Most coverage of this moment will frame it as a surprising reversal. I don’t think it’s surprising at all. In fact, I think Sora is the first of many.

I am not writing this as neutral observers. I was part of building an AI video product. I was responsible for launching it and watched what happened. From the learning of real users, real prompts, regional data and real revenue I learnt is that the structural problems that killed Sora are not unique to OpenAI. They are present in almost every general-purpose AI video platform operating today.

This is what we saw.

The world before Gen AI video: what was already working

To understand where Gen AI video went wrong, we need to understand what it was trying to replace.

A Hollywood feature film, a national TV commercial, a corporate training video, a social media reel, and a news broadcast are not the same product at different price points. They are fundamentally different things, produced by different people, for different reasons, under different quality standards.

A corporate training video values clarity, multilingual accessibility, and the ability to update when a product changes. A social media clip values immediate visual impact, format compatibility, and the ability to produce at volume. A feature film values performance, narrative continuity, and emotional truth that audiences feel rather than analyse.

Each segment had its own definition of quality. A training video that would embarrass a film director was perfectly adequate for its purpose. A social clip that would get a brand manager fired was exactly what a creator needed.

Gen AI video arrived claiming it could serve all of these at once. That was the first mistake.

How the technology actually works and what it costs

The mechanism behind Gen AI video is elegant in theory. The model starts with pure random noise (remember a television screen with no signal?) and is trained to gradually subtract that noise, guided by a text description, until coherent frames emerge. Do this across many frames simultaneously, with the model learning how objects, light, and motion behave over time, and you get video.

What this description obscures is the cost.

• Generating a minute of AI video at frontier quality consumes roughly 2 to 10 watt-hours of energy
• It requires a high-end GPU running for several minutes, and costs the provider between $0.50 and $2.00 in raw compute
• Then comes the costs involved in infrastructure, staffing and the cost of training the model itself, which runs into tens of millions of dollars per major version.

Most consumer-facing AI video platforms launched at price points well below this cost. Some offered free tiers with generous credit allowances. The logic was the same logic that drove early cloud computing and early streaming: lose money now, acquire users, optimize costs later, convert free users to paid at scale.

This logic requires conversion. And conversion requires that the free user eventually derives enough value to pay. What the platforms discovered and what we discovered at Vmaker AI is that the majority of free users had no intention of ever paying, because they had no downstream use for the video they were generating.

The prompt is the product, and it tells you everything

Here is something no analyst can tell you from the outside, because it requires access to actual prompt data: the difference between a user who will pay and a user who will not is visible in the first thing they type.

At Vmaker AI, we observed a stark and consistent pattern across our user base. Paying users (the ones who converted), exported, and came back. They wrote prompts that looked nothing like what you would expect from an “AI video” product. The prompts were cleanly operational.

Paying users wrote prompts like briefs: “Create an informational video on AI in the workplace for LinkedIn.” Free users wrote prompts like dreams: “A cat flying through Mars with a spaceship in the background.”

The paying user already knew what the video was for. They had a platform in mind. They had an audience in mind. They had use cases like informational content on trending topics, product explainers, knowledge videos for social channels. Their prompt was a clean work instruction and not a creative experiment.

The free user was exploring the boundary of what the technology could imagine. That is a legitimate and interesting thing to do. It is not, however, a behaviour that generates revenue. The exploration prompt produces an output that has nowhere to go. No platform, no audience, no downstream purpose.

What made this finding actionable was the next observation: the users who published their video also upgraded. The correlation was strong enough to become a product principle for us. The act of publishing the AI output and putting it in front of a real audience was the clearest signal of intent we had. Users who stopped at generation never converted. Users who got to publication almost always did.

Publish → Upgrade the strongest conversion signal we found. Users who published their video converted to paid at dramatically higher rates than those who generated but did not publish.

This has a direct implication for how AI video platforms should be designed. The goal should not be to maximise generation volume. It should be to minimise the distance between generation and publication. Every feature, every UX decision, every prompt template should be oriented toward getting the user to a publishable output as fast as possible. That is where economic value lives.

