Studio Settings & Recording Options: The Complete Reference

Quick answer: Two places hold all of Zella’s recording options. The Setup panel (menu-bar → Zella) sets your sources, mode, aspect, quality, output folder, and camera/mic device. The Studio Settings panel (Setup panel → Studio) has five tabs — Camera, Border, Zoom, Cursor, Export — that style the bubble, set a border, configure recording-time auto-zoom, polish the cursor, and pick a default export. This page is the full reference.

On this page: the setup panel · pick camera & mic · studio settings tabs · border · recording auto-zoom · cursor · default export · countdown · FAQ

The Setup panel options

Click the Zella icon in the menu bar to open the Setup panel (“Ready to record”). It holds the core recording choices:

Full walkthroughs: Recording basics and Recording modes.

How to pick your camera and microphone

In the Setup panel you can choose which devices to use, not just whether they’re on:

• Camera — pick from your connected cameras (built-in, Continuity Camera, or an external/USB cam). Default is “Front camera (default).” Switching is hot-swappable — Zella changes the live device without restarting setup.
• Microphone — choose your input from the Microphone picker (built-in, AirPods, a USB mic like a Yeti, etc.).

Pick the right devices here so you don’t discover the wrong mic was recording after the fact.

Studio Settings: the five tabs

Open the Setup panel → click Studio. Five tabs:

Border tab: style the bubble edge

Give your camera bubble a border so it reads cleanly over any screen content. Three controls:

• Border Style — None · Solid · Gradient · Glow · Animated · Pulse. (Animated and Pulse add subtle motion; Glow adds a soft halo.)
• Border Color — Accent · White · Gold · Rose · Neon · Rainbow.
• Border Width — set the thickness in points.

A Solid white or Accent border at a few points is a clean default; save Glow / Neon / Rainbow for energetic, social-style content.

Zoom tab: recording-time auto-zoom

This is separate from editor auto-zoom — it configures auto-zoom as you record:

• Auto-zoom on click — toggle on to zoom in when you click during recording.
• Zoom Level — how close to punch in (slider, ~30–70%).
• Hold Duration — how long to stay zoomed before pulling back (slider, ~1–5 s).
• Trigger — what counts as a zoom click: Left click · Double click · Both.

Set these to match your style (a 50% zoom held ~2 s reads well for most demos). You can still add, remove, and fine-tune zooms in the editor afterward — see Zoom, auto-zoom & keyframes.

Cursor tab

Cursor smoothing, cursor styles (Ring / Dot / Spotlight / Arrow Glow), animated click rings, and on-screen keystrokes live here. Full details: Cursor, clicks & keystrokes.

Export tab: default format & quality

Set what new projects default to, so you don’t re-pick every time:

• Default Format — MP4 · MOV · GIF · M4A.
• Default Quality — 720p · 1080p · 4K.
• Default Platform — TikTok · YouTube · Instagram · X · Facebook (sets the default aspect/reframe target for new exports).
• Save Location — the default folder exports are written to; use Change / Choose to point it elsewhere.

These are just defaults — you can override format, quality, platform, and reframe in the Export dialog per video.

The countdown

When a recording starts, Zella shows a full-screen 3-2-1 countdown so you have a beat to get ready before capture begins. More recording-time on-screen helpers: Cursor, clicks & keystrokes.

Why these settings matter

For content creators and video editors, dialing in Studio Settings once pays off on every recording:

• Consistency — a fixed bubble shape, border, and background makes every video recognizably yours.
• Less editing — recording-time auto-zoom and the right devices mean the capture is closer to finished, so you cut less.
• No nasty surprises — choosing the camera and mic up front avoids the “wrong mic recorded the whole thing” redo.

Studio Settings FAQ

Where do I choose which microphone Zella records? In the Setup panel — use the Microphone picker. Same place for the camera.

How do I make the recording zoom in automatically when I click? Studio → Zoom → Auto-zoom on click, then set the zoom level, hold duration, and trigger.

How do I add a border around my webcam bubble? Studio → Border — pick a style (Solid, Glow, etc.), a color, and a width.

Can I set a default export format so I don’t pick it every time? Yes — Studio → Export sets the default format and quality; override per-video in the Export dialog.

Is the recording-time auto-zoom the same as the editor’s Auto-Zoom? They work together: the Zoom tab sets how auto-zoom behaves; the editor’s Auto-Zoom Clicks generates and lets you refine the zooms.

Pro tips & gotchas

• Dial Studio Settings in once — a fixed bubble, border, and background make every video recognizably yours.
• Recording-time auto-zoom (Studio → Zoom) means less zooming to add later; you can still refine in the editor.
• Set Default Format/Quality/Platform (Studio → Export) so new exports start right.
• Choose your camera and microphone in the Setup panel before recording to avoid the “wrong mic” redo.

Related: Recording basics → · Webcam bubble & backgrounds → · Look & sound good → · Cursor, clicks & keystrokes → · Zoom & keyframes →