Demo Videos for Instagram Effects
If you're uploading an effect to Instagram, 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. They appear alongside your effect in Effect Gallery and in the effects tab on your Instagram profile.
Requirements
Your demo video must meet the Spark AR terms and review policies and accurately represent your effect as it's being used in the Instagram camera. Remember the demo video is public and used to promote your effect, so it should be suitable for consumption by the Instagram general user base (ages thirteen and above).
It should also be:
- Captured in the Instagram 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 record the demo video for your effect in the Instagram camera. There are two ways to do this when you're publishing an effect.
- Save your new effect as a draft at least once.
- Click Test on Device in the top right corner or Open in Instagram under Capture Video.
- Click Send to send yourself a test link for your effect in Instagram direct message. You can also Copy the link to send it to someone else.
- Click the test link.
To capture the video:
- 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
To add a video to a new effect:
If you're publishing a new effect, you'll be asked to upload your video file when you're uploading your effect in Spark Hub.
To add a video to an existing effect:
- Go to Spark AR Hub.
- Click Effects in the left sidebar.
- Click on the name of the effect you want to change.
- Click Update in the upper right corner.
- Scroll down to the Demo Video section under Media.
- Upload or capture a new demo video.
Once the video has been uploaded, you'll be able to see and play it.
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.
Choosing an icon
Once you've uploaded your video, you'll need to choose an icon for your effect. This image represents the video, before someone plays it.
You'll see a selection of thumbnails, taken from your video automatically. Select the one you like best for your icon.