The regional split nobody is talking about

The second pattern we observed was geographic and it is one we have not seen discussed anywhere in the public conversation about AI video adoption.

Usage and value did not correlate by region. They inverted.

Users from APAC-dominated markets generated high volumes of content. But their prompt behaviour reflected the same exploratory, non-specific pattern untethered to a publishing destination. The result was high usage, high compute cost, and low download rates. These users were engaging with the product not as a tool but as a novelty.

Users from North America, the EU, and Australia showed the opposite pattern. Sharper prompts. Specific use cases. Clear platform intent. And they downloaded and published at dramatically higher rates.

65% of all downloaded videos on Vmaker AI came from North American and European users despite those regions representing a smaller share of total generations.

This matters beyond the economics of our specific product. It suggests that the creator economy’s maturity in a region directly affects whether AI video tools generate real output or just generate activity. In markets where creators already have an established relationship with platforms, audiences, and content formats, AI video slips naturally into an existing workflow. In markets where that infrastructure is still developing, AI video becomes entertainment that is interesting to try, not useful enough to publish.

The implication for platforms burning compute on global free tiers is significant. Not all usage is equal. A generation from a user with a publishing destination is worth multiples of a generation from a user who is curious about what the technology can do. Treating them identically in your cost model is how you arrive at Sora’s economics.

What high-intent users actually do differently

Beyond the prompt and the geography, there was a third dimension that separated our high-value users from the rest: what they did after the first generation.

Low-intent users treated AI output as a finished product. They generated, evaluated, and either kept it or discarded it. The interaction was transactional and shallow.

High-intent users treated AI output as a starting point. They customised. They added branding. They layered in additional footage alongside the AI-generated content rather than relying on it exclusively. They were comfortable and often enthusiastic about connecting their social channels for direct publishing from within the platform.

The highest-value users did not blindly use the AI output. They collaborated with it. The AI gave them a foundation; they made it theirs.

This behavioural signature has a name in product development: it is the difference between a user and a creator. Users consume outputs. Creators transform them. The creator behaviour patterns of customizing, branding, augmentation, publishing is what separates a platform with sustainable retention from one with a leaky free tier.

It also explains why constraining the use case improved our outcomes. When we narrowed to vertical social video, we attracted users who already had a social media workflow. Those users already knew how to take a piece of content and make it their own. The format constraint filtered for the creator behaviour pattern almost automatically.

What was intended and where it went wrong at scale

The platforms that launched general-purpose AI video (Sora included) were not naïve about their audience. They intended to serve creative professionals: marketers, filmmakers, content studios, agencies with defined outputs and the skills to prompt effectively.

What they failed to anticipate was what happens when you make a powerful, low-friction tool free and point it at the internet. The intended audience showed up. So did everyone else.

The majority of early AI video usage had no commercial application. Our support queues filled with requests for outputs that had no economic equivalent. They were scenes from private imagination, concepts that existed only as creative experiments, video equivalents of dreams. Content trended toward NSFW categories in volumes that created moderation costs on top of compute costs.

It is like helping someone bring their dream to life. But your dream does not necessarily have any economic value.

This was a failure of product-market fit at the category level. The platforms built tools that were most compelling to the users least likely to pay, and least compelling to the users most likely to pay.

At Vmaker AI, less than 20% of our open beta users found the output genuinely useful for their actual needs. The rest were exploring, experimenting, and in many cases exploiting the free compute allocation with content that had nowhere to go.

Sora’s $155 million EBITDA loss in 2024, on roughly $44 million in recognised revenue, is the arithmetic of this dynamic at OpenAI scale. It’s actually not a management failure. It is the predictable outcome of giving away a computationally expensive product to an audience that cannot convert.

Why Sora will not be the last

The conditions that led to Sora’s shutdown are structural to the general-purpose AI video category, not specific to OpenAI.

