What does this guide explain?
Recording a Keynote presentation with video can mean two different things: recording a video with your device’s camera and adding it to a slide, or exporting the entire presentation as a video file. This guide covers the camera-recording workflow Apple describes for iPad and iPhone. Don’t treat a camera video added to a slide and exporting the entire presentation as a video as the same process; export steps are outside the scope of the recording instructions here.
For the official steps, see the guides to recording video and audio in Keynote on iPad and recording video and audio in Keynote on iPhone. If the options below look different on your device or in your version of Keynote, follow the workflow in the current guide for your device.
Prepare to record
Open the presentation in Keynote and select the slide where you want the video to appear. If there’s a media placeholder, you can start recording from there. If there isn’t one, use the insert options in the toolbar shown in the guide for your device. Before recording, it’s helpful to decide what you’ll show and how much space the video will occupy on the slide. This is a preparation suggestion; it doesn’t mean that any particular equipment or account is required to record.
Check the framing, lighting, and background in advance. These are practical suggestions for making the image easy to understand, not technical requirements imposed by Keynote. If you want to preserve the original presentation, making a copy to use for a test is also an optional precaution.
Record and add a video on iPad or iPhone
- Open the presentation in Keynote and go to the target slide. Tap the insert button at the lower-right corner of the media placeholder, then choose Take Photo or Video. If you’re not starting from a placeholder, check the insert options in the toolbar; the iPad and iPhone guides show this route with different menu steps.
- Select Video mode. Tap the record button to start recording and the stop button to finish.
- Preview the recording before adding it. If it looks right, tap Use Video. To record again, choose Retake. If you want to cancel, return to the presentation from the retake screen by choosing Cancel.
- After the video is added to the slide, drag the blue dots to adjust its size. The iPhone guide also says to tap Done after resizing. Check whether the video overlaps any text or other objects.
According to Apple’s guide, a recorded video can’t be edited in Keynote; it’s available in the Photos app on the device, where it can be edited. If you need to do something like trim the video, don’t assume you can do it in Keynote; check the options in the Photos app.
Example: product introduction slide
Hypothetical example: A team is preparing a five-slide presentation introducing a reusable coffee cup. On the third slide, they want to show the lid closing in a short video. The team opens the presentation on iPad, goes to the third slide, starts and stops the video recording, and previews the clip. If the lid’s movement is visible in the frame, they tap Use Video; then they drag the blue dots to make the video smaller and place it beside the explanatory text.
In this example, the first slide contains the product name, the second its features, the third the recorded clip, the fourth the instructions for use, and the fifth a summary. These are simply example choices for organizing a presentation. The video has been added to the third slide; these steps do not mean that the entire presentation has been turned into a single video file.
Check the recording and its placement on the slide
After adding the clip, play the presentation and check whether the video appears where and at the size you expect on the relevant slide. This is a practical check you can make before sharing the presentation. Apple’s recording instructions don’t guarantee how playback will work on the recipient’s device; if the presentation will be used on a different device, it may be helpful to check it there too.
If you’re considering using a live camera view during the presentation instead of adding a camera-recorded video to a slide, that’s a different workflow; see the guide to adding a live camera view to a Keynote presentation. Don’t confuse a live view with a recorded clip.
Frequently asked questions
Do these steps record the entire presentation as a video file?
No; the steps here are for recording a video with the camera and adding it to a slide. Exporting the entire presentation as a video is a separate workflow, and the recording steps in these sources don’t explain it. If you need to export, check the current official guide for how the relevant export options work with your device and version of Keynote.
Do the same menu steps apply on Mac?
This guide is based on the iPad and iPhone guides; don’t assume that the same menus or recording workflow are available on Mac. Check the relevant instructions in the Keynote guide for the version you use on Mac.
Final checklist
- I selected the slide where the video will be added.
- I previewed the recording before adding it and recorded it again if needed.
- I adjusted the video’s size by dragging the blue dots.
- I played the presentation and checked the video’s placement on the relevant slide.
- If I need to export the entire presentation as a video, I’ve treated that as a separate process from adding a camera video to a slide.
Related app guides
You can explore the relevant step in this workflow in the guide Google Slides recording button not showing.
← Back to blog
