A fake CCTV screen made from real photos of the places security cameras watch: corridors, parking garages, lobbies, warehouses, server rooms, loading docks and empty streets. Each feed is grainy and greyscale, with a live date and time stamp and a blinking REC dot, and camera 1 pans slowly like a motorised camera. Choose 1, 2, 4, 6 or 9 cameras, shuffle the views, or click a camera to change it.
How to use it on set
- Open this page on the monitor that will be in the shot. For several monitors, open each screen in its own browser window.
- Press F or the fullscreen button. Move the mouse off the screen and the controls and cursor fade out after a few seconds.
- Turn on Do Not Disturb so no notifications pop up during a take, and set the display to 60 Hz.
- Frame your shot. If the screen flickers or shows lines on camera, see how to film a screen without flicker.
Making a security room
Pick the number of cameras in the bar at the bottom, then press Shuffle until the mix of places fits your scene, or click any single camera to swap just that view. Your choice is remembered on this device. Security desks usually have several monitors: open this page on two or three screens next to each other, and add the hacker screen or the no signal screen for a camera that "went down". The timestamp uses the clock of the computer it runs on, so set the computer's time if the scene happens at a particular hour.
The grain changes every frame, the way real low-light cameras look. If it causes flicker on your camera, see how to film a screen without flicker.
Photo credits
The camera views are free photos from Pexels, by Max Vakhtbovych, Alina Ananko, Tito Zzzz, Java Visuel, Nikola Vu, Tibor Szabo, Anton Ivanov, Tiger Lily, Daniel Andraski, Handi Boyz LLC, Adrien Olichon, Quang Nguyen Vinh, Michael Pointner, Swarup Sarkar, Fabnel LDN, Mathias Reding, Sonny Sixteen, Brett Sayles, Justin Hamilton, Jheanelle Hannah, Julien, Gonzalo Carlos Novillo Lapeyra, Erik Mclean, Владимир Николаевич, Willian Justen de Vasconcellos, Gustavo Lagar, Hongyue Stone-Jon Lee, Tom Jackson, Juan R. Real, Mark Stebnicki, Toàn Văn, DOAN THANH BINH, cottonbro studio.
Good for
- Thrillers and heist films
- The guard watching the feeds while something happens on one of them.
- Prank videos
- A "security footage" setup for a reveal.
- Escape rooms
- A control room prop that runs all day.
- Music videos
- A surveillance look without real cameras.
Questions
Is this real camera footage?
No. The views are still photos of public places, made to look like a live feed with generated grain and a moving scan band. No camera is used, and the page never asks for camera access.
How many cameras can I show?
One to nine. Choose 1, 2, 4, 6 or 9 in the bar at the bottom of the screen.
Can I change the time on the screen?
The timestamp shows the clock of the device it runs on. Change the device's time to change it.
Can I show this screen in my video or film?
Every name, ticker, number and logo on it is made up, so there are no real brands or company interfaces on screen. Check your production's own clearance rules for anything you publish.