[data:image/svg+xml;base64,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](data:image/svg+xml;base64,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)

This guide presumes macOS.

TL;DR

• Favor capturing only the part of the screen that’s required
• Keep GIF-like videos 15 seconds or less
• Do not actually use real GIF images. Record a GIF-like video and embed it in a way that it behaves like a GIF. Only use GIFs where this is not possible, e.g. on social media or in Google slides.
• GIF-like videos are typically great for short "check this out" recordings, where videos are better at "how-to" or promotional style content
• Keep GIF-like videos and images as small as possible with no retina sizes (ratio of image size to intended display size is 1:1)
• If doing a full-screen recording, 1280x720 (720p) will produce easy to read results at default settings
• If you’re producing visual content regularly, invest in paid apps (you can expense them too):
  • Choose Cleanshot if just doing screenshots and GIF-like videos.
  • Add ScreenFlow to your list if you plan on doing videos frequently, as you will appreciate editing and clip speed-up capabilities.

Don't add title slides to videos

We almost never use title slides. Title slides are slides at the start of your video that have a Sourcegraph logo, a background, a title (like "Batch Changes demo"), and maybe a nice visual effect.

Why do we not use title slides?

1. They make the video seem less authentic, which makes it less compelling. Developers already love watching videos of other developers showing things off.
2. It takes a lot of work, and involves other people, to get it right. This means wasted time (since we don't perceive a benefit to a title slide) and, on the margin, it means that our videos will be older, more stale, and more mediocre (more cooks in the kitchen).
3. Title slides delay the "time to a wow moment".
4. It likely leads to inconsistencies. All title slides that we're currently showing on our site should be the same, if we are showing title slides. So, they'd all need to have the same layout, tone/voice of copy, timing, etc. It adds a large burden of maintenance that we don't want to take on.

If you really think your video needs one, ask for help in the #marketing channel (and cite this handbook section and explain why you need one).

Adding a screenshot

Screenshot apps