Insert Voice and Drawings into a Paused Video

Operation demo See the basic workflow in a short video.

About this tool

Pause & Tell freezes a frame of your source video at a chosen position so you can record a narrated drawing or add a silent on-screen explanation. Draw with a pen, point, circle or arrow.

Inserted explanation segments sit between the original footage and soundtrack. Review and rerecord each explanation before rendering a completed video. Output is re-encoded, not losslessly copied.

Good for

Pause a screen-recorded tutorial to point to a button and narrate it
Explain an important frame in a work or product demo
Insert silent handwritten annotations without using a microphone

What it can do

Key capabilities available in this tool.

Freeze source video at a selected position and record narration and drawings
Insert silent drawing explanations without microphone use
Draw with Pen, Point, Circle and Arrow in three colors with undo/redo and clear
Preserve source footage and its soundtrack around inserted explanation clips
Preview, delete or rerecord explanations; cancelled rerecords keep the prior version
Export standard WebM or experimental MP4 of up to 30 seconds on supported devices
Rename output, optionally share on supported devices, and use Japanese/English responsive UI

How to use

Open the tool, choose a video and seek to the desired frame with Position.
Select Do not record audio for a silent explanation; voice recording requires a compatible browser and microphone.
Select Add explanation here, grant mic permission if recording voice, and draw on the frozen frame.
Select Finish explanation to insert its duration. A silent explanation uses the elapsed time between starting and finishing.
Review each inserted explanation; delete or rerecord it if needed. Cancelling a rerecord retains the prior clip.
Select Create video to render and preview, then Save video. Check the downloaded file in a separate player.

Supported

Input: one seekable browser-compatible video, up to 5 minutes / 250 MiB.
Explanation: voice and drawings or silent drawing on a frozen frame; up to 2 minutes per segment.
Drawing: Pen, Point, Circle, Arrow, three colors, undo/redo and clear, plus review/delete/rerecord.
Export: standard WebM VP8/Opus up to 10 minutes; experimental AVC/AAC MP4 up to 30 seconds completed.
Browser APIs: WebCodecs, MediaRecorder and supported codecs; mic permission for voice. Japanese and English UI.

Limitations and notes

MP4 export is experimental, browser-dependent, and capped at 30 seconds. Standard WebM also depends on codec support and device performance.
Source 5 minutes/250 MiB, each explanation 2 minutes, and finished WebM 10 minutes are attempt ceilings, not success or speed guarantees.
Export re-encodes media, so it is not lossless. HEVC/HDR or variable-frame-rate sources can be problematic.
This inserts explanations over frozen frames rather than continuously drawing on moving footage.
There is no project save/restore or automatic recovery. Explanations are session-only; save your finished output before leaving.
Not every Android/iPhone or codec is supported. Use the HTTPS version if a local HTML file cannot access the microphone.

Frequently asked questions

Does it upload the source video or narration?

No. After the initial page download, selected footage, narration and drawings stay on your device. Explicit device sharing can send the completed file to the destination you choose.

Can I add an explanation without a microphone?

Yes. Do not record audio inserts a silent segment of the time spent drawing on the frozen frame.

Can I export MP4?

Only experimentally on compatible AVC/AAC browsers, and only up to 30 seconds of finished output. WebM is the standard.

Can I restore explanations after closing the page?

No. Explanations stay in the active session; there is no project save or automatic restoration.

Offline version and source code

The regular standalone HTML embeds the runtime, so editing and export can run offline in compatible browsers with CSP connect-src 'none'. Microphone access from local HTML files can vary.

View source on GitHub

Use together

Useful next steps and companion tools, organized around the workflow.