Any model offering open-ended video generation at low cost will attract the same user distribution: a large majority with no commercial intent, and a small minority with genuine need. The majority drives cost. The minority drives revenue.

The platforms most at risk share a recognisable profile: large rounds raised on impressive demo reels, high monthly active user counts, high compute infrastructure, and monthly paying user rates below 5%. The gap between demo virality and subscription economics is where this category will continue to break.

OpenAI is shutting down Sora is not the failure of technology. It is shutting it down because the company is heading toward an IPO and cannot justify a product losing more than three dollars for every dollar it earns, especially when those compute resources could support ChatGPT, Codex, and enterprise API products with far better margins. The same calculation is coming for others. The only variable is timing.

Who survives and the one problem nobody has solved

The companies building durable businesses in AI video share a single characteristic: they constrained the use case before the market forced them to.

Synthesia sells AI avatar video for corporate training and communications. It does not try to generate beach sunsets or car chases. It generates a person speaking to camera, in 140 languages, in your brand style, updateable in minutes. The use case is defined, the quality bar is predictable, and the willingness to pay is established.

Runway has survived by building a workflow platform for creative professionals. People who already know what they want, have the skills to prompt effectively, and have downstream commercial use for the output. Its camera controls, inpainting, and video extension tools are not features meant for the general consumer but features for the working filmmaker who needs to stay inside one platform.

The pattern is consistent: the survivors are not the ones with the most impressive general-purpose demos. They are the ones who answered the question nobody else wanted to ask. Who specifically is paying for this, for what output, and why is that output worth more to them than the cost of producing it?

We should be honest about what even the survivors have not solved. At Vmaker AI, our most satisfied users still tell us the same thing: they have a specific style in mind that the model cannot quite reach. Vertical optimisation solved the format problem. It did not solve the individual aesthetic problem. Every creator has a visual identity, a pace, a colour palette, a cut style that lives in their head and cannot yet be transmitted through a prompt.

The gap between “a video that meets the format” and “a video that feels like mine” is the next frontier. Some of it will be closed by better personalisation by learning from a user’s publishing history, their brand assets, their previous outputs. Some of it will require editing tools that let the creator close the last mile themselves. Some of it will simply remain unsolved for longer than the industry’s optimism suggests.

What this means for consumers and builders

The consolidation beginning now will not be bad for consumers. It will be clarifying.

The era of “AI video can do anything” will give way to an era of AI video tools that do specific things exceptionally well. Corporate video teams will have purpose-built tools integrated into their workflow. Social media creators will have tools designed for their formats and publishing cadence. Filmmakers will have tools that augment pre-production and post-production without pretending to replace the camera.

The general consumer who signed up for Sora hoping for a magic video wand will be disappointed. But the marketing manager who needs 50 variants of a product video, the L&D team that needs a training module updated overnight, the creator who needs a week’s worth of vertical content by Tuesday morning — these users will be better served by what comes next.

For builders, the lesson is not that AI video is a bad business. It is that AI video as a commodity served to everyone, priced near zero, with no defined use case is a bad business. The same technology applied to a specific problem, for a specific user who derives measurable value, is a very good business.

The signal is in the prompt. The signal is in the geography. The signal is in whether the user publishes. Every platform in this category has access to these signals. The ones that act on them will still be here in two years. The ones that keep chasing demo virality will follow Sora.

About Vmaker AI

Vmaker AI is a video creation platform built for social media creators and marketing teams. After learning from an open-ended AI video beta, Vmaker AI pivoted to focus specifically on vertical short-form AI avatar video — a decision driven by real user signal, real prompt data, and the conviction that Gen AI video only works when it is built for a specific use case, not every use case.

As part of the latest updates, the three new features that have been launched on Vmaker are 

1. AI-Powered Virtual background
2. Computer audio recording 
3. Advanced Privacy and security

If you’ve been following our product roadmap, I am sure you knew these features were coming and they are finally out for you to try out!

