Do you need a user-friendly screen recording tool for your Mac? ScreenFlow is a multipurpose screen recording software and might be the one you’re looking for.
Screenflow is a popular name in the genre of video editing and screen recording software. Keep on reading to understand how useful this tool can help you become more productive.
This Mac-only software received several awards. It has got TeacherCast Best in Class Award, Macworld Editors’ Choice Award 2012, Macsparky Macworld 2009 Best In Show Award, and Apple Design Award 2008.
This tool has received praise from popular online reviewers like AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, MacSources, Red Shark News, etc.
The number one quality of this screen recording software is its usability.
ScreenFlow is meticulously designed by Telestream to let creators, from beginners to experts, create stunning videos quickly.
Along with recording your screen on Mac, you can also edit pre-recorded footage using this software.
ScreenFlow has mastered the art of providing excellent user experience for users of any skill level.
Here’re some of the features that make this tool a special screen-recording software:
ScreenFlow Features – A Comprehensive List
Pre-programmed Aspect Ratios for Various Social Channels
If you want to share your screen recording on Twitter or Instagram or any platform for that matter, you have to remember the screen size and aspect ratio to get the maximum real estate to engage the audience.
But with ScreenFlow, you don’t have to remember anything. ScreenFlow provides you a list of aspect ratios that you can choose based on your targeted channel.
Once selected, it will automatically set the height and width of your frame to provide you suitable screen size.
This will seamlessly allow you to record your screen for a particular platform.
You no longer have to work with other software to change the size for specific social media platforms for a recorded video.
The content development cycle will be shorter for you because the time of post-processing to a particular aspect ratio will be saved.
Option to Purchase Tons of Stock Video at a Small Price
ScreenFlow allows you to make your recordings engaging and exciting.
You get access to attractive visual elements that make your videos look professional and comprehensive.
Sometimes you have to add some images, videos, and sound effects to make the video look better. For that, you might have to purchase stock files from a particular platform like Shutterstock, Freepik, Getty Images, etc.
With ScreenFlow, you don’t have to go anywhere. You gain over 500,000 images, videos, and audio clips that you can add unlimited times.
Video files are available in 4K quality.
You can add interactive and attention-grabbing background score in your recordings to make it more cinematic, professional, and enticing.
Although it is a paid addon, the value you get from spending a nominal amount is impressive.
Also Records Screens of Phones and Tablets (iOS Only)
If you are a part of Apple’s ecosystem and also use an iPad or iPhone as your daily driver, you can also record their screens using ScreenFlow.
You no longer have to purchase additional screen recorder apps for your iPhone or iPad. This will allow you to record screens in high-quality formats seamlessly.
Moreover, you don’t have to purchase an additional license to record screens of mobile devices through ScreenFlow. You automatically get access to this feature once you are buying a license.
Therefore, ScreenFlow becomes your single-stop solution for screen recording requirements.
You can save a lot of costs as you don’t have to purchase any other software or iOS application to record iOS devices.
Motion Graphics, Transitions, Animated Text, Annotations, etc
Adding graphics, icons, text, and annotations is extremely easy with ScreenFlow.
With this tool, you can make your screen recording more engaging by adding motion graphics. They will make your video more entertaining and engaging.
Now, your screen recording won’t look dull or tedious.
You can personalize with motion graphics and animated text and make the video more enjoyable.
With animated text, you can write the essential points that you discuss in the video.
With text, when you change the subject of your video, and you can easily bifurcate the new segments.
If you want to emphasize a particular area in your frame, add annotations to direct your viewer’s focus to that specific area of the screen.
Bloggers and online tutors are going to love annotations in ScreenFlow.
With such little addons, ScreenFlow becomes a special editing software instead of another simple screen recording tool.
With motion graphics, annotations, and text — everything in one place — you don’t have to rely on any other tool or a professional editor. You can do everything on your own,
Closed Captions Support
Now, everyone understands the context of your videos, thanks to ScreenFlow’s support of captions.
Communicate with your global audience through your videos by adding closed captions on the screen recording. Whenever you publish the screen recording, the audience who can understand the context is limited based on the language used.
