How to Make a Vertical Screen Recording for Reels on Mac

Your Mac's display is landscape, so a normal capture comes out horizontal. There are two ways to make a vertical screen recording. You can record a tall, narrow part of the screen with the built-in Screenshot toolbar (⇧⌘5, then Record Selected Portion). Or you can record normally, put the result on a 9:16 canvas in an editor, and zoom in so the action fills the phone screen.

In Screen Bolt, open the Screen panel and set Canvas ▸ Aspect Ratio to 9:16. Auto zoom, generated from your clicks, then carries the action. Export an MP4 and upload it to Reels, TikTok or Shorts.

Why horizontal recordings fail on vertical feeds

Put a 16:9 recording in a 9:16 frame and fit it to the width, and it fills only about a third of the frame's height. Menus, code and form fields shrink to a strip in the middle of the phone screen. At that size they are too small to read.

A vertical screen recording works when two things are true:

• The action fills the frame. Whatever matters at each moment is big enough to read on a phone. You get there with zooms, or by recording a narrow area in the first place.
• Nothing important sits under the app's interface. Reels, TikTok and Shorts lay captions, your account name and action buttons over the video, mostly along the bottom and the right edge.

Record a tall area with the built-in Screenshot toolbar

If you need a short clip with no editing, macOS can do it for free.

1. Press ⇧⌘5 (Shift-Command-5) to open the Screenshot toolbar.
2. Click Record Selected Portion.
3. Drag the selection into a tall rectangle around the content you want to show.
4. If needed, click Options to choose a microphone and a save location.
5. Click Record.
6. To stop, click the stop button in the menu bar or press ⌃⌘⎋ (Control-Command-Escape).

To trim the start and end, open the clip in QuickTime Player and choose Edit ▸ Trim (⌘T).

What it can't do: you set the shape by eye, so the clip is rarely exactly 9:16. When the shape doesn't match, the platform has to fit it, which can add bars or crop the edges. You also get no zoom, background, webcam layout or text, and the content has to stay inside a narrow strip of your screen for the whole recording.

Record a narrow source in Screen Bolt

Screen Bolt has no "vertical mode" button. It records a display, a window or an area, and you choose the frame shape on the canvas afterwards. A source that is already narrow needs less zooming later.

Record a tall area:

1. Make Screen Bolt the active app and press ⌥⌘5 (Option-Command-5) to start Record area.
2. Drag a rectangle. The overlay shows its dimensions as you drag, so you can aim for a 9:16 shape. On a Retina display Screen Bolt captures at 2× the size in points, so a 540×960-point area gives a 1080×1920 video.
3. Click Record Area or press Return. Recording starts right away, with no countdown.
4. Do your demo inside the rectangle.
5. Click Stop in the recording bar. The ⌃⌘↩ (Control-Command-Return) shortcut also stops a recording, but only while Screen Bolt is the active app, which it usually isn't mid-demo.

Or record a narrow window: resize your browser or app window so it's tall and narrow. Click Window in the recording bar, select the window in Select Window to Record, click Record Window, then click the red record button. Window mode records the window on its own, even if something covers it.

Either way, increase the app's text size before you start (for example ⌘+ in a browser). Text that looks large on your monitor is small on a phone. Our guide to making text readable in screen recordings has more on this.

Set a 9:16 canvas for a vertical screen recording

When the recording stops, the editor opens (that's the default). To change the frame shape:

1. Open the Screen panel (⌘1).
2. Under Canvas, open Aspect Ratio and choose 9:16, 4:5 or 1:1.
3. Lower Padding (0–20%, default 5%) so the recording uses more of the width. At 0% no background is rendered in the export.
4. Open the Background panel (⌘2) and pick a Wallpaper or your own Image for the space around the recording. Which ratio to pick:

For feed video on LinkedIn specifically, see how to make a product video for LinkedIn.

Some background choices don't export the way they preview:

• Custom Gradient colors export as the selected wallpaper's gradient.
• A solid Color exports as a dark gradient.
• Background Blur isn't exported at all.

Built-in wallpapers, "From your Mac" wallpapers and custom images export as you see them, so use one of those.

Once you like the look, save it from the toolbar with Presets ▸ Save Current as Preset... and name it something like "Vertical 9:16". A preset stores the aspect ratio, padding, background, cursor, zoom and camera-1 styling, but not your text. More in keeping recordings on-brand with presets.

Let zooms carry the action

In a vertical cut, zooms do most of the work. With Create zooms automatically on (the default), Screen Bolt turns your mouse clicks into zoom regions after recording. Clicks within 1 second and 200 px of each other merge into one zoom, and while zoomed the view follows the cursor. Typing does not create zooms. Only clicks do.

On a 9:16 canvas the default level may not be enough. In the Zoom panel (⌘5):

1. Raise Default Level (1.2×–6.0×, default 2.0×).
2. Click Apply to All Regions so existing zooms use the new level.
3. Scrub the timeline and check that each zoom makes the text readable at phone size.
4. Right-click any region that needs different treatment and use Change Zoom Level or Transition Speed (from Snap (none) to Cinematic (1.0s)).
5. To add a zoom where you didn't click, move the playhead there and press ⌘K (Add Zoom at Playhead). Things to know:

• A zoom is centered on where the cursor was. You can't drag its focus point, so point at what you're talking about while you record.
• Turning off Auto Zoom on Click disables every zoom region in preview and export, including the ones you added by hand.
• Glide Effect adds extra smoothing to how the view follows the cursor, which keeps a tight zoom from feeling jumpy.

