Rescroll

Free REC overlay maker

Make a camera REC overlay with a blinking record light, a timecode that runs with the clip, a battery and a date stamp, and download it as a 1080p MP4 on black or green screen. Free, no sign-up, no watermark.

How it works

How to make a REC overlay.

Four steps, about a minute, and nothing to install.

  1. 1

    Pick a style

    Camcorder for a clean modern display, VHS for a blocky tape-era one with scanlines and a tracking band, or Viewfinder for a cinema camera's grid and readouts.

  2. 2

    Set the display

    Choose REC, PLAY or PAUSE, where the timecode starts and whether it counts frames, the date stamp and the battery level. Any part can be switched off.

  3. 3

    Add the extras and the look

    Add a center cross, a thirds grid, corner marks or exposure readouts, pick a size, and set the clip length from 3 to 60 seconds. Keep it on black for a Screen blend, or choose green screen.

  4. 4

    Download the MP4

    Press Download. The video is rendered in your browser at 1080p and saved to your device. No account, no watermark.

Ready-made versions

Start from the one you came for.

Each one opens its own maker with the settings filled in. Change anything, then download.

Camcorder overlay

A 16:9 camcorder display with a frame-counting timecode, a 1996 date stamp, a half-full battery and exposure readouts.

VHS overlay

PLAY, SP and a running tape counter over a chunky 1997 date stamp, in a blocky VCR face with scanlines and a rolling tracking band.

Camera viewfinder

A REC tally, a 60 fps timecode with frames, a thirds grid, a center cross and shutter, iris, ISO and white balance readouts.

When a REC overlay isn’t enough

The free REC overlay is the starting point.

Here you get a camera display to lay over your clip. In Rescroll you describe the graphic you want, like “a camcorder REC display that switches to PLAY when I say ‘rewind’, with today’s date”, and it's designed from scratch on your own video and timed to the exact word you say. Attach a screenshot of a look you like as a reference, and change anything by asking in the chat.

Free REC overlay

Rescroll

Three camera styles, in your colors

Any design you can describe, built from your references

A clip you overlay and key out yourself

Designed on your own video, placed around you

You line it up in your editor

Timed to the exact word you say

Change it with the settings here

Change anything by asking in the chat

Make it yours in RescrollSee AI motion graphics

Part of the Pro, Ultimate and Scale plans.

The whole edit. Cuts, punch-in, color, export, on his words.
Product specs. Callouts that follow the phone.

Both built in Rescroll from a description.

The basics

What is a REC overlay?

A REC overlay is a camera's on-screen display laid over a video: the red REC light, a running timecode, the battery and the date, framed by corner marks, so the footage looks as if it's being watched through a camcorder. Editors use it for vlogs, found-footage scenes, behind-the-scenes cuts and throwback edits.

This maker draws it in three styles. Camcorder is a clean, modern display. VHS redraws it in a blocky tape-era face with scanlines and a rolling tracking band. Viewfinder shows a cinema camera's thirds grid, center cross and exposure readouts. In all three the timecode starts wherever you set it and moves on one frame with every frame of the video, so it reads like real recording time.

It comes white on pure black. Put it on the track above your footage and set its blend mode to Screen: the black disappears and only the display is left. If you'd rather use chroma key, pick the Green screen look instead.

What you download

Price
Free. No sign-up, no email, no watermark.
Format
MP4 (H.264), no audio
Resolution
1080p: 1080×1920, 1920×1080, 1080×1080 or 1080×1350
Frame rate
30 or 60 fps
Styles
Camcorder, VHS and viewfinder
Timecode
Starts at any time you type and runs frame by frame, with or without a frame count
Clip length
3 to 60 seconds
Date stamp
Up to 28 characters, on one or two lines
Colors
Six looks, or any display and background color, plus the record light's color
Overlay
Green background for chroma key, or black for a Screen blend
Where it runs
In your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

In your editor

Put the REC overlay on your video.

An MP4 has no transparent background, so the REC overlay comes ready to key. Set the background to green and remove it with chroma key, or to black and use a Screen blend.

How to add a REC overlay in CapCut

Download the REC overlay on a green background. In CapCut, drag it onto the track above your video so it sits on top as an overlay. Select it, open Video → Remove BG → Chroma key, pick the green with the color picker and raise Strength until the background is gone. Menu names move a little between CapCut versions; look for Chroma key. If you made it on black instead, set the clip's blend mode to Screen.

How to add a REC overlay in Premiere Pro

Put the REC overlay on a video track above your footage. From the Effects panel, drag Ultra Key onto it and click the Key Color eyedropper on the green. For a version on black, skip the key: in Effect Controls, set Opacity → Blend Mode to Screen.

How to add a REC overlay in DaVinci Resolve

Place the REC overlay on the track above your footage. On the Edit page, open Effects → Open FX, find 3D Keyer under Resolve FX Key and drag it onto the clip, then sample the green in the viewer with the Open FX overlay switched on. For a version on black, set Composite Mode to Screen in the Inspector instead.

How to add a REC overlay in Final Cut Pro

Connect the REC overlay above your footage in the timeline. From the Effects browser, drag the Keyer effect onto it; it finds and removes the green by itself. For a version on black, set Blend Mode to Screen in the Video inspector.

