Screen and webcam · Mac
Record your screen and your face at the same time on a Mac
A face in the corner turns a faceless screen recording into something that feels personal, and it is the setup most tutorials and creator demos use. Zella records both at once: your display, and your webcam floating in a bubble you design before you press record.
Because the screen and the camera are kept as separate layers, the layout is not locked in. In the editor you can move the bubble, cut to your camera full-screen for a moment and back, or add a name label under your face.
- Mac
- Free on every tier
Quick answer
To record your screen and your face at the same time on a Mac, turn on Screen, Camera and Mic in Zella's Setup panel: you record your screen with your webcam in a bubble on top. Studio Settings sets the bubble's shape (Circle, Wide or Portrait), size (S, M or L) and corner, and the background can stay real, blur, or be removed with on-device AI and replaced by a solid colour or an image scene. It is free, and the screen and camera are recorded as separate layers, so you can change the layout after recording.
How to do it in Zella
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Step 1: Turn on Screen, Camera and Mic
Click the Zella icon in the menu bar and switch on all three sources in the Setup panel. Choose Full, Region or Window for the screen part.
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Step 2: Design the bubble
Click Studio to open Studio Settings. On the Camera tab choose Camera Shape (Circle, Wide or Portrait), Bubble Size (S, M or L) and Default Position, one of the four corners.
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Step 3: Pick a background
Under Background choose Camera for your real room, Blur, Remove for an AI cutout, a solid colour such as Studio or Navy, or an image preset. Turn Mirror off if you will hold text up to the camera.
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Step 4: Record
Click Start Recording. Zella keeps your lips in sync with your voice even when the bubble has a blurred or removed background.
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Step 5: Adjust it in the editor
Open the Webcam tab to move or restyle the bubble. Its Scene control adds Camera full-screen here and Back to bubble here switches, and the name label puts your name on the bubble.
Why do it this way
Your room stays private
Blur hides a messy background and Remove cuts you out of it entirely. Zella ships 40 background scenes (20 still, 20 animated), and all of it runs on your Mac with no green screen and no upload.
Change the layout after the take
Screen and camera are separate layers, so you can switch between the bubble and a full-screen camera shot anywhere on the timeline, as often as you like, and it all matches on export.
The UGC look in one click
In the AI Background panel, UGC Cutout removes the bubble's background, drops the border and circle mask, and enlarges you into a full figure standing over your screen content.
What you need
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on Apple Silicon or Intel
- A built-in or external webcam, with Camera permission granted once
- Blur, Remove and image backgrounds use the graphics chip and can run slower on Intel Macs; the live Camera background is the lightest
- Free on every tier: no watermark, exports up to 2 minutes at 1080p
Questions
Can I move the webcam bubble after recording?
Yes. On an Original-shape preview you can drag the bubble directly. On a cropped or reframed preview, use the position sliders in the Webcam tab instead.
Can I change the bubble background after I record?
The bubble's background is chosen in Studio Settings before you record. In the editor you can still click UGC Cutout in the AI Background panel, which removes the bubble's background and floats you over the screen.
Why does text look backwards on my camera?
Mirror is on. Turn it off in Studio Settings whenever you hold text or a screen up to the camera.
Is there a webcam bubble on iPhone?
Not as a recording bubble. On iPhone you build the same look in the editor: drop a second video over your clip as a picture-in-picture layer and choose rectangle, rounded, circle or a background-removed cutout.
Will the background effects slow down my Mac?
Blur, Remove and image backgrounds use the GPU and can run slower on older Intel Macs. If the camera stutters, use the Camera (live) background or a solid colour, and record a Region rather than the full screen.
Related tools
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