ScreenFlow 8
Screen recording for video pros
Track Thumbnails brings Final Cut Pro-style video thumbnails to your timeline for faster navigation
£129.99 from Telestream, telestream.net NEEDS macOS 10.12 or later
Like watching how-to or promo videos on Mac apps? Chances are they were made in a version
of ScreenFlow. It’s been many presentation pros’ go-to screencasting app for seven versions now, and with ScreenFlow 8 it’s closer to a heavyweight video editing suite than ever before. It still retains ScreenFlow’s ease of use, but it’s now capable of doing more complex things.
One of the first things you’re likely to notice is the New From Template startup option, which enables you to use settings from a template you’ve previously created. You can also save Styles from the inspector. This lets you specify settings such as XYZ rotation (moving an object in 3D space), drop shadows, reflections and so on, before saving those settings for use in future projects.
There’s another big timesaver in the timeline: Quick Narration. You no longer need to create a new recording to add a bit of voice-over – just click Insert > Narration. And if you’re struggling to find content, ScreenFlow now offers a stock media library subscription from within the app; $60 (about £46) per year gets you access to 500,000 audio and video clips.
You’ll also notice the new Track Thumbnails feature, which brings Final Cut Pro-style video thumbnails to your timeline for much faster navigation. It makes a huge difference to the editing process because you’re no longer limited to a single thumbnail for your entire video track. If you’re running multiple monitors you can also detach the timeline, placing it on one of the screens with your canvas on the other one.
If you like to scribble things on your clips, you’ll like the new Freehand Annotations feature which, as you’d expect, lets you draw on your canvas freehand. It breaks your drawing into individual, editable objects – for example, if you were to write down ‘boom’, you could adjust each letter as well as the full word.
Share your cast
ScreenFlow has always been good at social media sharing, and version 8 adds some welcome improvements. You can now schedule your YouTube clips, and there’s a workaround for getting your content onto Instagram; while you can’t upload there directly (as Instagram doesn’t let third-party apps upload anything), ScreenFlow 8 can prepare your video and get it to your phone for the official app to upload it. That process begins with the video presets, which now includes an Instagram square.
Whether you’re a trainer, a marketer or a dedicated games vlogger, ScreenFlow 8 is a sound investment. It enables you to create complex videos with minimal fuss, making for an all-round excellent app. If you’re serious about screen recording, ScreenFlow 8 is an excellent tool.