People of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds can understand what you are conveying through your video by reading closed captions.
Your videos won’t get stuck in particular economic and cultural backgrounds or people who only understand specific languages.
With this great feature, you can now maximize your audience reach across the globe.
You just have to add closed captions in different languages in ScreenFlow, and you are all set.
ScreenFlow supports adding closed captions, so you don’t need to purchase any professional film making tool to add captions.
Users also don’t have to hire dedicated video editors to add captions in their videos. ScreenFlow is capable enough to manage the tasks on its own.
In the end, you can save a few hundred bucks easily from a single feature.
Supports ProRes and Other Professional Codecs While Import/Export
Now, work seamlessly with ProRes and 4K videos, thanks to ScreenFlow.
The tool supports ProRes formats for importing or exporting both. This is a groundbreaking feature because most tools don’t have this one.
It cannot only render but also export all the editing done into ProRes the large video file.
Thanks to ProRes support in ScreenFlow, your audience will have a stunning 8K video experience.
8K maintains maximum details in the frame and makes the subject crispier. So, this is a significant plus!
Along with it, the tool also supports other professional formats and codecs.
You can choose among MP4, WEBM, QuickTime, OGG, MPEG2-TS, MPEG2-PS, and many more formats and codecs.
Supported bitrates are H.246, MPEG-DASH, and HLS. When it comes to video, ScreenFlow supports MP3, PCM, Vorbis, AAC, and Opus formats.
High-Quality Recording, Even for Retina Displays
Under various circumstances and scenarios, ScreenFlow can sustain its performance and provide superior recording quality.
ScreenFlow offers high definition screen recording even if you have Retina Displays.
The compression and post-processing from ScreenFlow mix the objects inside your frame to look sharp. It has an on-point dynamic range, and attractive color pops to make your subjects stick out in the video.
No Frame Drops
While post-processing ScreenFlow does not drop any frames even for one-hundredth of a second.
Whatever bitrate you have set in your chosen video format, you won’t have any dropped frames in the final video from ScreenFlow.
The tool can sustain your bitrate and maintain formats at all costs.
It will maintain the user experience and show you precisely what you had captured in the actual video.
Professional-grade Video Editor with Layers and Timeline Support
Along with providing excellent screen recording quality, several other professional video editor features set ScreenFlow apart from other software.
Thanks to layers and timelines, you’ll have an intuitive and seamless video editing experience with ScreenFlow.
You won’t get confused even if you get several clips to work with.
Timeline is the real-game changer. With just drag-and-drop, you can move your clips across the project.
With just a few mouse clicks, you can apply different effects, which would have been otherwise time-consuming.
You can apply cuts at practically any second of your video with a single click. You can zoom-in and zoom-out using your mouse to apply specific edits at a particular second on your timeline.
You can steer through the timeline to manage the long video and apply effects precisely. And with layers, all your editing becomes non-destructive.
So, all your effects are allowed to be undone, and your raw footage is untouched throughout the process.
Publish to YouTube, Vimeo, and Even Instagram Directly
ScreenFlow understands the ever-changing world of the Internet. So, it knows that users go through a lot of time-consuming tasks just to upload a video on social media platforms.
Therefore, you can directly upload your screen recording video to YouTube, Instagram, and Vimeo from the dashboard of the ScreenFlow.
So, as soon as you finish editing your screen recording, you won’t have to export the video, get it on your smartphone, and upload it on relevant social media channels.
This is a handy feature and will save a lot of time and hard work for you.
Multi-screen recording
If you have multiple screens set up, you can simultaneously record all of them and club together to make a single clip.
Not everyone needs this feature.
If you’re someone who wants to record multiple screens to create tutorials or own a workstation with multiple desktops and laptops, you can leverage this feature.
You have to select another screen inside the software in your primary system. Once you complete the recording, you can edit all the clips inside the timeline of your ScreenFlow software. How cool is that!
Say goodbye to all the tedious work of recording screens independently and merge them together!
Proxy Control for High-performance Editing of Larger Files
If you frequently work with 8K or 4K files, then you will love this feature.
