen Studio is free to record and edit with, but exporting now requires a paid subscription. If you just need to hand a .screenstudio project to the YouTube team (see step 7), the free version is enough and you don't need to upgrade.
If you need to export the video yourself – for example to embed it in docs or the handbook – you will need to upgrade.
2. Set Recording Settings
Before recording, make sure you correctly set up the three Screen Studio settings listed below:
- Camera If you’d like to record yourself during your recording, make sure you select which camera you want to record from. Most likely your laptop’s camera.
Important! Set the “Max Camera Resolution” setting to 4K or the highest available option. If you’d like to record your camera but don’t want to see yourself as you record, enable the “Hide camera preview” option. If you don’t wish to record yourself, then select “Don’t record camera”.
Microphone Select which microphone you’d like to record your audio from. Be sure to enable the “Reduce noise and normalize volume” setting.
System Audio If your screen recording requires that you capture audio from an app, then select the appropriate option. Otherwise, select the “Don’t record system audio” to ensure no system audio is recorded.
3. Set Up 16:9 recording area
You’ll need to ensure your recording area is a 16:9 aspect ratio. Most displays are not 16:9 by default. If yours is not or you are unsure, follow the instructions below:
- Select the “Area” option in the Screen Studio toolbar
- Click on the “Any” drop down and select 16:9
- Adjust the recording box to be as large as possible while retaining the 16:9 aspect ratio.
- Adjust the recording area and your browser to completely fill the 16:9 recording area and so it only shows the PostHog UI.
Do not record:
- Your browser URL or bookmarks
- Your computer’s menu bar
- Your computer’s docks/apps
4. Prepare to record
Run through this checklist before recording to make sure things go as smoothly as possible:
- Turn off your computer’s notifications or set it to Focus mode
- Silence your phone
- Ensure your notes/script are readable, outside of the recording area
- If you are recording yourself, make sure you’ve taken measures to ensure you are positioned and lighted properly. Read this great guide for how to do this well.
5. Do a final test
Before you start your actual recording, run through these quick steps to ensure everything is set to go:
- Double check all the steps listed above.
- Click record and do a 10s test run. Speak some lines, make sure your recording area is only recording the PostHog UI, etc.
- Stop the recording and preview it, with sound on. Make sure your audio was recording and everything looks and sounds good. Delete the test draft.
6. Record
Now simply record and do your thang! Use the Pause option to take breaks, answer the doorbell, compose yourself, etc. Re-enable when you’re ready, or use the restart function if you want to give it a fresh go.
Don’t be afraid to start lines over if you mess up or say “Cut”. Our post team loves direction vs having to assume things, so feel free to give us direction in the recording, do multiple takes, etc.
Click the red record icon to finish recording.
7. Save as a Screen Studio Project
Once you’re done recording, it’ll either open the recording up into a new editable project or you’ll see the “Edit” option in the preview box, which you should click.
Now simply go up to the “File” menu and select “Save as...”.
Use your name or the project’s name for the file name, and ensure the file ends in the .screenstudio file extension.
Drag that file into the “ScreenStudio Projects” Google Drive and ping the YouTube team/member in the corresponding GitHub issue.
Important! If your recording contains any customer-sensitive information that needs to be blurred or removed, please leave exact timestamps of where the information appears in the recording project. Please triple check your work, as our post team will not always be able to catch this on our own.
8. (Optional) Export and upload to Cloudinary
If your recording is going into docs or the handbook rather than through the YouTube team, export it from Screen Studio (this needs a paid plan – see step 1), then upload it to Cloudinary to get a URL you can embed.
You don't need a Cloudinary login. Sign in on PostHog.com, then choose Upload media under Moderator tools in the account menu, upload the file, and copy the URL. See uploading assets with Cloudinary for the full walkthrough, and videos in Markdown for how to embed the URL once you have it.
Keep exports under 20MB so Cloudinary accepts them – for anything longer, use Wistia instead.
And voila! You’re done! Thanks for following these steps, and feel free to ask any questions in the #team-youtube Slack channel.