Let’s look at these sparkling new features in detail and how you can use them on Vmaker.

This is by far the coolest feature you can get your hands on Vmaker. If you’re recording your screen and webcam with voiceover, you’ll absolutely love this feature. With Virtual background, you can customize your background in the webcam bubble using some really cool default backgrounds. Not just that, you can also upload a custom background image from your PC or have a transparent background. If humor is your winning formula, you gotta try this feature with some really quirky backgrounds. For professional use, you can upload a picture of your office space or a corporate environment with a pleasant ambiance. Your viewers will think you actually recorded the video from the place that they see in your background. 

Virtual background and frames feature on Vmaker

The already available frames feature perfectly complements the virtual background feature on Vmaker. Users get a plethora of customization options that allow them to create the perfect webcam bubble with a background that complements the video. For example, a gamer can use the frames feature to use a square webcam bubble and add transparent background to achieve a unique webcam look. 

Here are the steps to use use the virtual background feature on Vmaker 

Step 1: Launch Vmaker and select the screen and webcam recording option

Step 2: Click on the virtual background icon near the webcam bubble

Step 3: Choose your preferred background from the default options

Step 5: Click on remove background to completely remove the background from your webcam bubble

The virtual background feature can come handy for different use cases. Here’s how this feature is helpful for the most common use cases 

1. Training/Tutorial videos

Training and tutorial video creators can choose to add their brand logo, tagline, or a picture of the office space to enhance the look of the video. 

2. Presentation videos

Presentation videos particularly can benefit from the virtual background. It allows you to use backgrounds such as office spaces. Even if you are working from home, the virtual background can give a professional look to the videos with an office setup-like background. 

3. Gaming videos

Most commonly gamers prefer having their webcam background transparent while recording games. This along with the frames feature allows you to have a square webcam bubble and a transparent background.

4. Educational videos

Adding a background that reflects the topic or the subject covered in the video. This helps grasp the attention of the students and the video helps them connect to the subject in an engaging way. 

The key to an engaging video is crisp and clear audio. If you work from home or have a workplace that has sound intrusion enough to disturb your video’s audio, the computer audio feature can come in extremely handy to you. 

This feature allows you to record the audio directly from your computer with headphones connected while recording videos. 

The prerequisite for using this feature is a headphone connected to your computer. For example, if you’re attending a meeting with your headphones connected, you can choose to record the audio of the meeting directly from the computer. 

Let’s look at how to use the computer audio feature on Vmaker 

Step 1: Launch the Vmaker application and select the current tab recording

Step 2: Click on the computer audio button

Step 3: Click on start recording

The audio from the video that you are recording will be recorded directly from the computer. 

While using the Vmaker desktop application, the steps have to be followed. However, the current tab recording option need not be selected. 

With advanced privacy and security settings, handling the visibility of Vmaker videos has been made extremely easy. You can set up privacy at two different levels on Vmaker. The first one is master privacy settings and the second one is privacy settings for individual videos. You can choose to use the privacy level that best suits your needs. Let’s look at the two levels of privacy settings in detail 

Bonus Read: Check all the Features of Vmaker Screen Recorder

Master privacy settings 

Under master privacy settings, you can control the privacy of your videos primarily in two ways. 

1. Disable download for all videos 

As the name suggests, disabling download for all videos will remove the download button from all your Vmaker videos. If you are looking to share your videos with others but don’t want them to download your videos, you can disable downloading in the master privacy and security settings section. 

2. Make all my videos private 

Under master privacy and security settings, you can make all your videos private by enabling ‘’make my videos private’’. This means only you will be able to view your videos. Anyone other than you with the link to your videos will not be able to view them.

Privacy settings for individual videos

1. Disable download for individual video 

If you want to have privacy control over a specific video, you can do that using the disable download button on the player page. Before sharing the video, you can choose to disable the download button so the viewer can be restricted from downloading the video. 

