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To show what you draw on your iPad in a Tella video, record your iPad’s screen and your camera together with the Tella Mac app, then turn on Remove background color in the editor’s Style tab. Tella removes the page’s color from the screen recording, so only your handwriting shows, floating over the video’s background or your camera.

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What you need

  • The Tella Mac app and a cable to connect your iPad to your Mac. Tella can’t record an iPad over Wi-Fi or AirPlay
  • A drawing or notes app on your iPad with a plain, single-color page. A black page with white or colored ink works best, such as Apple Notes in dark mode

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Record your iPad and camera

  1. Connect your iPad to your Mac with the cable and unlock it
  2. On your iPad, open your notes app on a blank dark page
  3. In the Tella Mac app, click the screen button and choose your iPad under Displays. If it isn’t listed, click Add iPhone and follow the steps. See Record an iPhone or iPad demo for details
  4. Turn on your camera and microphone, and record as usual. Write and draw on your iPad while you talk

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Remove the page color in the editor

  1. Open the video in the editor and click Style
  2. Turn on Remove background color. Tella removes black by default
  3. If your page isn’t black, click the Color swatch below the toggle and pick your page’s color
Everywhere the recording is that color, whatever is behind it shows through. Your ink stays solid, including dark and colored ink, and its edges blend smoothly into what’s behind.

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Show your drawing next to or on top of your camera

Click Layout and choose TV Presenter:
  • The regular TV Presenter layouts put your drawing beside your camera, floating over the video’s background. Pick a dark background under Style → Background so light ink stands out
  • The full TV Presenter layouts fill the canvas with your camera and float your drawing on top of it
See Use layouts for every layout.

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Which videos can use Remove background color?

Remove background color works on screen recordings and uploaded videos. It doesn’t apply to your camera. To remove your camera’s background instead, use Cut out. The setting applies to the clip you have open, so turn it on in each clip that shows your iPad. Your exported and shared video looks the same as the editor.

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Use a whiteboard or a light page

You can remove any single color, not only black. For dark ink on a white page, turn on Remove background color and pick white as the Color. A dark page usually gives the cleanest result, because light pages often have shading or texture that doesn’t match one color exactly.
Last modified on October 27, 2026