The launch day video checklist for indie developers: six cuts from one master
Launch day needs the same video in six shapes: store previews, a Play link, a Product Hunt gallery clip, a vertical for Reels and TikTok, a hero loop for the site and a feed cut with captions. Plan it once and export it in an afternoon.
In this article
Why one video is never enough
An app launch shows up in at least six places on the same day, and each place has its own frame, length and rules. The App Store wants a 15 to 30 second screen capture at an exact size. Google Play wants a YouTube link and a feature graphic. Product Hunt shows a landscape gallery clip that plays muted. Reels and TikTok want vertical with the text kept out of the interface overlays. The website wants a short loop that does not slow the page down. LinkedIn and X want something that survives a feed with captions on.
Making six separate videos is how launches slip. Making one master and exporting six versions is an afternoon of work, provided the master was built for it.
The six cuts
| Cut | Where it runs | Frame | Length | Sound | Text and calls to action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. App Store preview | Product page and search | 886 by 1920 (or 1920 by 886) for current iPhones | 15 to 30 s | Muted autoplay | Screen captures only, no prices, no dated references |
| 2. Google Play promo | Play listing, via YouTube | 16:9 or 9:16, 1080p | Under 30 s useful | Muted autoplay | App on screen within 10 s, no "Download now", no superlatives; feature graphic 1024 by 500 required |
| 3. Product Hunt gallery | Launch page and feed | Landscape | Short, first 5 s carry it | Plays muted in the feed | Free wording; show the product doing its best thing first |
| 4. Reels and TikTok | Paid and organic vertical | 9:16, 1080 by 1920 or higher | 15 to 30 s | Sound on for many viewers, captions anyway | Calls to action allowed; keep text in the safe zone |
| 5. Website hero loop | Landing page | 16:9, or 9:16 inside a phone frame | 10 to 20 s | Muted, no audio track needed | No text needed; the page copy does that |
| 6. Feed cut | LinkedIn, X, Facebook | 1:1 or 4:5 | 20 to 45 s | Muted by default, captions burned in | Calls to action allowed |
The sources for the numbers: Apple's App Preview Specifications, Google's store listing guidance, Meta's Reels ad specs, TikTok's video ad specifications and LinkedIn's video ad specs. Product Hunt's gallery behaviour comes from using it: the clip plays without sound in the feed, so the opening seconds decide whether anyone unmutes.
Build the master for cut 1
Apple's rules are the strictest, so the master is an Apple preview: real screen captures of the app, 30 seconds, text on separate layers, no prices, no "download now", no seasonal words. Guideline 2.3.4 in the App Review Guidelines limits previews to "video screen captures of the app itself" with narration and overlays on top, and every other cut is more permissive than that.
Record the app in portrait if it is a phone app, at the device's native size, and keep the important interface elements away from the very top and bottom of the screen. The vertical cuts will cover those areas with interface, and a landscape cut will crop them. Recording clean footage has the exact settings.
Then derive:
Cut 2 is the master plus an optional two second end card, exported at 1080p and uploaded to YouTube as public or unlisted with ads off. Add the 1024 by 500 feature graphic, which Google says is required for the video to display, using the same screen the video opens on.
Cut 3 is a landscape framing of the master. A portrait phone recording on a dark background with a short line of text next to it works well, because the gallery is landscape and the first five seconds have to explain the product without sound.
Cut 4 is the master with a hook card added at the start and a call to action at the end. Meta's guidance for Reels is to keep important elements out of the top 14 percent, the bottom 35 percent and the outer 6 percent on each side, so the text cards move into the middle band. Meta prohibits licensed music in ads; use a track from its Sound Collection or a royalty free library.
Cut 5 is ten to twenty seconds of the master's best movement, no text, no audio track, exported small. On our own site we start the hero loop after the page has loaded and show a lightweight poster first, because a video that competes with the page for bandwidth costs more in speed than it gains in charm.
Cut 6 is the master reframed to 1:1 or 4:5 with captions burned in, because feed video plays muted by default everywhere it appears. LinkedIn accepts 16:9, 1:1, 4:5 and 9:16, up to 1080 by 1350 for 4:5. Which placement wants which ratio is in vertical or horizontal.
A two week timeline
Working backwards from launch day:
- Day minus 14: the app build is feature complete enough to record. Record the footage and lock the master script.
- Day minus 10: the master is approved. Export cuts 1 and 2. Upload the App Store preview with the build and paste the Play link with the feature graphic. Both stores review the video with the listing, and a rejection at day minus 2 is the classic launch delay.
- Day minus 7: export cuts 3 to 6. Schedule the Product Hunt launch and upload the gallery video.
- Day minus 3: schedule social posts with cuts 4 and 6. Put cut 5 on the landing page and check the page speed on a phone.
- Launch day: post, reply, and do not touch the store videos.
- Day plus 7: look at the numbers per placement. The vertical cut and the feed cut can be replaced by better performers; the store previews should only change if a Product Page Optimization test says so.
Mistakes we see every launch
Recording the footage before the interface is final, then re-recording everything the week before launch. Record last, edit fast.
Writing "Download now" and a price into the master, then cutting two versions of every text card. Keep the master clean and add sales language only to cuts 4 and 6.
Uploading the App Store preview on launch morning. It is reviewed with the binary; give it the same lead time.
Putting the Play video on a personal YouTube account. If that account changes its monetisation or privacy settings, the listing loses its video.
A hero video with sound. Nobody wants it, browsers block it, and the visitor's first click becomes "mute" instead of "start".
Skipping captions on the feed cut because the voiceover explains everything. The voiceover is not playing.
Questions people ask
Do I need all six videos for a launch?
Can I make the launch videos before the app is finished?
What is the fastest order to produce them in?
How long before launch should the store previews be uploaded?
Should the social cuts have a voiceover?
Topics: app launch product hunt launch checklist video formats
Written by
App Motion Team
The people who script, animate and deliver appmotion videos every day. What you read here is what we tell our own customers.
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