video/skills/creative/screen-recording.md

Screen Recording Pipeline

Sources: OBS Studio documentation, Loom production guidelines, Fireship production methodology, Kevin Powell CSS tutorial techniques, Theo Browne dev content guides

Quick Reference Card

RESOLUTION:       1920x1080 at 2x display (record at 3840x2160, deliver at 1080p)
FRAME RATE:       60fps for UI/scrolling, 30fps for static code
CURSOR:           Enlarged (1.5-2x), highlighted with ring or glow
ZOOM:             1.5-2x for code focus, 0.8s ease-in-out transition
SPEED RAMP:       1.5x for navigation, 2x for repetitive actions, 1.0x for key moments
DEAD AIR:         Remove pauses > 1.5 seconds
FONT SIZE (IDE):  18-22px minimum for readability at 1080p delivery

Recording Settings

Resolution Strategy

Approach	Record At	Deliver At	Why
Recommended	3840x2160 (4K)	1920x1080	Enables 2x zoom into code without quality loss
Budget	1920x1080	1920x1080	Direct capture, limited zoom headroom
Vertical	2160x3840	1080x1920	Short-form screen recording

Frame Rate

Content Type	FPS	Why
Code editing (mostly static)	30	Smaller file size, no visible difference
UI interaction, scrolling	60	Smooth scrolling and cursor movement
Animation/demo with motion	60	Motion clarity
Terminal output	30	Text updates don't need 60fps

IDE/Editor Setup

• Font size: 18-22px minimum (must be readable at 1080p delivery)
• Theme: Dark theme preferred (easier on eyes, looks better in video)
• Line numbers: ON (helps viewers follow along)
• Minimap: OFF (wastes screen space, distracting)
• Sidebar: Collapsed unless showing file structure is the point
• Status bar: Consider hiding (clutters bottom of frame)
• Zoom level: 150-175% for readability

Cursor Management

Visibility

Setting	Value
Cursor size	1.5-2x default system size
Highlight	Yellow or white ring/glow (50px radius)
Click indicator	Brief flash or ripple on click
Smoothing	Light smoothing to reduce jitter

Cursor Behavior

• Move deliberately — no random wandering
• Pause on target for 0.5s before clicking
• Avoid circling — don't circle the cursor around what you're talking about
• Hide cursor when it's not needed (during code explanation)

Zoom and Pan

Zoom Levels

Context	Zoom	Duration of Transition
Full screen overview	1.0x (100%)	—
Code focus	1.5-2.0x	0.8s ease-in-out
Terminal focus	1.5x	0.6s ease-in-out
UI element highlight	2.0-2.5x	0.8s ease-in-out
Return to overview	1.0x	0.6s ease-in-out

Pan Rules

• Pan to follow the active area — don't make viewers search
• Smooth pan (ease-in-out), not instant jump
• Hold position for at least 3 seconds before next pan
• Announce what you're zooming into: "Let's look at this function..."

Post-Processing

Speed Ramping

Action	Speed	Notes
Typing boilerplate	2-3x	Viewers don't need to watch you type imports
File navigation	1.5-2x	Opening files, switching tabs
Package install / build	2-4x or cut	Show start + end, skip the wait
Key code writing	1.0x	Important moments at real speed
Debugging / thinking	1.0x with cuts	Remove dead pauses, keep the reasoning

Dead Air Removal

• Remove all pauses > 1.5 seconds unless deliberate
• Remove "um", "uh", typing mistakes and backspaces (when possible)
• Jump cuts are acceptable and expected in screen recording content
• Add a subtle zoom shift (1.0x → 1.02x) at each jump cut to mask the edit

Audio Enhancement

• Apply clean_speech preset from audio_enhance
• HPF at 80Hz to remove keyboard/desk rumble
• Compress at 3:1 to even out speaking volume
• Target -16 LUFS for screen recording content (slightly quieter than -14, more comfortable for long viewing)

Applying to OpenMontage

When processing screen recordings in the talking-head pipeline:

1. Record at 4K if possible — enables quality zoom in post
2. Set IDE font to 20px+ before recording
3. Use scene_detect with threshold 30, min_scene_length 2.0s to find natural segments
4. Apply zoom/pan in compose stage — 1.5-2x on code, 0.8s transitions
5. Speed ramp navigation to 1.5-2x, keep key moments at 1.0x
6. Remove dead air > 1.5s with video_trimmer
7. Add cursor highlight in post if not captured in recording
8. Target -16 LUFS (slightly below YouTube standard for comfortable viewing)
9. Subtitles recommended — use subtitle_gen for accessibility
10. Dark theme looks best in video — recommend to users before recording