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24 Comments

How do you make product videos?

I've been looking for apps that can help make product videos simply and quickly. But all video apps are very complex and feature-rich.

I'm looking for an app where I can add frames with text, insert interface frames and that's it.

Something like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apjtiy21Urc&t=10s

  1. 2

    Why not just outsource it to someone on Upwork (or similar) who knows how to do it and has the right tools? Instead of spending time trying to find the right software, learn it, do it, upgrade the app when needed etc etc.

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    You can try my app Article Video Robot - it will convert your text into a similar animated video.

    There is also an inbuilt video editor to help you tweak the timing, screenshots, etc. It's 100% free to try and doesn't require any cc or signup.

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    We used doodly.com to make our product explainer video. While it's a paid software, they offer complete refund in 30 days if it does not suit your purpose. For us, it was sufficient for the time being, and it does provide good integration with Figma which allowed us to customize quite a bit. However, animations are limited so if your video has a lot of animations, you might need to look elsewhere like After Effects.

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      As an end-user I've never been able to watch doodly-produced videos more than 20 secs or so just because I hate this way of showing me the product: it's pretty distracting, flashing and annoying. The simpler the better. BTW the example video the TS gave us is too flashing too...

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        @SeaCat If it's not too much of an issue, could you please check out the product explainer video we created and give feedback on it. We're working on the next iteration and would love some genuine criticism and suggestions of improvement.

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          Sure! The video itself is not bad, explaining briefly what it does. I think I grasped the idea. What I really miss is the screenshots/videos of your working application. You said "UI is easy", show me!

          1. 2

            Thank you, this is really helpful. We'll work on this

  4. 1

    You can check Canva with their Video editor. Product video on my Cluee.app landing page was made with Canva (and pre-recorded screencasts).

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      The video itself may be good but can you please explain to me why the player doesn't have the controls? I see it over and over again and never get it.

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        It's just a matter of a method of embed the video at the webpage. The video itself is just a file you can either upload on Youtube/Video or embed on your webpage in a number of ways.

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          I know how it's technically done. What I don't understand is why YOU (and so many other founders) don't set up parameters to show the controls?

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            Ah, OK sorry for misunderstanding. For me it was a matter of layout that looks nice without these controls. Do you find it annoying without controls? (You can still stop the video by clicking on it)

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              Well, I'd say when I see it, I start feeling the founder doesn't care about the users a lot. Because, a video is not only about esthetics but rather about UX. What if I'd like to come back a bit? I can't. What if I'd like to go rather to the end. I can't. If a founder doesn't care about me now, why should they care when I'm their customer?

              1. 1

                That makes sense. Thanks! So, I've added the controls, so hpoe the users will be more happy now 🥳

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    I've been using Filmora for videos/gifs but like you said, its a full video editor so does require some work to get it to look good.

    There is also Lancey (I'm the co-founder) that's meant more for creating fully interactive demos for embedding directly on webpages or as part of outreach (as simple as hitting record and editing the content as needed).

  6. 1

    I usually make videos by inserting new and best songs to make the video more vivid, and I download it completely for free here: https://dzwoneknatelefon.pl/sms/

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    I've used http://www.telestream.net/screenflow/overview.htm for many years. It's pretty easy to use and does well also recording presentations from screen, which is useful to catch up later.

    I used it for the text overlays on this demo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXcTT-41pYI

  8. 1

    Not sure exactly but do checkout Rotato if that helps!

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    I'm working on a beta for creating web app instruction videos automatically. When your web app changes, you hit refresh, and you've got an up-to-date video. Is that something you are looking for?

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      No, but this is very cool idea! Maybe it will be useful for me, too

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    I still prefer After Effects. It is the big leagues but it is not as complex (you can understand the basics in a weekend). However, it is not for free, but you don't have the money, then you can, cough ARRGHH. I know many reputables companies that use it in that way.

    Now, if you want something simpler, the PowerPoint could do animation.

    Why do I recommend After effects? Because there are thousand of plugins and templates, including ready-made templates.

    1. 1

      I used to study after effects. And it's been a long time since then.

      It seems that the presentation approach is still the easiest one.

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    If you're on a Mac, Apple Motion is a pretty inexpensive way to achieve something like the video you've linked. It's like $50 and you can use it forever. There's a library of effects and behaviours and you can layer things up as fancy as you like.

    If you're not on a Mac, you could possibly try something my friend made called BeatFlyer - it is made for sound-reactive clips but it might be powerful enough to do what you want.

    1. 1

      Thank you! I'll look into these suggestions

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