Course lessons that look consistent and read clearly.
Course creators record dozens of lessons. Dolly keeps every one sharp, zoomed and on-brand, with your face where it helps and captions for every learner.
How do you record an online course on a Mac?
Record each lesson as its own Dolly project with one saved preset, so every lesson has the same background, frame and cursor. Show your camera for intros and discussion, screen only for detailed parts, and turn on voice clean-up. Dolly transcribes captions on your Mac. Export a 16:9 MP4 and an SRT file per lesson, then upload both to your course platform.
Who it’s for: Course creators, teachers and trainers recording software lessons for a course platform, an LMS or YouTube.
Open with your face.
Camera only for the welcome. Learners like to know who's teaching.
How to record a course lesson in Dolly.
4 steps, most of them automatic.
- Save your lookBackground, frame and cursor as a preset. Every lesson matches in one click.
- Record per lessonRead from the teleprompter right under your camera. Camera bubble or camera only for the intro, side by side for discussion, screen only for detail.
- Clean the audioVoice clean-up runs on your Mac: hum filter, noise gate and leveling.
- Caption and chapter itTranscribe on your Mac, remove the ums and long pauses in one click, export an SRT per lesson, and let Dolly suggest a title and chapters.
Settings that work, and what to avoid.
Recommended settings
- Shape
- 16:9
- Resolution
- 1080p, or 4K (Pro) for code
- Frame rate
- 30 fps
- Quality
- High
- Captions
- .srt per lesson
Mistakes to avoid
- A different look in every lesson. Learners notice; a preset fixes it.
- Your face over the code. Switch to screen only for detailed parts.
- Room echo and hum. Turn on voice clean-up and record close to the microphone.
- No captions. They help second-language learners and anyone watching without sound.
What Dolly does, and what your course platform does
Dolly records and polishes the lessons: zooms, camera, audio, captions, export. Quizzes, progress tracking and SCORM packages are your course platform's job; Dolly can suggest chapters for each lesson from what you said. Dolly has no direct integration; you upload its standard MP4 and SRT files.
Accessibility and privacy
Captions help learners in a second language, people in noisy places, and anyone who's hard of hearing. Dolly transcribes on your Mac, so recordings of student work or private material aren't sent anywhere.
Courses and education: questions
What's the best way to record a course on a Mac?
Record each lesson separately with the same preset, your camera where it helps, clean audio and captions. Dolly does all of that on your Mac, free to start; Pro adds 4K and removes the logo.
Does Dolly work with Teachable, Kajabi or Thinkific?
There's no direct integration. Dolly exports standard MP4 video and SRT captions, which you upload to your course platform like any other video.
Do my recordings get uploaded anywhere?
Not unless you choose to. Recording, transcription, editing and export happen on your Mac. A video only leaves it when you upload it yourself or click Get link to share that one video.
Can I record my face and screen for a lesson?
Yes. Dolly records your camera with the screen; pick a bubble, side by side or camera only, and change it per clip.
Can I record lessons longer than an hour?
Yes. No plan has a time limit. Long lessons are easier to edit as separate takes, which Dolly puts on one timeline.
Related
Roll camera.
Screen Studio quality. Free. No 5-minute limit.
First time: open Dolly, click Done, then System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway (macOS 13–14: right-click Dolly → Open). Once only. Installation help