How to Export Screen Recording Layers Separately

You work in motion graphics, and your latest project requires a screen recording of a product demo. But you do not want the default cursor — you need to replace it with a custom-animated pointer. Or you want the cursor to cast a glow effect that reacts to clicks. Or you need to composite the screen recording onto a 3D-rendered laptop mockup and the cursor needs to sit on a separate layer.

With a standard screen recorder, none of this is possible. The cursor is baked into the video. Every pixel — the screen, the cursor, the background — is flattened into a single layer at export time. To extract the cursor, you would need to rotoscope it frame by frame, which is impractical for anything longer than a few seconds.

Layer Export in Dina

Dina offers a fundamentally different export mode: layer/stem export. Instead of exporting a single combined video, Dina exports the composition as separate files.

What You Get

• Composition without cursor: The full recording with all backgrounds, framing, captions, and effects — but with the cursor removed entirely.
• Cursor layer: The cursor movements and clicks exported as a separate file in a transparency-capable container.

How It Works

In Dina's export panel, you switch from standard export to layer/stem export. Dina renders each layer independently. The cursor stem uses a transparency-capable movie container (such as ProRes 4444 with alpha), preserving the cursor shape and position while leaving the rest of the frame transparent.

Import both files into your motion graphics application — After Effects, Motion, DaVinci Fusion — and stack them. The cursor sits on its own layer, fully editable. Change its color, add effects, replace it with a custom element, or animate its interactions with clicks.

Per-Layer Progress

During layer export, Dina displays per-layer progress labels so you know exactly which stem is being rendered and how far along each one is.

Use Cases for Layer Export

Motion Graphics Integration

When screen recordings are part of a larger motion graphics project — product launch videos, brand films, advertisement reels — layer export gives the motion designer complete control over how the cursor interacts with the composition.

Custom Cursor Effects

Apply glow, shadow, trail, or color effects to the cursor independently of the screen content. Since the cursor is on its own transparent layer, any effect you apply affects only the cursor.

Mockup Compositing

Place the cursorless screen recording inside a device mockup (laptop, tablet, monitor), then overlay the cursor layer on top. The cursor correctly follows the device's perspective and the screen content without manual tracking.

Cursor Removal

Sometimes you simply want a screen recording without a cursor — for slow-motion beauty shots of your interface, for presentation slides, or for marketing assets. Export the composition without cursor and you have a clean, cursor-free video.

Frequently Asked Questions

What format is the cursor layer exported in?

The cursor layer uses a transparency-capable movie container, ensuring the cursor shape and animations are preserved against a fully transparent background. This is compatible with standard compositing workflows in After Effects, Motion, DaVinci Resolve, and similar tools.

Can I export layers at 4K resolution?

Yes. Layer export supports the same resolution options as standard export — up to 4K at 60fps. Each stem is rendered at the selected resolution independently.

Does layer export include captions and overlays?

Yes. The composition-without-cursor layer includes all visual elements — backgrounds, captions, text overlays, masking — except the cursor itself. Only the cursor is separated onto its own layer.

Precision for Professionals Who Need It

Most screen recorders assume you want a single, finished file. For simple use cases, that is fine. For motion designers, video editors, and compositing professionals, it is a limitation.

Download Dina and export recordings as editable layers, not flat files.