In the above case, you must have felt that the system slows down whenever you import a large file.
It becomes sluggish whenever you apply any effect or edit large files because your processor has too much data to render, and it eventually slows down.
ScreenFlow understands this pain and allows Proxy where you can do Proxy Editing for your large video files.
Working with Proxy is like working with a smaller representation of the original file.
So when you create a Proxy of a 4K video, ScreenFlow will lower the image quality, which will eventually make the editing smoother and quicker.
Now, navigating through the video and applying advanced effects will not slow down your system.
Once you export the editing file, ScreenFlow will apply all the changes in the original video format; in our example, export a 4K high-quality edited video.
So, all the editing will be made in the Proxy. Thus, the process will be faster. However, the end result will be in the original format only.
Hence, the entire process of working with large video files is useful thanks to Proxy in ScreenFlow.
Clicks and Zoom Effects
With clicks and zoom effects, you can direct users’ focus to the mouse pointer on the screen or specific part of the screen, respectively.
While selecting click effects, you can choose the size of the cursor and the blur the effect to make the cursor more attention-grabbing.
With zoom-in and zoom-out, you can emphasize on essential parts of your tutorials and make users understand complicated steps easily.
Capture Card Support (Uncommon Feature)
Not all the famous screen recording and video editing software provide Capture Card support.
Capture Card is an input device that converts gameplay signals into digital data. You can render this data and create stunning videos of the gameplay.
Gamers can record their screens and share their gameplay video on YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, or any other social platform.
So, Capture Card’s support inside ScreenFlow makes the tool more dependable and useful.
ScreenFlow Minimum Technical Requirements
- 64-bit processor –
- Core i3+ recommended
- Operating Systems
- macOS Catalina 10.15
- macOS Mojave 10.14
- macOS High Sierra 10.13
- Minimum RAM – 2 GB
- Hard Disk Space – 20 GB
- Apple macOS approved graphics cards
- Cameras using the HDV codec are not supported
- Supported Capture Cards
- Magewell USB Capture
- Epiphan AV.IO
- AJA U-Tap
- Elgato CamLink 4K
- ScreenFlow language Support
- English
- French
- Japanese
- Spanish
- German
What sets Screenflow apart from other solutions?
Value for Money
Even though ScreenFlow might seem costly, its features make it worth buying, period.
Just with a single software, you can do all the screen recording and video editing tasks to make your content look fresh and engaging.
I mean, show me another tool that can edit 4K raw footage at a quick rate like ScreenFlow’s. You can add effects, annotation, change aspect ratio, export the editing to the original file format directly to YouTube or Instagram, etc.
At this price point, you don’t get a high-quality 500,00 library of stock photos, audios, and videos to enhance your video storytelling.
You Get Features that Only Professional Video Recorders Provide
The features provided at this price point are only offered by professional video recorders.
Only studio-level software can match the quality and quantity of features that ScreenFlow provides. Not to mention that professional software cost thousands of dollars.
Not all the paid recorders give a timeline and layers features. To spell it and layer style formatting support.
This way, ScreenFlow is also feature-rich and more useful compared to most of the professional recorders.
Screenflow can Easily Adapt to Different Workflows
Whether you want to create a simple video tutorial for your blog audience or create cinematic gameplay in the 4K format, ScreenFlow can do almost everything.
It can work with asset management, transcoding, multiple exports presets, and more.
ScreenFlow gives granular control of any screen recording requirement.
For every possible designation, which we are going to discuss below, ScreenFlow stays user-friendly and provides stable performance.
Who needs to use Screenflow?
Marketers
With ScreenFlow, marketers can record their screens to showcase results to their clients and teams.
With this, they can make a comprehensive video and convey the intended message to their clients and team members to plan successful campaigns.
Not only that, but they can also record videos for promotional purposes and advertise products and services on social media, email, website, etc.
Professors and Teachers
Professors and faculties at schools and universities can leverage the power of ScreenFlow to improvise their teaching style.
Sometimes, a particular concept is better explained through a practical approach.