2. Make video private 

You can choose to make the specific video private by enabling make this video private. This means nobody else other than you can view the video. This video comes in handy when you want to make a video private after it has been shared with someone. Do note that to control the privacy and security of videos individually, the master privacy and security settings must be turned off.

With the advanced privacy and security settings, you get to flexibly control the privacy of your videos in the most convenient way. 

It’s time for you to try out these features on Vmaker! They’re focussed perfectly on creating an engaging video recording experience, along with enhanced recording quality. Not just that, you get complete control over the privacy of your videos. If you still haven’t had the chance to use Vmaker, you can sign up right away and experience.

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Best AI Video Editors: Insights from Top Global Creators

Instructional videos are great for demonstrating a process or creating a step-by-step guide. There are tons of reasons to create instructional videos. You can create instructional videos for educational purposes, HR training, Product or service, and so on and so forth.

There are a couple of ways to create instructional videos. Animated, screen recorded, and videos are created by recording the narrator using a camera. 

Animated videos

These types of videos are pretty effective and eye-catching! If done correctly, animated videos are great for instructional videos. But, they come with their own flaws. Animated videos are pretty expensive to create! They require a specialist to illustrate and animate the entire video. The turnaround time isn’t particularly quick either.

Camera recorded videos 

Such videos are effective in accomplishing the objective of the videos. The face of the narrator helps build a one-to-one connection between the narrator and viewer. However, these types of videos are laborious to create. They require a high-quality camera, proper lighting, and a suitable background. Not just that, once the video is recorded, it needs to go through the process of editing. This makes it expensive and labor-intensive. 

Screen recorded videos

These videos are picking up the pace very quickly in recent times. Screen recorded videos are created by recording screen, webcam, and voiceover simultaneously using an online tool. Such videos are easy to create and extremely cost-effective. There is usually a need for only basic equipment such as a PC and webcam. With no special skills required, anyone can create screen-recorded videos. 

If you’re looking for a fast, easy, and cost-effective method to create instructional videos, screen recorded video is the way to go. Naturally, we will be focussing on these videos in our article.

Before we go any further. Setting the purpose of your instructional video is extremely important. Once that is set, you can fix the duration of your video in such a way that it is effective for the viewers. 

Let’s look at the optimum duration for videos based on their purposes.

1. For educational purposes, your videos can be between 10 to 15 minutes long
2. For Product/Service instructional videos. It’s better to keep the video length less than 4 minutes. 
3. For HR training, the videos can be between 3 and 7 minutes. 

Here is a tip: It’s always better to keep your videos as short as possible. 

Overcoming practical hurdles

The world is moving towards simple solutions to complex problems. A lot of us are working from home nowadays and we don’t necessarily have access to fancy equipment, aesthetic background, or even a noise-free environment. In fact, that’s totally okay! You don’t need any of it or even a script when you use a screen recorder to create instructional videos.

Step 1: Create a storyboard.

Wait!  don’t freak out. It’s not an artistic storyboard. All you have to do is list down the points that you want to include in each scene. For example, the content for introduction, topics covered, key takeaways, tips, and tricks, call to action, etc. You can add prompts or just one-liners that will give you the context of what to talk about in a particular scene. 

This will help you progress with your content as you record the video. You can create a simple storyboard on a PowerPoint presentation. Set up slides for different sections and write down the topics to be covered in a 2X2 box. 

You can also make use of online storyboard creators should you wish. 

Step 2: Getting feedback

Share your storyboard with friends and colleagues. This will help you get a third-person perspective and help you make the video effective. 

Step 3: (Not) Writing a script.

Technically this would’ve been the next step but we’re gonna skip it. Since we’re creating an instructional video by recording screen and webcam, the screen that you show to your viewers will give you context and help you explain without a script. 

It’s always a good idea to keep things simple, right? Vmaker is the best instructional video maker for making instructional videos that keep its core functionality and usability simple for both paid and free users. If you’re looking for unmatched quality and performance, Vmaker is the right choice for you. You can record your videos effortlessly and have them saved in cloud storage. This helps you free up space on your PC and makes it easier for you to share the videos that you record using Vmaker. With that said, it’s time to set up Vmaker and get going with the video. 