Questions

REC overlay: your questions, answered.

How do I make a REC overlay?

In the REC overlay maker at the top of this page, pick Camcorder, VHS or Viewfinder, set where the timecode starts, type a date stamp, choose the battery level and press Download. You get a 1080p MP4 made in your browser, with no sign-up and no watermark.

How do I put a REC overlay on my video?

Download it on black, place it on the track above your footage in your editor and set its blend mode to Screen, so the black disappears. Or download it on green and remove the green with chroma key.

Can I get a REC overlay on a green screen?

Yes. Choose the Green screen look, or type a vivid blue as the background color for a blue screen. On either, the whole display is drawn solid, with no glow or soft edges against the screen, so it keys out cleanly.

Does the timecode really run?

Yes. It starts at the time you type into Timecode starts at and moves on one frame for every frame of the video. An 8-second clip that starts at 00:00:00 ends on 00:00:07, with the frames still counting if you show them.

Does the REC light blink?

Yes. It comes on steady as the display switches on, then blinks once a second until the end of the clip, and it's lit on the last frame. Change its color with Record light color.

How long can the REC overlay be?

From 3 to 60 seconds, in whole seconds. For a longer video, make several clips, moving the timecode start on by the clip's length each time, and place them end to end.

Can I remove the date, the battery or the timecode?

Yes. Clear Date stamp to remove the date, and set Battery, Timecode or Status to None to hide those. Corner marks, guides and exposure readouts switch off too, down to an empty frame.

Can I change the color of the overlay?

Yes. Display color in the Look panel sets the text, lines and timecode, and Record light color sets the REC light and the low battery. The six looks change the background as well.

Can I make the overlay bigger or smaller?

Yes. Size has three settings: Small, Medium and Large. The display always keeps clear of the edges of the frame, and long dates shrink to fit.

Can the display appear at the start, or be there from the first frame?

Either. With Switch on at the start, the corner marks, guides and text come on one after another in the first second; VHS blinks them on the way a tape deck does. Turn it off and everything is there from the first frame.

Is the REC overlay maker free?

Yes. It's free to use and free to download, with no account, no email address and no watermark on the video. There's no limit on how many you make.

What format and resolution is the video?

An MP4 with H.264 video, at 1080p in the shape you choose: 1080×1920 (9:16) for TikTok, Reels and Shorts, 1920×1080 (16:9) for YouTube, 1080×1080 (1:1), or 1080×1350 (4:5) for the Instagram feed. You can export at 30 or 60 frames per second.

Can I get the REC overlay with a transparent background?

MP4 can't store transparency, so the REC overlay comes ready to key instead. Set the background to green and remove it with chroma key in your editor. If the graphic is light, you can also set the background to black and use the Screen blend mode. Either way only the REC overlay is left over your footage.

Is my video uploaded anywhere?

No. The REC overlay is drawn and encoded on your own device, using your browser's built-in video encoder. Nothing is sent to a server and there's no render queue.

Which browsers does it work in?

It needs a browser that can encode video with the WebCodecs API: current versions of Chrome, Edge and Safari, and Firefox on a computer. If your browser can't, the page tells you before you start.

Can I use the REC overlay in client work, ads or monetized videos?

Yes. The video you download is yours to use in personal and commercial projects, with no attribution needed.

Can I match my brand, add my logo or change the design?

Not in the free maker, which is deliberately simple. That's what Rescroll's AI motion graphics are for: describe the graphic you want in plain English, attach your logo, fonts or a screenshot of your style, and it's designed from scratch on your own video, placed around you and timed to the word you say. Ask for any change in the chat. It's part of the Pro, Ultimate and Scale plans.

More free tools

Other graphics you can make here.

All free, all made in your browser, all without a watermark. See every free tool.

Map route animation

A route between any two of 1,208 cities on a world map, with a plane, car, train or ship traveling it and the distance shown.

Arrow animation

A hand-drawn red arrow that sweeps in, flicks its head and taps at the spot, with a handwritten label.

Confetti overlay

Rainbow confetti fired from two cannons in the bottom corners, tumbling as it falls, on black.

Fireworks overlay

Ten multicolor bursts on pure black, rising, opening and sparkling out over an 8-second loop. Ready for a Screen blend.

Money rain

Banknotes and gold coins falling at different depths, notes fluttering and coins spinning. Any currency sign, any note color.

Snow overlay

Soft falling snow in four depths on pure black, with the nearest flakes out of focus. Loops, ready for a Screen blend.

Keep reading

Where to go next.

AI motion graphics

Counters, charts, app screens and maps designed from a description, on your own video and timed to your words.

AI video editor

The whole edit from a sentence: silences and bad takes cut, captions, color, zooms and graphics.

Rescroll vs After Effects

When to keyframe a graphic yourself, and when to describe it instead.

Rescroll vs CapCut

Preset text animations against graphics designed for each moment. Often used together.

Your next video,
edited like the top 1%.

Drop it in. Say what should appear. Read the plan, press Build, and export the finished video — no After Effects, no editor, no template.

Make your first graphic

Part of Pro, Ultimate and Scale · Export is free · Failed builds are refunded