How to Record a Product Demo (Mac, Windows, Phone)

Here is how to record a product demo that's worth editing. Set up the screen before you touch the recorder: a demo account with realistic data, a browser zoomed in so text reads on a phone, bookmarks and notifications hidden, and a rehearsed path through one task. Then record with what you already have (Shift-Command-5 on a Mac, Windows logo key + Shift + R on Windows 11, the built-in recorder on your phone). A dedicated recorder helps, but a clean setup matters more than the tool.

This is part 3 of how to make a product demo video. It assumes you've already picked the task to show.

Set up a clean demo account

Your real account is full of things you don't want on camera: customer names, half-finished experiments, an inbox with 400 unread. Make a separate workspace for recording.

• Realistic data. Names that look like people, numbers that look like a real business, dates from this year. "Test 1", "asdf" and "$0.00" tell the viewer the product is empty.
• Nothing private. No real customer names, emails, API keys or revenue you haven't published. Check the corners: avatars, notification badges, URLs.
• The right starting state. Set up everything up to the first step of the task, so the recording starts where the story starts.
• A way to reset. You'll do several takes. Know how to undo the task (delete the invoice, revert the setting) so each take starts the same.

Set up the screen

Resolution and window size

Record at a resolution where your app looks like it does for your users, at least 1080p. Then make the window smaller than you think: a 1440-pixel-wide window will be shown on a phone a few hundred pixels wide, so everything shrinks. A narrower window with larger text survives that better.

Pick one window size and use it for every take, so the takes cut together.

Browser zoom

Zoom the browser in until body text looks slightly too big on your monitor. In Chrome, zoom in with Ctrl and + (Windows) or ⌘ and + (Mac), and reset with Ctrl + 0 or ⌘ + 0. 125% to 150% is a good starting point for most web apps; check by watching a test clip on your phone.

Hide the clutter

• Bookmarks bar. In Chrome, toggle it with Ctrl + Shift + B, or ⌘ + Shift + B on a Mac.
• Other tabs and extensions. Use a fresh browser profile with no extensions pinned, or a separate window with one tab.
• Full screen. Chrome's full screen is F11 on Windows, Fn + F on Mac. It hides the address bar too, which you may or may not want: keep it if the URL helps the story.
• Desktop and dock. Record a window or a selected area, not the whole screen, so desktop icons stay out.

Turn off notifications

A Slack message sliding in halfway through the best take is the most common reason to re-record.

• Mac: open Control Center in the menu bar, click Focus and choose Do Not Disturb.
• Windows 11: press Windows key + N to open the notification center and select the bell icon with "zZ" on it to turn on Do Not Disturb.
• Quit chat apps and email anyway. Some still make sounds.

The cursor

Move the cursor slowly and on purpose. Go straight to what you're about to click, pause for a beat, click, and pause again. Don't circle things, don't wiggle to point, and park the cursor out of the way when you're not using it. Fast cursor movement is the hardest thing to fix in an edit.

How to record a product demo: rehearse, then record

1. Do the task three times without recording. You'll find the slow page, the confusing dropdown and the field that needs real-looking data.
2. Record the task, slowly. Slower than feels natural. Speeding up footage in the edit is easy; slowing down rushed footage looks wrong.
3. Leave a second or two before and after each step. It gives the edit room to cut cleanly.
4. Record more than one take. Keep the best one, not the first one.
5. Don't record the voice-over at the same time unless you're used to it. Clicking and talking at once usually makes both worse. Record the screen silent, and voice it later from your script.

Built-in recorders

You don't need to buy anything to record a software demo.

Mac

Press Shift-Command-5 to open the Screenshot toolbar. Choose Record Entire Screen, Record Selected Portion or (on macOS Tahoe 26 or later) Record Selected Window. Under Options you can pick a microphone and turn on Show Mouse Clicks, which draws a black circle around the pointer when you click. Stop with the Stop button in the menu bar or Command-Control-Esc.

Windows 11

Open Snipping Tool and select Record, then New, or press Windows logo key + Shift + R. Drag to select the area, then Start; select Stop when you're done. You can save the file as-is or open it in Clipchamp to edit.

iPhone and iPad

Open Control Center and tap the Record button. Recording starts after a three-second countdown. Press and hold the button first if you want to turn on the microphone. Recordings save to Photos. If the button isn't there, add it to Control Center. Some apps block screen recording.

