Demo videos
When you submit your effect, you'll need to upload a demo video with it.
Demo videos show a preview of an effect to someone, giving them a flavor of what it will look like before they open it in the camera. On Instagram, they appear alongside your effect in the effect gallery and in the effect tray.
You must record your demo video in either the Facebook or Instagram camera or your effect will not be accepted.
Requirements
Your demo video must meet the Spark AR Review Policies and accurately represent your effect as it's being used in the Facebook or Instagram camera. The demo video must be suitable for consumption by the Facebook and Instagram general user base (including those aged 13 and above)
It should also be:
- Captured live and saved directly from the Instagram or Facebook camera.
- Unedited (no Boomerang videos, no text overlays).
- Recorded in portrait (vertical) orientation.
- A maximum of 15 seconds long.
- A maximum of 32MB in size.
- Uploaded as a MOV or MP4 file.
Our team will review your video to make sure that it meets these requirements. When you publish a new effect, your demo video will be reviewed at the same time as your effect. Demo videos added to existing effects will be reviewed when submitted.
Recommendations
Your demo video is a great opportunity to showcase your effect and encourage people to open it in the camera.
Follow these recommendations to make the best video possible:
- Keep your video short and to the point.
- Focus on showcasing the capabilities and elements featured in your effect.
- Shoot your video in a brightly lit environment.
- Avoid shooting your video on a busy or detailed background.
- If you include audio in your recording, remember people will be able to hear this if they have the sound on.
Example
Here's an example of a demo video that follows our recommendations and requirements:
How to capture your video
You’ll need to open your effect in the Facebook or Instagram camera to record your video. There are two ways to do this.
In Spark AR Studio:
- Click the device icon in the toolbar and select Test on device and then Send to App.
- Next to either Facebook Camera or Instagram Camera, click Send.
- After clicking send, you can also click Copy Link to send a link to yourself or someone else.
- You'll get a notification inviting you to try the effect in the camera.
In Spark AR Hub, in the demo video section of the publishing process, save your new effect submission and then:
- Under Capture video, click Open in App and then click Send.
- You can also copy the test link to send it to yourself or someone else.
- You'll get a notification inviting you to try the effect in the camera.
After opening the effect in the Facebook or Instagram camera:
- Hold the capture button — this will record your video.
- If you want to disable sound, tap the sound icon after you've finished recording your video.
- Tap the download icon — the clip will be saved to your device.
Before submitting the video, you can crop the length if you need to. Otherwise, it shouldn't be edited.
How to upload your video
Once your clip is saved to your device you need to upload it to the demo video section of Spark AR Hub.
Either upload the clip straight to the Spark AR Hub website from your mobile phone or send yourself the clip and upload it from your computer.
You can also replace demo videos for effects that have already been published. Any new videos will be reviewed. The old video will be shown until the new video has been approved.