ORIGINAL REDDIT POST
What's the fastest way to learn making App Store/Product Hunt demo videos?
I'd like to learn how to create professional-looking demo videos for my own apps. Not cinematic trailers, just clean, modern product videos like the ones you often see on Product Hunt, the App Store, or landing pages. I'm starting from almost zero experience.…
I'd like to learn how to create professional-looking demo videos for my own apps. Not cinematic trailers, just clean, modern product videos like the ones you often see on Product Hunt, the App Store, or landing pages. I'm starting from almost zero experience. If you had to learn this skill today, where would you start? Looking for recommendations on: Courses YouTube channels Tools Workflow Common beginner mistakes Thanks!
Collected discussion
For app demos specifically (not trailers), Screen Studio is what most indie Mac devs land on. The auto-zoom-to-cursor and smoothed mouse movement do most of the "professional" work for you, so you don't need real editing chops. That alone covers most App Store / Product Hunt clips. A few things I picked up making these for my own apps: keep it under about 30 seconds, show the actual result in the first few seconds instead of the setup, and record at a small clean window size so text stays readable once it's scaled down. Hide your menu bar clutter and turn off notifications before you hit record. If you'd rather not pay for Screen Studio, ScreenKite (https://www.screenkite.com/) is a free native one that also does the auto-zoom and has a built-in editor, so you get most of that polished look without the price. The barebones free route is still QuickTime for capture plus a pass in DaVinci Resolve, but the auto-zoom is the part that really sells a demo.
Thanks! I tried OBS but never really got comfortable with it, and the built-in macOS recorder wasn't quite good enough for what I wanted. I'll check out Matte. I was hoping to find something that's designed for capturing polished app demos with less manual work.
Screenkite is amazing. Thanks for your helpful guide!
Thanks! This is really helpful. I'll check out those channels, especially DesignCode. I already use Figma.
Thanks! I hadn't considered HeyGen for app demos. I'll check it out.
Yep! I just used it for 1 mo and then cancelled my subs after the video was done
That's really helpful, thanks! Thanks for the advice.
hey u/Competitive_Cash4765 if you want a free alternative to Screen Studio, check out https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/1u30zqc/tight_studio_a_screen_studio_alternative_is_now/ (p.s. I'm the founder)
Haha, good to know I'm not alone.
Thanks, this is really helpful! I'll definitely try ScreenKite and see how it compares.
I'd start with YouTube before paying for any courses. Channels like DesignCode, Flux Academy, and Figma have great videos on UI animation and product presentation. For tools, Screen Studio (if you're on Mac) makes polished screen recordings really easy, and Figma + Keynote are enough for a lot of simple demos. My biggest beginner tip: keep it short and focus on one feature at a time.
I don't know many courses or channels, but Matte might be a useful tool, they have a free version and a paid one (I'm not affiliated with them, but this blog post seemed reasonable). But if you want free tools, using OBS Studio or the native Apple screen recorder (Shift + Command + 5) might be good starting points!
yep, used Screen studio too
For App Store style demos I would not start with courses. I’d pick 5 app videos you like, break them into beats, and copy the structure first. Usually it is: show the finished value in the first 3 seconds, then one clean workflow, then one small proof point, then stop. The beginner mistake is recording the whole app tour instead of one user outcome. Keep the window small enough that text survives compression, hide menu bar noise, slow the cursor down, and record the same flow 5 times before editing. The recording tool matters less than having a tight 20-30 second script.
I’d start by copying the structure of one Product Hunt demo you like. Keep it to one outcome in 20–30 seconds: show the result first, then one clean workflow, then stop.
keep it short and simple, there was a free app on here that got posted a few days ago (screenkite) and it does this perfectly. but probably doesnt have any good guides yet. but screen studio is crazy simple to use and the results speak for themselves, theres a reason nearly everybody uses it. for the actual content structure show the problem (5 sec), show the solution working (15 sec) show 2-3 other features (15 sec). dont over think it. just practice
begin with something simple, a beautiful screen recording, check out https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/1u30zqc/tight_studio_a_screen_studio_alternative_is_now/
fastest path is to make 3 bad 30 second demos before trying to make one polished one. pick one user problem, show the before state for 5 seconds, do the one action that fixes it, then show the result. no intro logo, no full feature tour. the beginner mistake is recording the app like documentation: every button, every menu, every mode. a good demo is closer to a tiny bug report in reverse: here is the annoying thing, here is the fix, here is the proof it worked.
I’d start with raw clarity before “professional-looking.” Most app demo videos fail because they look polished but you still don’t understand the product in the first 5 seconds. Record the actual workflow, cut every pause, add 3-4 labels on screen, and only then worry about motion/design.
I used Heygen for Recall | AI memory for your work sessions
This comment was deleted.