A bigger cursor also helps on a phone. In the Cursor panel (⌘6), raise Size (1.0×–7.0×, default 3.0×). For background on the feature, read what auto zoom is and how it works. For more techniques, see zooming in on a screen recording.

Place your webcam in a vertical frame

If you recorded with a camera, style it in the Webcam panel (⌘3). On a vertical canvas:

• Position: the camera sits in one of four corners. The bottom corners compete with the platform's captions and buttons, so Top Left or Top Right usually stays clearer. New projects start bottom-left, so change this.
• Aspect: 4:5 or 1:1 fits a narrow frame better than 16:9.
• Size: 8%–40%. Go bigger than you would in a horizontal video so your face isn't a thumbnail.
• Fullscreen Moments: mark In (I) and Out (O) on the timeline, then click Add from Marked Range. The camera takes over the whole canvas for that range, which works well for a talking intro before the screen part.

You can't drag the camera to any other spot in the preview, and the Remove Background toggle has no effect. To add an iPhone as a second angle, see using your iPhone as a webcam.

Text and safe areas

Viewers may be scrolling with the sound off, so put the key steps on screen as text.

1. Press T, or click Add Text Overlay in the Text panel, to add a 3-second title at the playhead.
2. Change Position from the default Bottom Center to Top Center or Center, or drag the text in the preview.
3. Set Font Size (12–120 pt, default 48) large enough to read on a phone.
4. Turn on Background and adjust BG Opacity so the text stays legible over busy UI.
5. Set Duration (0.5–30 s) so viewers have time to read it.

For safe areas, keep text, your face and key UI away from the bottom of the frame and the right edge, where the apps put captions and buttons. Those areas differ between apps and change with app updates. Before publishing, upload a test as a draft or private post and check it on a phone.

Animate In offers several styles, but every animation exports as a fade. More options in adding text to a screen recording.

Export a screen recording for TikTok, Reels and Shorts

1. Click Export in the editor toolbar.
2. Under Format, choose MP4 (H.264, which plays everywhere).
3. Under Quality, read the pixel size shown on each tile and pick the one closest to 1080×1920 for a 9:16 video. Presets larger than your recording are disabled.
4. Check the size estimate, choose a Save to folder, and click Export (or press Return).
5. Send the file to your phone (AirDrop works) or upload it from your Mac.

Frame rate and bitrate come from Settings ▸ Quick export. Frame rate is 30 or 60 FPS (default 60, and it also sets the recording frame rate). Compression defaults to Social Media. Our screen recording settings guide covers settings per platform.

Two traps when posting:

• Don't use the toolbar's Share button. It sends the raw, unedited recording.mov, not your vertical edit.
• Don't use "Export to file (skip editor)" for vertical clips. Quick export uses default styling with no background or padding, so it skips your canvas work.

The free version exports at 720p, up to 3 minutes, with a "Made with Screen Bolt" watermark in the bottom-right corner. On a vertical feed, that corner is where the platforms put their buttons. Pro removes all three limits and is a $79 one-time purchase (as of November 2026). Details are on the export help page.

Which method to use

Pick the built-in toolbar if the content already fits a narrow strip and you only need a quick clip. Pick an editor if you want the action zoomed, a camera in frame, or text that explains the steps. If one take needs to become both a horizontal YouTube video and a vertical Short, record horizontally. Export the 16:9 version first, then switch Aspect Ratio to 9:16, raise the zoom level, move your text and export again.

If it doesn't work

• A free export is refused even though you trimmed under 3 minutes. The export sheet checks the full recording length, not the trimmed result. Record short takes for vertical clips, or upgrade.
• No zooms appear. Auto Zoom on Click may be off in the Zoom panel, which disables all zooms. Videos opened from QuickTime or elsewhere have no cursor data, so they get no auto zoom. Add zoom regions by hand with ⌘K.
• The background looks different after export. Custom gradient colors, solid colors and background blur don't export as previewed. Switch to a wallpaper or an image.
• The iPhone frame or shadow vanished. Device frames, reflection, screen shadow and inset appear in the preview only and are not in the exported file.
• A sped-up section plays at normal speed. Speed ramps don't export. The whole-video speed does (the "1x" menu, or J and L), so use that if the entire clip should be faster. See speeding up a screen recording.
• ⌃⌘↩ doesn't stop the recording. Screen Bolt's shortcuts work only while it is the active app. Click Stop in the recording bar instead.
• Only 720p is available. That's the free-version limit. Higher Quality presets need a license.

FAQ

Can Screen Bolt record my iPhone screen for TikTok? No. Screen Bolt records your Mac's screen. An iPhone works only as a camera, through Continuity Camera.

Can I make the same video in 9:16 and 16:9? Yes. Export one version, change Aspect Ratio, adjust the zoom level and text positions, then export again. A preset for each look makes switching faster, though text positions aren't part of a preset.

Should I record vertically or crop later? Record a tall area or narrow window when the whole demo fits there. The content fills the frame without heavy zooming. Record horizontally when the demo moves around a wide app, and let zooms do the framing.

For a launch clip cut from the same recording, see how to make a feature announcement video. Screen Bolt has a free version you can download for Mac.