Setting up Vmaker on your PC (step by step process to make instructional videos)

Let me show you how you can set up Vmaker on your computer.

1. Visit www.vmaker.com and Sign up using your email address or social login credentials. 

2. Once you have logged in, you’ll be taken to your dashboard. Click on the download button and add the Vmaker Chrome plug-in to your dashboard. If you’re a Mac or Windows user, you can download and install the Vmaker’s Screen Recorder for Mac or Vmaker’s Screen Recorder for Windows.

3. After installing the Vmaker Chrome plug-in, pin Vmaker to your chrome browser so that you can access it quickly.

4. Click on the Vmaker icon to launch Vmaker. 

5. Open preferences and turn on noise cancellation. (this will help cut down any unwanted background noise.

6. You can also turn on the mouse emphasis feature to highlight the sections when you click. 

7. Return to the application main screen and select the screen and webcam recording option. 

8. You can set up a frame for your webcam bubble by clicking on the confetti icon. 

10. Choose the frame of your choice. You can either get quirky with the fancy ones or select a purposeful one and set up your name. 
11. You can also use the frame feature to tell what the video is about by giving a title.

12. Move and place the webcam bubble to the section on the screen of your choice.
13. You’re all set now, click on the start recording button to get started.

Recording in progress

When creating your instruction video, you can use the screen annotations feature to draw and highlight the section of your video. It helps make your video engaging and grabs the audience’s attention. 

In addition to that, you can use the mouse emphasis feature as well. Using this, whenever you make a click, the mouse is highlighted. This is very useful in showing your viewers the movement and actions of your mouse. 

As you record, you can pause the video if you make a mistake. You don’t have to start from the beginning. The unwanted section can later be removed in the editor. Just click on the play button to resume the recording and start from where you left. 

Some people prefer having a perfect video without any flaws. That’s totally okay. But trust me, if you make mistakes, it’s easier to edit it out than recording the video over and over again! 

When you’re done, click on the stop button to stop the recording on the left-hand side of the screen, or just click on the Screen Recorder chrome extension. This is where the magic happens! Your video is automatically uploaded to the Vmaker cloud storage. You can access this video on the player page or through your dashboard. 

The next step is to edit the video. Before you do that, it’s always a good idea to duplicate your video so that you always have the original video as a backup. 

Click on the edit button to open your video in the editor. You can trim the unwanted section by selecting the section that you want to retain in the video. 

If you have multiple sections to remove, just duplicate the scenes and trim out the rough edges. 

You can also add intro and end slides using the scenes feature. Just upload the intro and end slides in mp4 format to the editor. Just add scenes to the start and end of the video and place the intro/end slides that you have uploaded.

Now all you have to do is export the video. Select the resolution of your choice and click on export. You will see a render scene. Don’t close the browser when this is happening. Your video will be available on your dashboard when it has been successfully rendered. 

Getting feedback for the video. 

Now that you have created your instructional video, you can show it to your colleagues and friends to get feedback. Don’t freak out if they suggest you make some changes. You can record the revised sections on Vmaker, download them, and merge them with the existing video using the scenes feature on the editor. 

All you have to do is follow the same steps that you did to add the intro and end slides on the editor. 

Once the final video is ready, you can download the video from the player page by clicking on the download button or directly share it to YouTube or other social media platforms effortlessly. 

Just click on the share button and click on the YouTube icon. Add your YouTube channel and that’s it. Your video will now be directly uploaded to YouTube from Vmaker. Saves you time, isn’t it?

To share the video on social media or any other channel, just copy the video Url and paste it on other platforms. Your viewers can click on the link and watch the video without downloading it to their device.

You can also embed the video on your landing page by copying the embed code and using it on your landing page. 

