QuickTime Media Player

Written by Kara Osmundson

Last published at: October 6th, 2023

What is QuickTime Player?

QuickTime Player is the default media player for video files on MacBooks. More importantly, QuickTime can be used to record audio, video, and screen recordings. It can be used by staff of all grade levels as long as your have a MacBook. High School students can also use it on their MacBooks.


Why use QuickTime?

QuickTime is a great tool because of the media recording features that it can do. Audio, video, and screen recordings can be used by staff to create videos ranging from creative video projects to recording lessons to support student learning and review at home, or for students working in small groups or  independently in the blended classroom.


How do I use it?

QuickTime is installed on your MacBook by default. You can find it by pressing F4 on your keyboard or use Spotlight Search (command+space bar) to search for and open the QuickTime application. 

Written Directions

Using QuickTime to record media

1. Open QuickTime Media Player. You can find it by pressing F4 on your keyboard or use Spotlight Search (command+space bar) to search and open the application.


2. You will notice that no window will pop up when you open QuickTime but the application will be on your Dock along the bottom of the screen and you will notice that QuickTime Player is on the top menu bar.


3. Your next task is to determine what kind of recording you want to do. New Movie Recording will record a video using your webcam and internal microphone. (Read more about Movie Recordings here.) New Audio Recording will record only sound. New Screen Recording will record your MacBook's screen and you can choose to record audio along with it if you want to record a voiceover.


4. Once you have selected a recording type, a window will pop up like this. Clicking the small v will allow you to check which microphone is being used. You also have the option to show mouse clicks as you do screen recordings. Press the red record button to start your recording. If you are doing screen recordings, you will need to select the portion of the screen you want to record.


5. Once you have finished recording, click the record button to stop. If you are screen recording, you can click the record button along the menu bar to stop recording.


6.Once recording has stopped, you can watch it play back. If the recording is good, click on File and Save. Choose a save location for your media. 


7. You can make minor edits right in QuickTime by splitting video and deleting segments. Read directions here. 


8. Small files can be loaded into Canvas or Seesaw directly. Large video files should either be uploaded to Canvas Studio, Google Drive, or YouTube (teachers only). If you want to edit your media, use iMovie.


Video Directions