Recording Controls

This page covers the controls available during an active recording session: starting, pausing, resuming, and stopping a recording.

Starting a Recording

Once you have joined the video session and configured your composition in setup mode:

1. Click the Start Recording button.
2. A 3-2-1 countdown appears on screen, synchronized across all co-hosts via HotMic real-time messaging platform.
3. After the countdown, recording begins. The state badge changes to Recording.

Both capture systems activate simultaneously:

• Composed video — The canvas output is captured by MediaRecorder and streamed to S3 in real time.
• Raw tracks — Each participant's individual audio and video tracks begin recording server-side to S3.

The Start button is only available to the recording owner (main host). Co-hosts see the controls but cannot activate them.

During Recording

While recording is active:

• An elapsed time counter shows how long the recording has been running.
• Composition changes (repositioning hosts, changing backgrounds, switching layouts) are logged to the timeline with timestamps. These timeline entries are used by the Post-Production Editor to replay the composition.
• AI Producer hooks can be displayed on screen. Selected hooks are recorded with their display timestamps.
• The composed video is uploaded to S3 continuously in small chunks, so no data is lost if the browser crashes.

Pausing a Recording

Click the Pause button during an active recording:

1. Video and audio capture stops.
2. The state changes to Paused.
3. A pause event is logged to the timeline with the current elapsed time.
4. All co-hosts are notified and see the paused state.
5. A Paused Modal appears with options to Resume or Stop.

While paused:

• Hosts remain connected in the recording session.
• The elapsed time counter stops.
• No video or audio is being captured.
• You can still adjust the composition or manage hooks.

Resuming a Recording

Click Resume from the Paused Modal or the controls bar:

1. A resume event is logged to the timeline.
2. Capture resumes from where it left off.
3. The state changes back to Recording.
4. The elapsed time counter continues.

Pause and resume can be used multiple times during a session. Paused intervals are automatically excluded from the final video in the Post-Production Editor.

Stopping a Recording

Click the Stop button to end the recording (available in both Recording and Paused states):

1. The MediaRecorder stops and the final composed video chunk is uploaded to S3.
2. Server-side recording stops and raw tracks become available.
3. The multipart S3 upload is finalized.
4. The state changes to Stopped.
5. The page transitions to Playback Mode, where you can watch the composed video.

After stopping:

• The composed video URL becomes available once the upload completes.
• Raw tracks are synced from the recording session (may take up to 30 seconds).
• A scene JSON file is generated for the Post-Production Editor.
• An automatic clip is created from the recording.

Stopping a recording is final — you cannot resume after stopping. If you want to record again, use Restart (below) or start a new recording from the Dashboard.

Restarting a Recording

If a take isn't going the way the host wants — bad audio, fumbled intro, wrong segment — they can restart the recording instead of stopping and starting a new session.

Click the Restart button (available in Recording and Paused states):

1. The current capture is discarded.
2. The state resets to Setup, with all hosts still connected.
3. A new recording can begin immediately without leaving the room or re-inviting co-hosts.

Restart is useful for:

• Quick retakes when the first attempt didn't land.
• Multi-take recordings where only the final take matters.
• Recovering from a misstep early in a session without losing the room setup.

Previous take data is replaced when a new recording is started.

Session Recovery

If your browser crashes or you accidentally close the tab during an active recording:

• When you return to the recording page, a Recovery Modal appears.
• You can choose to Salvage the recording (completes the upload from whatever chunks were already sent to S3) or Start Over (resets to setup state).
• Recovery can save several minutes of recording that would otherwise be lost.