Record a tutorial video with webcam and screen in Chrome

If you want to record a tutorial video with webcam and screen together, you do not need editing software to put your face in the corner afterwards. In Cheap Recorder the preview in Chrome is the recording, so you place the camera where you want it before you start, and the file comes out ready to share. This guide walks you through the setup, the layouts, a short test, and the habits that keep a whole course in order.

What you need before you start

Google Chrome on macOS, Windows or Linux. Cheap Recorder runs in Chrome and works the same on all three.
A webcam and a microphone. A built-in webcam is fine to start. On a Mac, a Bluetooth headset used as a microphone switches into a low-quality mode, so use it to listen and a wired or USB microphone for your voice.
A folder for the course. Cheap Recorder writes each recording to a folder you choose on your own computer, one folder per recording.
A short plan for the lesson. Three to five points on paper are enough. You will talk more naturally from points than from a script.

Close the apps and tabs you will not show. Then open the one window or tab you will teach from, because you will share only that.

How to record a tutorial video with webcam in Chrome

Open Cheap Recorder in Chrome and choose your folder under Where to save.
Under What to capture, pick the window or browser tab you will teach from. Sharing one window instead of the whole screen keeps your other tabs, apps and private notifications out of the lesson.
Turn on Record my webcam. Your camera appears in the preview over the screen.
Choose a layout from the Layout menu in the Preview heading, then set the camera's size and position (more on this below).
Type the lesson name in Name this recording, for example "Lesson 01 Getting started".
Press Start recording and teach. Press Stop and finish in Cheap Recorder when you are done.

Use Stop and finish rather than Chrome's own Stop sharing bar. Pressing Chrome's bar also finishes the recording, and it is easy to hit by accident when you reach for the bottom of the screen. When the recording ends, it appears on the page with a player and is already saved in your folder.

Choose a layout for your face and your screen

The Layout menu has four standard choices, and your plan decides which of them are switched on for you:

Picture in picture, bottom right: the default. Your camera sits in a corner over the screen. You can drag it anywhere, nudge it with the arrow keys, or hold Shift with the arrow keys for bigger steps.
Side by side: your camera and the screen next to each other, so the camera never covers part of the screen.
Screen only: the webcam stays out of the picture.
Camera only: just you, useful for an introduction or a closing message.

In picture in picture, the Size slider sets the camera from 12% to 50% of the picture's width. Smaller suits a lesson where the screen does most of the talking; larger suits a lesson where your face and gestures matter. Cheap Recorder remembers the position and size for next time, so every lesson in the course looks the same without you setting it again.

If the room behind you is busy, the green screen and background blur guide shows how to blur it or swap it for a picture. Blur is always there; background pictures and the green screen come with Creator and up. Your plan decides which layouts and backgrounds are switched on, so if an option is missing, open your name in the top right and look under What you can do on this plan. For a lesson with no screen at all, Webcam only records just your camera and microphone.

Keep each lesson short and in order

Short lessons are easier to record, easier to fix, and easier for your learners to come back to. If you make a mistake ten minutes into a long recording, you have to record all of it again; in a four-minute lesson you lose four minutes.

Number every lesson in Name this recording, with a leading zero: Lesson 01, Lesson 02 and so on up to Lesson 12. The name is used for the recording's file and its folder, so the folders sort in order on your disk.

Inside a lesson, press M or Add marker when you move to a new point. A short note confirms the time. Markers are written to files, as a markers list and a chapters file, only when Also save every source separately is ticked under Options before you start. With the default single MP4, the notes show while you record but are not saved, so jot the times down if you want chapters later.

Cheap Recorder is not an editing suite and has no timeline editor. Plan to get each lesson right in one take, which is another reason to keep them short.

A worked example: a three-lesson spreadsheet course

Say you are teaching colleagues how to build a monthly budget in a spreadsheet, in three short lessons.

You open the spreadsheet in one window and choose that window under What to capture. You turn on Record my webcam and keep Picture in picture, bottom right, with the Size slider at about 20% so the camera does not cover the totals column.
You name a first recording "Test", record 30 seconds of yourself saying a sentence and clicking a cell, then play it back. Your voice is clear and the camera is in the right place.
You name the next recording "Lesson 01 Setting up the sheet" and record four minutes. You press M as you move from headings to formulas.
You record "Lesson 02 Adding formulas" and "Lesson 03 Making a chart" the same way. The camera stays where you put it, because the position and size were remembered.

At the end you have three folders in order on your disk, each with an MP4 that already has your face in the corner. Nothing needs to be edited before you share them.

Things that stop a long recording

A few things can end or spoil a recording partway through. Check them before a long session.

Your monthly minutes. Each plan has a number of recorded minutes a month. Open your name in the top right to see how many are left. If they run out mid-recording, the recording stops.
A sleeping screen. The recorder asks Chrome to keep the display awake while you record, but Chrome cannot always do it. Set your computer not to sleep during a long session.
The wrong microphone. This is why the 30-second test matters. If a test comes back silent, read how to find which sound is missing.

You will not be signed out during a long lesson, because a running recording counts as activity. The counter by the timer shows how many MB have been written, so you can see the file growing. The guide to recording a course or tutorial covers these checks in more detail.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I put my webcam in a tutorial recording?

Anywhere you like. In picture in picture you can drag the camera anywhere in the preview or nudge it with the arrow keys, and the preview is exactly what is recorded.

How big can the webcam be?

The Size slider sets it from 12% to 50% of the picture's width. Side by side, where your plan includes it, keeps the camera off the screen entirely.

Can I record a webcam video with no screen?

Yes. Choose Webcam only, which records just your camera and microphone.

Where are my tutorial videos saved?

In the folder you chose, on your own computer, one folder per recording named with the date, time and the name you gave it.

Get started

The free plan needs no card. Try Cheap Recorder in Chrome, record a 30-second test with your webcam, and your lessons stay on your own disk.