Our online webcam recording feature allows you to record video and audio directly in editing projects and easily edit and export them. It works with your computer's built-in camera and microphone, or with any connected external cameras and microphones. See below for a step-by-step guide with images.
Never used our online video editor before? It's easy, just visit app.clipchamp.com to create a free account and start editing your videos straight away.
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How to record a video
First, start a Create project or open an existing project. Then:
1. Click 'Record webcam' in the 'Add Media' menu
If you've just started a new project you will automatically be in the correct menu. If you're in an existing project, click on the 'Add media' (+) button in the left side bar.
Underneath the "drag and drop" area, click on the Record webcam button:
NOTE: if you click the button and nothing happens, try clicking away to another menu (e.g. the Text menu), then going back to the Add Media menu and trying again.
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2. Allow access to your webcam
A prompt should pop up (usually in the top left corner of the window) asking if you want to let "app.clipchamp.com" use your microphone and camera. Click Allow.
NOTE: This is necessary for you to able to record a video. We don't have access to any recordings you make (they stay on your computer unless you choose to save them in the cloud).
If you don't see the pop up, see an error message, or your camera doesn't turn on, please see this related help article.
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3. Adjust your input settings under 'Options' (if you want to)
A recording screen will appear.
Use the Options button in the bottom left to change the camera and microphone input (if more than one camera and/or microphone are connected to your computer you will see them in the dropdown menus).
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4. Click the red button to start recording
Click the red circle at the bottom of the window to begin recording.
You will see the elapsed time at the bottom of the screen. You can record videos of up to 30 minutes duration.
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5. Click the purple button to stop recording
Click the purple square at the bottom of the screen to finish recording.
NOTE: As you'll see in the below example, text appears mirrored (facing the wrong way) when recording. Don't worry – when you finish the video it will automatically flip to show things the correct way around (and if you don't want that, you can always flip it whichever way you want it later using the flip tool in the editor)
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6. Review the recording and add it to your project
Once you click stop, your video will appear. You can watch it back to check you're happy with it.
If you're happy, click Add to project. If you want to record again, click Retake recording (you will lose the current video if you do this).
NOTE: depending on your browser settings, a Save File dialogue will appear asking you to choose a location to store the video, or the video will be auto-saved to your downloads folder or desktop. Be sure to keep this file on your computer somewhere (don't delete it!) as in future you may need to relink it to your project.
7. Drag your recording to the timeline
Your webcam recording will appear in the media library area (it may take a few seconds to load). Drag and drop it into the timeline at the bottom of the editor.
Here you can edit the video, e.g. trim unwanted parts off the start or end, split it to cut out unwanted parts in the middle, or even add music.
NOTE: If the recording doesn't fit the dimensions of your project (e.g. in the above example the webcam recorded in 4:3 but the project is 16:9) you can easily crop the video to fit. Just select the clip in the timeline, click the Transform menu at the top of the screen, and under RESIZE, choose Crop to fill (alternatively, you can change the aspect ratio of your project):
For more information on Clipchamp's editing tools see our how to edit a video article.
If you want to take another webcam recording, simply return to the Add Media menu and follow this process again.
8. Export your video
If you're finished editing and would like to save the recording in your timeline to your computer, click the Export button in the top right. For more information see: exporting your video.
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Chromebook owners
If you're recording on a Chromebook, please be sure to close all other tabs in Chrome and also any apps that might be running in the background such as Google Hangouts. This will make sure that as much of the Chromebook's CPU and memory as possible are available for the webcam recording (which is quite processing-intense, so Chromebooks can sometimes struggle).
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Try it out
Ready to get started? Head straight to Create to try it out for yourself:
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