How to Switch Between Webcam and Screen in a Video

To switch between your webcam and your screen in one video, record both at the same time. Then pick the stretches where your camera should fill the frame. In Screen Bolt, move the playhead to the start of the stretch and press I. Move to the end and press O. Then click Add from Marked Range under Fullscreen Moments in the Webcam panel. The camera takes over the whole canvas for that range, and the video returns to your screen afterward.

If you only use the apps that come with your Mac, you record the camera parts and the screen parts as separate takes and join them in a video editor. That works for an intro and an outro. You can only switch where one take ends and the next one begins.

When to cut to your face

A full-screen camera shot works best when there's nothing useful on screen:

• Intro: say who you are and what the viewer will get, before you touch the app.
• Explanations: cut to the camera when you step back to explain why something works. Keep the screen for how it works.
• Section breaks: a few seconds on camera marks the start of a new part of the video.
• Outro: give the next step (sign up, read the docs, reply in the thread) while looking at the viewer.

Stay on the screen whenever you click, type or point at something. If the viewer needs to see it, the camera should be a small bubble or gone.

The free way: separate camera and screen takes

macOS has no built-in way to switch a single recording between a full-frame camera shot and your screen. You can get a similar result by recording the parts one after another:

1. Record the intro with your camera. Open QuickTime Player, choose File ▸ New Movie Recording, and click the record button.
2. Record the screen part. Press ⇧⌘5 (Command-Shift-5), choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion, pick your microphone under Options, and click Record.
3. Record the outro with the camera again.
4. Put the three files in order in a video editor and export. iMovie is Apple's free editor. As of November 2026, its US Mac App Store listing requires macOS 26.6 or later.

What this can't do: the camera and screen parts are separate takes. You can switch only between takes, not in the middle of an explanation. Every switch means stopping, starting a new take and putting the pieces in order by hand.

Record your screen and camera together in Screen Bolt

Screen Bolt records the screen and up to two cameras at once, each to its own file, and lines them up in the editor. Because the camera records the whole time, you decide where to switch after you've finished recording.

1. In the recording bar, click Display, Window or Area to choose what to record.
2. Click Camera and pick your webcam from the list. A 200×200 circular preview appears on screen. The preview isn't captured in the recording.
3. In the same menu, open Max camera resolution and choose 1080p (the default) or 4K. Avoid 720p if you plan to show the camera full screen, because the full-screen shot enlarges the camera image a lot.
4. Click Mic and pick your microphone.
5. Optional: turn on Hide camera preview if the bubble gets in your way. The camera keeps recording.
6. Click the red record button. You can also press ⌃⌘↩ (Control-Command-Return) while Screen Bolt is the active app.
7. Talk to the camera for your intro, do the screen part, and come back to the camera for the outro, all in one take. Use Pause in the bar if you need a break. Pause gaps are removed, and the screen and cameras stay in sync.
8. Click Stop. The editor opens with your screen, camera and cursor data.

Keep Settings ▸ Recording ▸ After recording set to Open editor (the default). With Export to file, Screen Bolt skips the editor and renders straight away without any full-screen moments. You can still open the project later from File ▸ Open recent and add them there. For more on the camera bubble itself, see how to add a webcam overlay on Mac. The recording help page covers every capture option.

Make the webcam full screen for a range

A full-screen moment is a region on the webcam track where the camera fills the whole canvas. You can add one from a marked range or from the playhead.

From an In/Out range (exact length)

1. Play or skim to where the camera should take over and press I (Set In point).
2. Move to where the screen should come back and press O (Set Out point).
3. Open the Webcam panel. Click its icon in the sidebar or press ⌘3 (Command-3).
4. Under Fullscreen Moments, click Add from Marked Range.
5. Press Esc to clear the In and Out marks.
6. Play the range back to check it.

Watch the Delete key. Cuts use the same In/Out marks. If you press Delete (⌫) or click Cut I-O while the marks are set, Screen Bolt deletes that part of the video. If that happens, press ⌘Z (Command-Z) to undo.

From the playhead (quick 3 or 5 seconds)

1. Move the playhead to where the camera should take over.
2. Right-click the webcam track.
3. Choose Add at Playhead (3s) or Add at Playhead (5s).

The same right-click menu also has Add from Marked Range and Delete All Regions. If you don't see the webcam track, open the timeline's visible-tracks menu (its label shows a count, such as "4 visible timelines") and turn on Show Webcam Track. That option appears only when the recording has a camera.

Check, adjust or remove a moment

• Each moment appears as a row under Fullscreen Moments. Click Seek to Region to jump to it, or Delete Region to remove it.
• On the webcam track, right-click a region and choose Delete This Region.
• To change a moment's length exactly, delete it and add it again from a new In/Out range.

