[App Star Awards ★] Tips & Tools to create a perfect iPhone app video demo
If you want to apply to the App Star Awards and get a chance to a major exposure, the only thing you will have to do is publish a video demo of your upcoming app. 
Doing a good video demo is easy when you have the right tools. We're going to share some of them with you.
It sounds like an obvious thing to do, but we still see a lots of developers that do not understand the necessity of doing some pre-App Store marketing and a video demo is a key element to tease on your upcoming beauty.
One tip: we engage you to check out on youtube the endless demos of apps made and see how those were made. It will give you a pretty good idea of what can be done.
So what do you need?
Key ingredients
- An app (hard without it...)
- Some time (30min to 1hour)
- A computer or a camera (although you can do without it)
- A video editing tool
The Computer-less approach
Principle: you shoot a live demo from your iPhone with a camera
Good example: The spotify teaser below, which is awesome
- You'll need to have your app prototype installed locally on your iPhone
- A good camera. Make sure you can shoot in zoom mode clearly
- Make sure the iPhone is stable put on a clear background
- If possible, make sure that the hand playing with the app is not the one handling the camera (meaning your camera on a tripod)
Advantage of this approach: it is the kind of real life show that can really seduce. But you need to make sure to have good shooting conditions. Also ideal for apps that require an external accessory (eg a bluetooth accessory)
The Computer based approach
Principle: you run here a demo of a simulation of your app on your computer
Good example: Here is a demo by Tweetie. See?
- You need some tool like iSimulate (not free) or Simfinger - free (see how the creator of Tweetie is using it)
- There is also a nice javascript tool that gives you a Virtual iPhone interface on your browser
- You can also use PhoneFinger which provides a nice simulation environment for demos
- You need a good Screencapture tool to shoot/edit your demo, like SnapZ pro X, Screenflow (mac) or Camtasia (PC and Mac)
- You can also use Screentoaster or Jing that are free but you'll have less options and control on how to mix and edit your video
Advantage of this approach: it is a pixel perfect approach and will show clearly what your app does.
Nice add-ons/Tips
- A nice music background can always be cool, but should not be dominant.
- you can find tones of license free music on Jamendo
- An intro title is always welcome and you can add a visual watermark on your video with your logo for example
- Make it short (30 sec ideal) and if you can't cut the extra part that are not necessary
- Mind the noise around you.
Do you see other tips? Any thing you can share based on your experience as a developer or viewer?