That was pretty straightforward, wasn’t it? Let me give you a few more tips that will help you with your instructional videos

1. A personal computer

You can use a laptop or a desktop computer. You don’t really need a machine that is of high configuration. If you are planning to use a laptop, it is better to connect a mouse to your computer. When using a screen recorder, it is better to use annotation tools with a mouse.

2.  A Webcam

If your computer has an inbuilt camera, it should get the job done. However, if you are looking for better quality, you can go for a USB webcam that records in high definition. You can go ahead and get a webcam from an online marketplace that is compatible with your computer. 

3. A Selfie light

It’s better to use a selfie light when recording your webcam. Do make sure that you select the type of selfie light which you can comfortably place on a table. This will make sure that when you record yourself, the light is spread evenly across your face. There are certain selfie light models which are suitable for mobile recording only. 

4. A microphone

You can opt for a USB microphone that directly connects to your computer. Make sure you choose a podcasting microphone that comes with a pop filter. A podcasting microphone is better at filtering out ambient noise and provides the right amount of amplification for non-studio recording purposes. 

1. If you’re working from home and looking to record the video, make sure you find a place that’s well lit. 
2. Pick a time to record when you can avoid natural noises and distractions. I prefer recording my videos at night (zero disturbance). If you’re working from the office, just find yourself a place that’s quiet and let your colleagues know that you don’t want to be disturbed. 
3. Select the scenes/visuals that you want to include in your video before you start recording and add them to your storyboard.
4. Clean up your desktop! It’s a good idea to remove all unwanted files from your desktop and hide your personal data before you start recording. 
5. Make sure your speech is loud and clear. Adding dynamics to your voice will be a great plus. 
6. Having your face appear in the video will help make your video look personalized and make it easier for the viewer to connect with your content. 
7. Highlight the important parts of your screen using screen annotations while recording. 

Screen recorders are tools that allow you to create videos by recording your screen and webcam. There are some really great screen recorders available online. Let’s take a look at the top 5 screen recorders that you should consider for creating your instructional videos.

Vmaker AI:

Vmaker AI is one of the latest tools in the market. It lets you create, edit, and record your screen, webcam, or both with voice-over. The biggest USP of Vmaker is the versatility it offers with video creation and editing. There are tons of smart features that make Vmaker a terrific product. To name a few, Vmaker has screen annotations, mouse emphasis, an inbuilt editor, unlimited recording, and cloud storage capabilities. Vmaker also offers a complete white labeling solution that allows you to add your brand logo, colors and have a custom Url for the videos. All this comes with unmatched pricing and robust reliability making it the best app for making instructional videos.

Vmaker Highlights

• Unlimited recording and cloud storage in the free version
• Extremely reliable
• Value for money proposition
• Automated video editing software
• AI Subtitle Generator in over 100 languages
• Supports up to 4k recording
• Strong customer support
• Manual video editing suite including a video cutter, video trimmer, video merger, video speed changer, aspect ratio adjustment, video cropper, video resizer, add text to video, add voice to video, and more.

Here is an elaborate guide on How to Make Instructional Videos with Screen Recording using Vmaker.

Screencastify

Screencastify was launched in 2013 and it was one of the first screen recorders available. It’s been in the market for more than 8 years but there are key aspects where it differs from some of the latest tools. There is no cloud storage provided by Screencastify. The recorded videos are directly uploaded to the user’s google drive. This means if you have limited storage on your Google drive, things could get a bit difficult. The screen recorder and editor are not offered as part of one pack. The upside is that you can choose to purchase the screen recorder and editor separately or together based on your requirements. Unlike some newer tools, there is no white-labeling solution offered by Screencastify.

Screencastify Highlights

1. No limits on the number of video recordings (Google drive storage dependent)
2. Screen recorder and editor are not included as one package.
3. The videos can be directly stored on your local device as well
4. No monthly subscription is available. Only yearly subscriptions.
5. Some key features offered by newer tools missing.