Android

Pull down twice to open Quick Settings and tap Screen record. You can choose whether to record audio and whether to show touches on screen, then tap Start. If the tile is missing, edit Quick Settings to add it.

Tips for phone recordings

• Clean the status bar: charge the phone, connect to Wi-Fi, and turn on Do Not Disturb so the top of the screen doesn't show a warning or a message preview.
• Tap deliberately and pause between taps. Turn on "show touches" on Android so viewers can follow.
• Record on a real device when you can. It shows the real speed and the real gestures.

Demo recording software worth knowing

If you record demos often, a dedicated tool saves time. Each of these is good at something different.

Tool	Good at	Platforms	Worth knowing
Screen Studio	Polished recordings with automatic zoom on clicks, smoothed cursor movement and motion blur	Mac only	Paid subscription. Edits and exports in the app (MP4 up to 4K 60 fps, GIF, links).
OBS Studio	Full control: scenes, multiple sources, webcam overlays, audio filters, hotkeys	Windows, Mac, Linux	Free and open source. More setup than the others.
Loom	Quick recordings you share by link, with your webcam alongside the screen if you want it	Mac, Windows, Chrome, iOS, Android	Free plan records up to 720p, which is fine for a sales follow-up, soft for a launch video.

Pick by what you'll do with the recording:

• Sending a walkthrough to one prospect? Loom. The link is the point.
• Want a recording that looks finished with little editing, on a Mac? Screen Studio.
• Need multiple sources, Linux, or zero cost? OBS.
• Recording once for a launch video someone else will cut? The built-in recorder is enough. Give the editor clean, slow, full-resolution footage.

For a longer comparison of recorders, see Screen Studio alternatives.

Before you stop recording

Run through this list on the take you plan to use:

• The task runs start to finish with no errors, spinners that last forever or dead ends.
• No private data, notifications or other tabs appear anywhere in the frame.
• Text is readable when you watch the clip on your phone.
• The cursor moves slowly and pauses before each click.
• There's a second or two of stillness at the start and end.

What happens to the recording next

A raw recording is the raw material, not the video. It still needs cutting down to the seconds that matter, voice-over, music, captions and a version sized for each feed. That's covered in the rest of the guide: how long it should be and where to post it.

Frequently asked questions

How do I record a product demo on a Mac?

Press Shift-Command-5 to open the Screenshot toolbar, then choose Record Entire Screen, Record Selected Portion or (on macOS Tahoe 26 or later) Record Selected Window. Under Options, turn on Show Mouse Clicks so viewers can see each click. Stop the Mac screen recording with the Stop button in the menu bar or Command-Control-Esc.

How do I record a software demo on Windows 11?

Use Snipping Tool: press Windows logo key + Shift + R, drag to select the area, then select Start. Select Stop when the demo is done, and save the file or open it in Clipchamp to edit.

How do I record an app demo on an iPhone or Android phone?

On an iPhone or iPad, open Control Center and tap the Record button; on Android, pull down twice to open Quick Settings and tap Screen record. Turn on Do Not Disturb first so message previews don't appear in the status bar, and on Android turn on "show touches" so viewers can follow your taps.

What is the best demo recording software?

There is no single best demo recording software; it depends on what happens to the recording next. Loom suits a walkthrough shared by link with one prospect, Screen Studio suits polished recordings on a Mac, and OBS Studio suits anyone who needs multiple sources, Linux or a free tool. For footage someone else will cut into a launch video, the built-in recorder on your Mac, PC or phone is enough.

How do I stop notifications from showing up in a screen recording?

Turn on Do Not Disturb before you record: on a Mac through Focus in Control Center, on Windows 11 through the bell icon in the notification center (Windows key + N). Quit chat apps and email as well, because some still make sounds.

Should I record the voice-over at the same time as the product demo?

Usually not. Clicking and talking at once tends to make both worse, so record the product demo screen silently and record the voice-over later from a script.

Can Demo Editor record my screen?

No. Demo Editor is not a screen recorder: you record the demo with any tool, upload the recording, and Demo Editor's Director cuts it into a finished video.

Once the recording is done, you can upload it and the Director cuts it into a finished video with voice-over, music and a file for every feed.