Edit a Screen Recording Into a Short Tutorial in DepCut

A raw screen recording is one long take with pauses, wrong clicks and a pointer that wanders. Editing it into a tutorial is mostly removing, framing and narrating. This walkthrough uses a .mov recorded with the DepCut Mac app, and the same steps work for any screen capture you can add to a project.

Set the frame, then add the take

Pick the frame shape before you cut, so every later decision happens against the final canvas. Open the Aspect ratio tab and choose Widescreen · 16:9 for a desktop tutorial or Vertical · 9:16 for TikTok, Reels and Shorts.

Then add the recording. In the Media tab press Upload, or drag the file onto the timeline.

Cut the dead time and speed up the slow parts

1. Press Space to play, and pause where a pause or mistake begins.
2. Press S to split the clip at the playhead, or at the pointer when it hovers over the timeline.
3. Move to where the useful part resumes and press S again.
4. Select the unwanted piece and press Delete.

Select a clip and open its Trim tab for fine adjustments with Trim start and Trim end. Press the down arrow to jump between edit points and play each join. A tutorial feels quick when each step starts the moment the previous one finishes.

Progress bars, installs and typing rarely deserve real time on screen. Open a clip's Speed tab. The Speed control changes the playback rate, Reverse plays the clip backward, and Speed curve shapes the rate across the length of the clip. If the audio of a sped-up part gets in the way, switch on Mute audio in the clip's Volume tab.

Frame what matters

Small interface text needs help on a phone-sized frame. Select the clip and open the Framing tab:

• Fit shows the whole recording inside the frame.
• Fill covers the frame and crops the edges.
• Zoom enlarges the clip further.

When a clip is filled or zoomed, drag it inside the preview to choose which part stays visible. Center returns it to the middle.

Add your voice and captions

Screen recording on the Mac captures one audio source, so narrate afterward. Open the Record menu in the top bar and choose Record audio. Pick your microphone, press the red button, talk, then press Stop and use recording. The take lands on the timeline at the playhead as an audio clip.

For captions, open the Subtitles tab, choose a language or Detect language, and press Generate subtitles. Transcription runs on a hosted model and spends credits, and it works in the background while you keep editing. Captions show on the video by default. The Show subtitles switch in the Options tab turns them off and on.

Cut your own take

Record a short walkthrough, then cut it down in DepCut with the steps above and export it with a preset that fits where it is going.