It *may* be in a temp file, but for sure, if you closed the lid on the laptop and slept the machine before the recording sessions closed, the file will be truncated.
FIRST, you need to go get the program OnyX: http://www.titanium.free.fr/downloadonyx.php - you are going to use this to make the invisible tempfile folder visible.
Once you've gotten the correct version for your OS, launch it.
It will want to check your hard drive - just cancel through that - since you are only changing the Finder's visibility settings.
You'll get to the OnyX bar and it's this: (though not black, that's just my theme setting)
http://home.comcast.net/~foodandart/MacForums/OnyXBar.jpg
and you select the Parameters option, that is third from the right. Once into that, you go to the Finder button, and down to the box where it says 'show hidden files and folders'.
http://home.comcast.net/~foodandart/MacForums/OnyXParameter.jpg
Check that. Right off the bat, the application will warn you to not have any other apps handling, files. If anything is running, stop them. The main thing is that there isn't anything happening with the Finder at this time. If everything's all set, apply the setting, the desktop and all your files will blink out and when they come back in, you will see ALL the system files in your computer.. DO NOT MESS WITH ANYTHING!
Go ONLY where you are suppposed to - there is a REAL reason that hidden files are hidden and you can blow your system out of existence if you mess around with those files.
Leave OnyX running and just minimize it - you'll be back to it in a few minutes.
Now go into your hard drive - at the root level - and you want to look for the /private/var/folders and inside you *should* find a file with .mov at the end of it.
This is the video file. Move it to the desktop.
(If you do not see it, that means the file is gone. As long as you haven't shut down since this happened, it should still be there.)
Once you've done this, go back into OnyX and un-check the 'show hidden files and folders' and it will do the blinky thing and you should be all set.
Good luck!
Deb.