Formats · Length 30-90s · 9:16 or 16:9 · intermediate
Product demo video: how to shoot, edit, and prompt it
A product demo shows a product doing one real task from start to finish, with the screen large in frame and a voiceover saying what is happening.
By Sulan Zhang, co-founder of Vyra · Updated 2026-09-24
- Platforms
- TikTok, Reels, Shorts, YouTube, LinkedIn, X
- Length
- 30-90s
- Aspect
- 9:16 or 16:9
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Gear
- phone or screen recorder, the product, a script
One task, and none of the other menus.
At a glance
| Best for | Launches, feature announcements, landing page video, sales follow-ups |
| Hook style | The end result first, then "here's how" |
| Pacing | 2-5 seconds per action, no waiting |
| Caption style | Phrase captions plus a label per action |
| Music | Neutral, low, no vocals |
| Shot list | Clean screen recording at 60fps, or the product on a plain surface. Cursor or hands visible. The final result. |
| Common mistakes | Every menu. Features instead of the task. Tiny UI in a vertical frame. |
Structure
- 0-3s: the finished result
- 3-8s: what we're going to do
- 8-60s: the task, action by action, labeled
- 60-75s: the result again, with how long it took
- 75-85s: where to try it
How to shoot it
- Script the task first. Five to eight steps.
- Record the screen at the highest resolution, 60fps.
- Move the cursor slowly. You'll speed it up later.
- Hide notifications, clean the desktop, use real-looking data.
- Record the voiceover after, matched to the recording.
How to edit it
- Cut all loading, scrolling, and hesitation.
- Zoom into where the action happens, 150-200%.
- Short label for each action ("Add captions").
- Speed up typing 2-3x.
- Back to full frame for the result.
- Keep the cursor visible with a small click highlight.
Prompt it in Vyra
Turn this 8-minute screen recording into a 60-second demo of exporting a video. Cut every pause and loading screen, zoom into where I click on each step, and add a small label at the top for each step. Use my voiceover track and keep the music low.
Put the final exported video on screen for the first 3 seconds as the hook, then start the demo.
Make a vertical version for Reels by reframing the screen recording around the cursor on each step.
Variations
- Feature spotlight, one feature, 20 seconds.
- Founder demo, face intro, screen demo, face outro.
- Silent demo, labels only, for LinkedIn and X.
FAQ
Vertical or horizontal? Horizontal for landing pages and YouTube, vertical for social. Record horizontal at high res so a vertical crop around the cursor works.
How many steps? Five to eight. More than that, split it into two demos.
Can Vyra reframe a horizontal recording to vertical? Yes. Ask it to follow the cursor or a named region and it crops and tracks.