How to Record a Demo Video for a Launch: Script, Length and Free Tools
Record a launch demo video by choosing one task, scripting it as four beats (the problem, the starting point, the action, the result) and recording it in a clean take that still makes sense with the sound off. Keep it as short as the task allows, often a minute or two. Cut dead time, add captions, and place the link where people decide whether to try the product.
When is a video worth making, and when is it not?
A video earns its place when the value happens over time or in motion: a workflow with several steps, a drag-and-drop interaction, an animation, audio, or a physical device. It also earns it when people cannot try the product at once. Hacker News’s moderator tips for Show HN posts say that if something is hardware or not easy to try over the internet, you should “find a different way to show how it actually works—a video, for example”.
Skip it when a single screenshot shows the result, or when a visitor can use the product within thirty seconds of arriving. A working try-it link beats any video. Note too that the same tips say a Show HN project must exist and be usable, so a video cannot stand in for a product that nobody can try. The Show HN playbook has the full rules.
What are the four beats of a demo?
| Beat | What you say | What is on screen |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The problem | One sentence naming who has it and what is awkward today | The old way, or just the finished product’s title screen |
| 2. The start | What the user begins with | The input: a file, a list, a blank page with data pasted in |
| 3. The action | The one thing you do, in plain words | The key click or command, with the cursor large and slow |
| 4. The result | What they now have and what it saved | The output, held on screen long enough to read |
Beat 1: Packing for a climbing weekend means checking three different lists and still forgetting the rope. Beat 2: Here is a trip: two days, one crag, three people, trad routes. Beat 3: I choose the trip type and the number of people. PackRight builds the list and splits the shared gear between us. Beat 4: Here is my list, with the rope marked as shared. I can send each person their own part.
Write the script first and read it aloud with a timer, because speech is slower than you think. Then record the screen while following it. If a step needs a long explanation, the product may need a simpler step, and the recording just showed you where.
How long should the video be?
Nobody has a measured best length that holds for every product, so use a working range and let the task decide. One task fits in roughly a minute or two. A workflow with several distinct jobs reads better as two or three short clips, each with its own title, than as one long walkthrough. A hardware product can run longer because people need to see it working. Whatever the length, the result should appear early enough that a viewer who leaves halfway still saw something worth seeing.
- Cut: sign-in, loading spinners, typing mistakes, menus you do not use, and any apology for the interface.
- Keep: the pause on the final result, the single most surprising moment and a clear statement of what the product does in the opening seconds.
- Move to a separate clip: setup, installation and settings, which interest only the people who have already decided to try it.
What do you need, and what is free?
Your computer already has a screen recorder, and OBS Studio is a free, open-source option if you want more control. Set the capture to the size you will show, close every app you do not need and turn on do-not-disturb so a notification does not land mid-take. Enlarge the cursor and the interface text, because small details vanish on a phone screen. Use the demo data you prepared for the screenshots, so the video and the stills match.
Audio matters more than people expect. A cheap headset microphone near your mouth sounds better than a laptop microphone across the room. Record ten seconds, listen to it and only then do the real take. Use music only if you have the right to it; silence is safer than a clip that gets muted or removed.
How do you make it work with the sound off?
Assume some people will watch without sound, though nobody can say how many. Put the key phrase of each beat on screen as short text, and add captions to anything you narrate; a caption file also helps viewers who cannot hear. Do not rely on the voice for information that appears nowhere else. If the video makes sense on mute, it will make sense with sound.
Where do you put it, and how will you know it helped?
Put it at the first place a visitor decides: above the fold on your own page, at the top of your README, and linked in your launch description. The launch form on this board takes images, so add the video as a link in the description; links in user-written text are marked nofollow and ugc, which does not matter for a video link that is there to be watched. Launch your product for free first, then add the link.
To judge it, give the video its own tagged link, as explained in how to measure a launch, and compare how many people who arrived from it finished the core task with how many arriving from other sources did. Use your video host’s own analytics, where it offers them, to see where viewers stop; a sharp drop near the start usually means the opening beat is weak. If you are making a product for people who work with footage, browse the photo and video ideas to see what others describe. The demo video script template offers other structures, and launching with a demo video covers using it across channels.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a product demo video be?
Long enough to show one task from start to result, which is often a minute or two. Nobody has a measured length that suits every product. Split a multi-step workflow into short clips and put the result early so a viewer who leaves halfway still saw the point. Longer is fine for hardware, which people need to see working.
Do I need a voiceover for a demo video?
No. A well-made silent demo with short on-screen text works, and some viewers will watch without sound anyway. If you do narrate, write the script first, read it slowly, and add captions. Never put information only in the voice that appears nowhere on screen.
What is the best free software to record a demo?
Start with the screen recorder built into your computer. If you want more control over scenes and audio, OBS Studio is free and open source. Software matters less than the preparation: demo data, a clean screen, a script and a short audio test before the real take.
Can a video replace a working demo on Show HN?
Not for software. Hacker News’s Show HN guidance says the project must be something people can try, and suggests a video only for hardware or things that cannot be tried online. If your product runs in a browser or installs, give a working link and use the video as a supplement.
Written by Post your build ideas with AI assistance and edited for this site. Where a page names another product, the facts came from that product’s own pages on the date shown above; terms change, so check them before you rely on them. About the publisher.