A useful software demo lets a viewer follow one task from its starting screen to a visible result. Choose something a prospective user wants to accomplish: translate a message, find a shipment, or answer a question from a dashboard. The result gives every click a purpose.
In Animater, your AI agent captures real product screens and turns the task into a video with cursor movement, zooms, captions, voice and music. You can sign in to capture screens behind a login. This guide explains how to prepare that workflow, give the agent a useful brief, and review the finished video.
1. Choose the audience and one complete task
Write down who will watch and what they should understand afterward. A sales prospect may need to see how a feature solves a problem. An existing customer may need to learn the steps. Those audiences need different explanations, even when the screen is the same.
Define the start and finish before making a script. For a translation app, the starting state might be a conversation containing an untranslated sentence. The finish is that sentence translated into the selected language. Keep the intermediate actions that explain how the change happened.
- Audience: the person who needs this workflow.
- Task: the single thing they want to do.
- Starting state: the screen and data they begin with.
- Visible result: the evidence that the task succeeded.
2. Prepare the product and demonstration data
Use a stable version of the workflow and a dedicated demonstration account when possible. Prepare believable names, records and inputs that make the result easy to understand. Check the full path yourself so a missing record or unexpected permission does not interrupt the explanation.
Open the product through Animater’s capture browser and complete sign-in when needed. Tell the agent which screen starts the story and which action ends it. Keep private customer information out of the demonstration, and check that notifications or unrelated tabs do not reveal something you did not intend to show.
3. Give the agent a workflow, script and emphasis
Describe the actions in order using the names visible in your app. Include the field values to enter and the result to wait for. A brief such as “make this look exciting” leaves the central task undefined; naming the actual controls and outcome gives the agent something concrete to capture.
Keep narration close to what the viewer can see. Introduce the task, explain any choice that needs context, then name the result. Ask for a zoom when a small field matters and a wider view when the viewer needs orientation. Leave a readable pause on the completed result.
4. Capture the full path before polishing motion
Start with the page where a new viewer can understand the task. Capture the meaningful intermediate states as the workflow progresses. If selecting an option changes a panel, show that panel before moving on. If an operation loads a result, use the finished state in the explanation.
Watch the first draft for cause and effect. The cursor should reach a control before the interface responds. A caption about a completed search should appear with its results. When a draft skips an essential step, fix the workflow before asking for more animation.
5. Request revisions at a specific moment
Describe the point, problem and desired change together. For example: “At the language picker, keep the menu visible long enough to read Spanish, then show the translated sentence.” Another useful revision is: “Keep the complete dashboard visible before zooming into the search field.”
Review one concern at a time: workflow accuracy, reading time, emphasis, then sound. Keep a short list of the changes you requested so the next review checks that they landed and that the surrounding steps still make sense.
6. Review the video as a first-time viewer
Play the whole video with sound and then without it. Check that the captions and interface still communicate the task when muted. Read small text at the size the video will actually appear on your landing page or in a social post. Check names and numbers against the product.
Export an MP4, then review that exported file from beginning to end. Check that the opening establishes the task, the result remains visible, and the last screen gives the viewer an appropriate next step. Keep the project so you can revise the demo when the product changes.
A workflow brief you can copy
Replace the bracketed details with your product, recording or launch.
Make a product demo for [audience] showing [one task] in [product URL]. Start on [screen] with [prepared demonstration data]. I will sign in if needed. Follow this workflow: [action 1] → [action 2] → [visible result]. Use the real captured screens. Show each change after its triggering action. Explain [important choice] with a short caption or narration. Emphasize [small control or result] with a clear zoom, and hold the result long enough to read. End with [next step]. Let me review the workflow before final export.
Final review checklist
- A new viewer can identify the starting screen and task.
- Every essential action appears before its result.
- Captions, narration and visible interface agree.
- Text and cursor movement are legible at the intended viewing size.
- The finished result and next step are clear.
- The exported MP4 plays correctly from start to finish.