How to make a launch video from a URL, step by step

A launch video from a URL means you start with the page you already have, not with a script and a screen recorder. You give a tool the address of your site, it reads what the site says, and it returns a short film that announces the product. LaunchReel AI works this way, and this guide covers what to prepare, what to look at on the way, and where the film goes afterwards.

The method is useful for any product that has a public page: a SaaS, an app, an extension, a developer tool, a shop. It is a poor fit for a product that exists only as an idea, because there is nothing to read yet. In that case, write two paragraphs about it and give the tool those instead.

What a URL tool actually reads

A good URL tool does not look at pixels and guess. It reads the text and structure of the page and keeps the parts that sell the product. LaunchReel reads the home page and up to three inner pages such as pricing, features or docs, only public pages, and it honours robots.txt. From those it builds six answers about your product, each with the page it came from.

• The claim: your headline and the problem it answers, in your own words.
• The proof: features, numbers and integrations that the pages actually state.
• The look: your colours, typefaces and logo, so the film looks like you.
• The interface: the elements on your pages, which are rebuilt for the film's own frame instead of being pasted in as a flat screenshot.

Step 1: check the page you are pointing at

The film can only be as clear as the page. Before you paste the address, open it as a stranger would and ask whether a sentence above the fold says what the product does and for whom. If it does not, the film will inherit the vagueness.

• Point at the page that sells, usually the home page, not a login screen or a blog post.
• Make sure the page loads without a cookie wall or a login; the reader fetches public pages only.
• If your pricing or features live on a separate page, make sure the home page links to it so it is found.

Step 2: add what a page cannot say

A page shows what is public. It does not show the screen you shipped last night or the number you are proud of but have not published. LaunchReel accepts a GitHub repository, a sentence about the product, a .zip of up to 50 MB, and up to six pictures next to the address. Use them for the one thing you most want the viewer to see, and keep the rest to the page.

Step 3: read the brief and the storyboard like an editor

Before anything is drawn, the brief and the storyboard are written out and shown as they land. There is no step where you have to confirm them before the film starts, so reading them is something you do while the first cut renders. Read them the way an editor reads a rough cut:

1. Does the first shot name a problem the viewer recognises, in under eight words?
2. Is every claim one your site actually makes? Anything the pages do not state should not be in the film.
3. Does each feature get one shot and one line, ordered by how often a user needs it?
4. Does the last shot say where to go next, with your real address on it?

Step 4: change one shot, not the whole film

When something is off, pin the shot in the chat and say what you want in plain words: a shorter line, a different order, a rename. Only that shot changes and the others stay exactly as they were, so the version you already liked stays liked. The chat first says in a short phrase what it is about to change. Every version is kept, which means you can compare and go back.

Do not worry about getting every sentence of the brief perfect on the first pass. The point of reading it early is to catch the one or two lines that are wrong while they are still cheap to fix. A line that misstates your audience, or a claim that is slightly bolder than your site, is easy to correct in the chat, and the shots that depend on it are redrawn.

Where the finished film goes

The film is a 16:9 MP4 of about 30 seconds in 1080p or 4K, with captions burned in and an .srt file next to it. Narration is on by default and can be switched off. For feeds that crop, short cuts of 5, 6, 8 or 10 seconds come in 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1 with platform-safe margins.

• Your homepage and README: the 16:9 film, embedded or linked.
• Product Hunt, Show HN and X: the film plus a short cut for the post itself; see the Product Hunt launch video guide.
• YouTube and store listings: upload the 16:9 file and link it from the listing.
• Reels, Shorts and TikTok: the 9:16 short cuts.

A checklist before you start

1. The address opens without a login and says what the product does above the fold.
2. One extra input, a picture or a sentence, for the thing the page cannot show.
3. A rough idea of where the film will be posted first, so you know which cut you need.
4. Ten minutes set aside to read the brief and the storyboard while the first cut renders.

If you want to see the shape of a good one first, the product launch video template lays out the beats second by second, and the use-case pages show how the same method reads for a SaaS, an app, a shop or a developer tool.