Capture or import a recording, edit its cuts and speed, direct automatic zoom and cursor motion, unlock for direct animation, and return the result to the composition.
Where: Native Video Editor → Recording; or select a recording layer → Recording.
Key ideas
- Recordings keep motion metadata: Browser capture, macOS .f0rec packages, and supported local video can open in the dedicated recording editor. Portable packages may carry cursor and click tracks; imported ordinary video may not.
- Cuts retime recording motion together: Trims, removed intervals, and speed changes remap the footage plus automatic zoom, cursor, and click events so effects do not persist through cuts or drift after retiming.
- Automatic and direct animation are exclusive: Automatic controls generate the guided camera/cursor result. Unlock animation pauses those controls and preserves direct compositor edits rather than letting two systems fight over the same values.
Steps
- Open Recording and choose Record screen, Import .f0rec, Import local video, or Edit on an existing recording.
- For capture, select a screen/window/tab in the browser or use the supported desktop recorder. Stop and wait for the recording to enter the workspace.
- Scrub the recording preview, use Cut at playhead, and drag trim handles so each kept segment starts and ends cleanly.
- Select a cut and choose 0.5×, 1×, 1.5×, 2×, or the speed slider. Play across the boundary to check the retimed cursor and audio.
- Set Fit recording or Fill canvas, choose Full/16:9/1:1/4:5 crop, margin, and output framing.
- Add Zoom here at the important moment. Choose Follow mouse or Fixed point, strength 1.1–4, Focused/Smooth behavior, and smoothness.
- Turn Cursor on when pointer storytelling matters; choose size, Studio/Dark Studio/Outline/Light/Dark/Dot style, and Smooth/Medium/Rapid/None movement.
- Choose click feedback None, Pulse, or Ripple and inspect several consecutive clicks and cut boundaries.
- Keep automatic motion for guided editing, or choose Unlock animation before hand-keying those properties in Composite.
- Return to the composition, play the complete edited range, and export a review file.
Recording workspace controls
- Back; Undo/Redo; shortcut help
- Open .f0rec; New recording
- Preview/playhead and cut lane
- Cut at playhead; Remove clip; trim handles
- Per-cut speed presets and continuous slider
- Output zoom lane and automatic/unlocked animation
Recording shortcuts
- Space — play/pause
- Left/Right — one frame; Shift for a larger step
- C — cut
- Delete/Backspace — remove selected cut
- Cmd/Ctrl+Z and redo
- Cmd/Ctrl+/ — shortcuts
- Esc — close transient UI/back
Tips
- Use Fill canvas for presentation-style crops and Fit recording when preserving the entire captured UI matters.
- Place zoom points on semantic actions—opening a menu, choosing a control, confirming a result—not every click.
Limitations and important notes
- Browser and OS capture permissions apply.
- .f0rec import currently requires the macOS desktop recorder path; Windows portable recordings can carry mouse tracks but use their supported package path.
- An ordinary local video cannot invent cursor/click telemetry that was never recorded.
Troubleshooting
Click waves remain visible after a cut.
Reopen the current build and verify the click belongs to a kept interval; recent builds explicitly remove cut-away click persistence.
Automatic zoom controls no longer change the result.
Animation is unlocked. Re-enable the automatic workflow or continue with direct Composite keys; do not mix both drivers.
Cursor motion feels delayed after changing speed.
Play from before the cut and confirm the current build; cursor/zoom tracks are retimed with recording cuts and playback rate.