Recording in Play mode
This page explains how to set up and launch a recording from the Recorder window.
If you want to record from a Timeline Track, see Recording From a Timeline Track.
Before you start a recording
Before you record Play-mode data, make sure you do the following:
- Set up your Scene for recording.
- Created the Recorders you want to use to capture the Scene. See Creating and managing Recorders for details.
- Set the Recorder properties. See Setting Recorder properties for details.
Setting up a recording
Use the recording controls in the Recorder window to set up a recording.
Use the Frame Rate properties to specify how to constrain the frame rate during recording. The frame rate affects the size and number of the files the Recorder outputs.
Recording controls
| Property: | Function: | |
|---|---|---|
 [Record Button] |
Starts and stops recording. Clicking this button also activates Play mode if it is not already active. | |
| Start Recording/ Stop Recording |
Starts and stops recording. Clicking Start Recording also activates Play mode if it is not already active. | |
| Exit PlayMode | When this option is enabled, the Unity Recorder automatically exits Play mode when it finishes recording. | |
| Record Mode | Specifies the frames or time interval to record. | |
| Manual | Start and stop recording when you manually click Start Recording and Stop Recording, respectively. | |
| Single Frame | Record a single frame. Use the Frame Number property to specify this frame. | |
| Frame Interval | Record a set of consecutive frames during Play mode. Use the First Frame and Last Frame properties to specify when to start and stop. | |
| Time Interval | Record a specific duration, in seconds, during Play mode. Use the Start and End properties to specify when to start and stop. | |
| Frame Number | Specifies the number of the frame to capture when in Single Frame mode. | |
| First Frame/ Last Frame |
Specifies the range of frames to capture when in Frame Interval mode. | |
| Start/ End |
Specifies the time, in seconds, to start and stop recording. |
Frame Rate properties
| Property: | Function: | |
|---|---|---|
| Playback | Specifies how to control the frame rate during recording. | |
| Constant | Limit the Recorder to a specific frame rate. Use the Target property to specify this rate. | |
| Variable | Use the application's frame rate. Specify the upper limit of the application's rate during recording with the Max Frame Rate property. Note: The Movie Recorder does not support a variable frame rate. |
|
| Target | Sets the frame rate to capture the recording at. This property appears when you set Playback to Constant. The Unity Recorder captures at this rate regardless of whether you run your application at a higher or lower frame rate. For example, if you set Target to a custom value of 30 fps but you run your application at 60 fps, the Recorder captures at 30 fps. |
|
| Max Frame Rate | Limit the rate of updates in Play mode . This property is available when you set Playback to Variable. To prevent your application from exceeding this frame rate, the Unity Recorder inserts delays during playback. Use this property to reduce the size of the output. | |
| Cap Frame Rate | Enable this property when the frame rate of your application is faster than the Target frame rate. This property is available when Playback is Constant. |
Starting and stopping a recording
When you start a recording, the Unity Recorder activates Play mode (if it is not already active) and starts to capture Play-mode data using all active Recorders.
To start recording:
- Do one of the following:
- In the Recorder window, click the Record button or the START RECORDING button.
- Press F10/fn+F10.
- From the main menu, select Window > General > Recorder > Quick Recording.
Note
During recording, you cannot modify the properties in the Recorder window.
Most Recording Mode settings stop the recording automatically. If you set Recording Mode to Manual, you must stop the recording yourself.
When a recording stops the Editor remains in Play mode unless:
- You enable the Exit PlayMode property in the recording controls.
- You stop the recording by exiting Play mode).
To stop recording:
- Do one of the following:
- In the Recorder window, click the Record button or the START RECORDING button.
- Use the F10/fn+F10 shortcut.
- Close the Recorder window.
- Exit Play mode.