Follow these simple steps to screen record on your MacBook.
Press and hold down the Shift, Command, and 5 buttons at the same time
2. The screen recording bar will pop up on the bottom of your screen with 5 options to choose from (left to right)
Capture entire screen
Capture selected window
Capture selected portion
Record entire screen
Record selected portion
3. Taking a photo
To take a screen grab, simply click your mouse pad. You can adjust the size of the screen grab by clicking on capture selected portion before taking the photo.
4. To take a screen recording
Simply hit the record button. Your laptop will automatically start recording your screen.
5. To stop recording
Press the stop button on the info bar at the top of your screen.
The screen grabs and recordings will appear on your desktop after you’re done.
Over the past year, COVID19 has forced us to get creative when recording at home. Without recording booths and sound-proofed walls, the task can feel daunting–especially for someone just starting out.
Do not fear!
Here are three easy setups that can help you get quality audio recordings right from your bedroom.
Setup 1: The Ol’ Comforter
What you’ll need:
A comforter (or blanket) big enough to cover you and your mic.
This is probably the easiest setup for at-home recording. All you need is a comforter and a little patience and you’re good to go.
Step 1: Prepare to record. Whether this means connecting your mic to your laptop or simply plugging your headphones into your phone, make sure you’re ready to go.
Step 2: Throw the comforter over you and the mic. Make sure there’s enough room for you to breathe and your mic is in a good position to record. Sometimes I will prop the comforter up on pillows around me to help create space underneath.
Step 3: Record!
It can take some adjusting and a few tries to perfect but a blanket fort can create a great barrier between you and outside sound. The result is crisp, interruption-free audio.
The outside (no pillow prop) and the inside (pillow prop) of my comforter recording booth!
Setup 2: The Sound Cave
What you’ll need:
A comforter or large blanket
An ironing board or a desk and chair
A bed (optional)
If you want more room to move around or have materials you’d like to have while inside your at-home recording booth (a snack or script, perhaps), the sound cave will be right for you.
Much like is smaller cousin, the comforter booth, the sound cave relies on a blanket to buffer sound. However, the sound cave gives you more room to work. Bonus: your head doesn’t need to be used to prop it up!
Toss your comforter over your ironing board and sneak under it for a hassle-free recording space with a little more elbow room. For addition wiggle room, drape one side of your blanket over your ironing board and the other end over a bed or desk!
@NPR pillow fort hotel room filing center. Charleston WV. 1 ironing board. 1 heavy blanket. 1 bed sheet. 8 pillows. 2 beds. #NPRLifepic.twitter.com/vLs12EY1qt
Check out this spiffy set up by Howard Bernes, retired NPR Investigations reporter. Peep the ironing board in the back!
Setup 3: The Closet
This final setup is extremely simple and takes seconds to complete!
Step 1: Sit down in your closet and close the door.
Step 2: Record.
Yep. That’s it. Your closet can be an ideal space to record because it has built in buffering from the clothes hanging above you. The material will help absorb sound just like a blanket would and closing the closet door will provide extra sound-blocking.
If you have a light in your closet (lucky you), go ahead and turn it on so you’re not sitting in the dark. If you don’t have a light in your closet (no worries), let the light from your laptop screen illuminate your smiling face and enjoy your new recording booth!
This set up is possible even with a tiny closet like mine!
Check out Comm Lab Agent Katie Cole’s advanced set up! She pinned her old pillow push onto the walls and put a desk in her closet! Go Katie!
Best of luck with your at-home recording booths! Be sure to tag @commlabsu in any of your setup photos, we love to see it!
LinkedIn Learning/Lynda is a site that offers video courses taught by experts about business skills, software skills, and for what you are probably here for… creative skills!
As Simmons students, we have access to the site which is a great resource for learning and freshening up on skills. There are courses on Adobe programs, specific skills and techniques, networking, productivity, industry standards, the list goes on.
In order to access the site, head over to lynda.com (LinkedIn Learning) and follow the “sign-in” link. From there, choose the option “sign in with your organization portal” using your Simmons login and password.
Voila!
The full courses can be rather long, but they are broken up into digestible sections that are a few minutes long.
Learn how to access unique typographic details such as ligatures, small caps, calligraphic swashes, fractions, and Oldstyle numerals. Note that not all typefaces come with these features.