So, teachers can show practical approaches in the form of screen recording and give students a comprehensive understanding of complex subject-matters quickly.
Plus, recording screens is a one-time activity. Teachers can use the same recording unlimited times and save their time.
Bloggers/Vloggers
Bloggers and Vloggers can utilize this tool to record the screen and further post-process their videos.
Not all bloggers/vloggers know how to use professional recorders and editors. That’s when ScreenFlow can save them.
Bloggers can record their screen to make an engaging video to embed inside an article. They can also repurpose the same video on other digital platforms.
Vloggers can post-process their footage and make a classic video quickly.
Online Course Creators
If you teach people through e-learning, then ScreenFlow might be a life-saver for you.
You can apply engaging effects with recording screens — annotations, callouts, graphics, mouse clicks, and zoom-in/zoom-out — to deliver your message interactively.
You can record multiple screens simultaneously and provide comprehensive content for your students.
Any Business that can Benefit from Video
If you are selling digital products or services, you can demonstrate them by recording your screen using ScreenFlow.
Affiliate Marketers will also love ScreenFlow. They can provide an in-depth review of a SaaS product and encourage users to purchase it.
If you’re a webinar host, then you can record screens using ScreenFlow and stream them live.
ScreenFlow Pros
- One of the Only Products that Provides Complete Solutions of Screen Recording
To sum up, in one sentence ScreenFlow is one of those rare screen recorders that ticks all the boxes of required features.
- Scalable with Enterprise Level Solutions
ScreenFlow’s layout and flow of working are suitable to meet enterprise-level requirements. The design of the tool can also help a full-time video editor or filmmaker post-process their recordings.
- Additional Products Available If Needed
The stock library of 500,000 relevant and high-quality audios, videos, and graphics is like a cherry on top of the cake.
Such addons are available to all users if their project demands.
- Unlimited Trial Period
ScreenFlow has an unlimited trial period. So, people who cannot afford the license can still use the tool until they want it if they are okay with the watermark on their video.
ScreenFlow Cons
- Costly Price
This con might turn the tables because the budget is a crucial variable.
Even though it provides excellent features, the pricing is costly for people who have budget constraints.
- No Windows Support
Well, it is not a significant disadvantage since ScreenFlow is Mac-only software. But if you wish to use it for PC, you cannot do so at all.
- Renewal Fee of $60/year
That’s right. You cannot purchase ScreenFlow with a one-time fee. You have to renew the license every year for $60.
- No Collaboration Features
If you are managing a team of designers and editors who work on video projects at your company, they cannot work collaboratively under ScreenFlow.
Per license, it supports only one user. For every additional user, you have to purchase a new license.
ScreenFlow Pricing
ScreenFlow has three different packages, and the basic one starts at $129.
The other packages are Super Pak and Super Pak + Premium Support that cost $175 and $209, respectively. Both of them provide Stock Media Library’s access for $46/1st-year. The latter gives you priority telephonic support and 25% of future ScreenFlow upgrades.
ScreenFlow also has an unlimited free trial where you can use the tool for as long as you want. But you will get a watermark on the exported video.
Screenflow Alternatives
OBS Studio
OBS Studio is open-source recording software.
It’s a free tool and works on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Although it is fully-featured screen recording software with live streaming screen recording and camera streaming features, it’s designed is nowhere near ScreenFlow’s. Plus, the latter has got more features too.
Camtasia
Camtasia is a paid software.
It supports both Windows and macOS.
With this, you can record the screen and webcam. You can also do some tweaks in your videos. Again, the features are more advanced and user-friendly in ScreenFlow.
Camtasia charges $249 for the Individual package.
It charges a one-time fee, and you use two machines for a lifetime.
Conclusion
There are dozens of tools, software, and browser extensions available on the market, both paid and free.
But quality differs with every tool, period.
Let me know what you think about the points discussed above. If you have the budget and resources, I would recommend ScreenFlow any day.
Before purchasing a license, use ScreenFlow’s unlimited trial plan and see how it works for you.
If you have any questions and thoughts, please feel free to drop them in the comments below.