Full-screen moments are included when you export from the editor.

Use the same marks to cut mistakes

The In/Out marks also remove fumbles. Mark the bad part with I and O, then click Cut I-O or press Delete. A good order is to cut the stumbles first and then add full-screen moments over the clean takes. The editing help page covers splits, trims and markers.

Bubble or full-screen moment: which to use

Most videos use both: the bubble while you work on screen, and full-screen moments when the screen has nothing to show.

New projects start camera 1 as a softly rounded 4:5 card in the bottom-left corner, at 17% size, with the animated Border Beam on. If the bubble covers a part of your app you need to show, move it to another corner or reduce Size.

If you post vertically, set Canvas ▸ Aspect Ratio to 9:16 in the Screen panel, and the full-screen moments fill the vertical canvas. See how to make a vertical screen recording for Reels.

Add a second camera

If you use a second camera, such as an iPhone over Continuity Camera, open the Camera menu and pick it under Second camera. This section appears only when two or more cameras are connected, and camera 1 must be on. For an iPhone or iPad, you can turn on Record iPhone audio to record the phone's microphone too.

In the Webcam panel, turn on Enable Camera 2 to show it. By default it sits in the bottom-right corner. A common setup is a face camera as camera 1 and an iPhone pointed at a desk, product or whiteboard as camera 2. Setup details are in recording your screen with two cameras and using your iPhone as a webcam.

Add a separately recorded intro instead

If you filmed your intro elsewhere (with a better camera or in a different room), drop that video file onto the clip track of your Screen Bolt project. It goes in before or after the clip under the pointer, and you can drag clips to reorder them.

Two things to know:

• Leave the source file where it is. If a project's media goes missing, the project opens without those clips.
• Imported clips have no cursor data, so auto zoom and cursor effects only apply to the parts recorded in Screen Bolt.

Compare ways to switch between webcam and screen

Pacing tips

• Keep camera stretches short. Full screen works for a sentence or a short paragraph. If you talk for a long time with nothing on screen, consider a talking head video for that part.
• Look at the lens during the parts you'll show full screen. In the bubble, glancing at your screen looks natural. Full screen, it looks like you're reading.
• Cut back to the screen before you click. End the full-screen moment a beat before your first click, so the viewer sees where the cursor starts.
• Mark switch points while reviewing. Press M to drop a marker wherever you want to switch, then press [ and ] to jump between markers when you add moments. Markers aren't exported.
• Plan switches in your script. If you use the teleprompter (Script in the recording bar), insert a cue marker such as [PAUSE] or [CUT] where you plan to switch. The teleprompter window isn't captured in the recording. See how to read a script while recording.
• Don't use J or L to skim. These keys change the project's playback speed, and that speed applies to the whole export. Press K to pause, and set the speed menu back to 1x if you changed it.

If it doesn't work

• There's no webcam track, or nothing happens when you add a moment. The recording has no camera. This happens if Don't record camera was selected, or if you opened a plain video file instead of a Screen Bolt project. Videos opened that way have no camera track, and edits to them aren't saved. Record again with a camera selected.
• The webcam track is hidden. Open the timeline's visible-tracks menu and turn on Show Webcam Track.
• Part of the video disappeared. You pressed Delete or clicked Cut I-O while In/Out marks were set, which cuts that range. Press ⌘Z to undo, add the moment, then press Esc to clear the marks.
• The camera isn't listed or shows a permission error. Allow Camera access in System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Camera. In Screen Bolt, Help ▸ Screen Bolt Help shows the permission status and has an Open Settings button. More fixes are on the troubleshooting page.
• The full-screen camera looks soft. The camera was recorded at 720p. Set Max camera resolution to 1080p or 4K before your next recording. Footage you've already recorded can't be sharpened.
• The export is refused or capped at 720p. The free version exports up to 3 minutes at 720p with a watermark. The 3-minute check uses the full recording length, so trimming a longer recording under 3 minutes doesn't get around it. See the export help page.

FAQ

Can I add full-screen camera moments to a video I recorded in QuickTime? No. Imported videos open without a camera track, so there's nothing to switch to. Edits to a video opened on its own also aren't saved, so record in Screen Bolt if you want to come back to the project later.

Can I drag the webcam bubble anywhere on the screen? No. The bubble goes in one of four corners. You can change its size, shape and styling.

Does Screen Bolt remove my webcam background? No. The Webcam panel has a Remove Background toggle, but it doesn't change the preview or the export. Set up a clean background before recording, because the full-screen shot shows all of it.

Do full-screen moments work in the free version? Yes. Every editor feature is in the free version, but exports are watermarked, limited to 720p and capped at 3 minutes. As of November 2026, Screen Bolt Pro removes those limits for a one-time $79; see pricing.