Recording a lecture or presentation video is not that difficult. If you've got PowerPoint, a webcam, and a screen recorder, you can put together a professional-looking lecture video in no time.
What You'll Need
- PowerPoint (any version)
- A microphone (built-in or external)
- A webcam (optional but highly recommended)
- Bandicam Screen Recorder (or any screen recorder, but the general steps apply to most tools)
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Download and Launch Screen Recorder
Head over to the Bandicam website, download the installer, and run it. Once it's open, you're ready to configure everything before hitting record. It's worth spending 2 minutes on setup rather than re-recording later.
Step 2: Configure Your Audio
This is the most commonly skipped step and it causes the most problems. In Bandicam's audio settings, decide what you need:
- Voice + computer audio: Select (Default Output Device) and (Default Input Device)
- Voice only: Set speaker to Disable and select your microphone as the (Default Input Device)
Always do a quick 10-second test recording to confirm levels are right before you start the actual lecture.
Step 3: Set Fullscreen Mode
In recorder, select the Fullscreen recording option. This ensures your PowerPoint slides fill the entire video frame with no unwanted toolbars or borders creeping in.
💡 Check "Always show control bar" in settings so you can monitor your recording status without interrupting the presentation flow.
Step 4: Exclude Recorder's Windows from the Recording (Optional)
Bandicam has a handy option called "Exclude Bandicam windows from recording." Enabling this prevents Bandicam's own interface, settings panels, and pop-ups from accidentally showing up in your lecture video.
⚠️ Note: This feature requires Windows 10 or above and Bandicam version 7.1.0 or higher.
Step 5: Set Up Your Webcam Overlay
Adding your face to the screen significantly improves viewer engagement in lecture videos. In Bandicam:
- Click the webcam icon to enable the overlay
- Go to Advanced Settings to adjust the size, position, and shape of your webcam window
- Bottom-right corner in a small rounded frame is the most common and least distracting placement
- Enable "Save webcam video as separate file" if you want flexibility during editing later
- Enable "Preview toggle hotkey (Tab key)". This lets you show or hide your webcam feed mid-recording without stopping, which is useful when switching between talking to the camera and walking through a dense slide
Step 6: Start Your Slideshow, Then Hit Record
The order here matters:
- Open PowerPoint and launch your Slide Show (go fullscreen)
- Once you're in presentation mode, click the [ ● REC ] button
- Begin your lecture naturally
Starting the slideshow before recording ensures the recorder captures the clean presentation view and not the editing interface.
Step 7: Adjust Your Webcam Live While Recording
One of the more useful things about Bandicam is that you don't have to keep your webcam window static. While recording, hover over the webcam overlay to access live controls:
- Fullscreen toggle icon: Enlarge your webcam to fill the entire screen (great for introductions or key talking points) and shrink it back during content-heavy slides
- Drag icon: Reposition the webcam window on the fly if it's overlapping important content on a particular slide
This flexibility makes Bandicam especially useful for longer lectures where the layout needs to shift.
Step 8: Stop Recording and Review
Click the [ ■ ] button to stop recording. Then click the video icon to open your recorded file directly. Watch the first and last 30 seconds to verify audio, webcam, and slides all captured correctly before uploading anywhere.
Additional Tips to Fix the Black Bar Problem (PowerPoint 2010 and Earlier)
If you're on an older version of PowerPoint, the default slide ratio is 4:3, which creates black bars on the sides when Bandicam records in 16:9 fullscreen. Fix this before designing your slides:
- Go to Design > Slide Size > Widescreen (16:9)
- Or manually set: Width = 33.867 cm, Height = 19.05 cm
⚠️ Do this before building your slides. Resizing after the fact can break your layouts and require significant reformatting.
The whole setup takes about 5 minutes once you've done it once, and the results are a clean, professional lecture video with synced audio, slides, and webcam. Happy to answer any questions below, especially around audio configuration, which is where most people run into trouble the first time.