Here is a detailed Vmaker vs Screencastify comparison

Loom

Loom is one of the most familiar names when it comes to screen recorders. Users have appreciated Loom for its user-friendly interface and some key functionalities in the player. Though the premium version is pretty loaded, Loom’s free plan is not exactly usable. There is a limit of 5 minutes on the recording duration on the free plan. Also, users have pointed out the customer support isn’t up to the mark. Loom still offers a very polished experience for users in the premium plan. 

Loom Highlights

1. User-friendly interface
2. Proven tool in the market
3. Only gets trim functionality to edit video
4. Cannot add scenes to a video
5. Average customer support

Here is a detailed Loom vs Vmaker comparison

Movavi

Movavi is a screen recorder primarily focused on individual users. There is an option of Mac application or Windows application for the users to choose from. Movavi is a pretty reliable tool for screen recording purposes. There are a couple of drawbacks. There is a huge watermark added to the video when recorded using the free version. Also, if you are looking to use the tool for team collaboration, you might want to look elsewhere. There are no collaborative features available. Also, the complete package is available only for a yearly subscription. If you are looking to use Movavi for a one-time purpose, you will still have to purchase the tool for an entire year. 

Movavi Highlights

1. The paid plan is a great option for individual users
2. Native applications available for Mac and Windows
3. Easy to use interface
4. Video recorded on the free plan has watermarks.
5. Cannot be licensed on a monthly basis. 

Here is a detailed Vmaker vs Movavi comparison

Snagit

Snagit is a competent product from the stable of Techsmith. It is available in the form of both Mac applications and Windows applications. The long history of Techsmith is clearly shown in the functionalities of Snagit. In addition to screen and webcam recording, you can also take screenshots using Snagit. However, it lags behind when it comes to technological advancement in storage. Snagit saves all the data in your computer. Meaning, you will run out of storage if you create long videos. Also, there is no unlimited recording for the free users. Snagit can be purchased only for a yearly subscription. There is no monthly subscription plan for occasional users. 

Snagit Highlights

1. Has been in the market for a long time
2. Good for local storage purposes
3. Can also be used for screen grands
4. Very limited recording options and features for free users
5. Only available for a yearly subscription
6. Unavailability of cloud storage options

Here is a detailed Vmaker vs Snagit comparison.

1. Always keep in mind the intent and persona of your audience when creating the video. You have to make sure that you give an in-depth representation of your instructions. Follow a constant pace when recording your video. Use simple language to understand language. Also, try to address all the questions that may arise in the viewer’s mind. 
2. Keep your video uncluttered. Make sure your topic, storyboard and content are aligned and easy to understand.  Avoid including any information that may confuse your viewer. Remove any information or file from your screen that may be distracting. 
3. If you have multiple topics to cover, create separate videos for each topic rather than creating just one video. 
4. Always get feedback from your friends and colleagues for the videos that you create. Feedback is the key to improvement! 

Here is an instructional video made on how to make instructional videos without a script.

Take it easy with your first video

It’s okay if your first instructional video is not the perfect one. The first few ones are always rough around the edges. You can improve progressively with practice. If you have questions or need help with Vmaker, you can always get in touch with our customer support team through live chat. There’s always someone from our team to catch your back! One of the main reasons why our users love Vmaker. 

You can get started with creating your instructional video right away by clicking here and signing up for Vmaker instructional video maker.

If you enjoyed reading the above article, then here are a few cherry-picked ones you might be interested in reading further!

Ultimate Tutorial videos Guide with Tips and Free Template

A Complete Guide On Product Videos ~ Definition, Types and Tips

​​How to make a product demo video

How to make a video resume (with Pro Tips)

How to create training videos – Step by Step Guide

With the launch of these Vmaker integrations, our users are sure to experience improved user-friendliness thereby directly boosting productivity and efficiency. 

To leverage these integrations,  make sure that you have the latest version of Vmaker chrome plug-in installed on your Google Chrome browser. You can either click on check for updates under settings or simply quit and relaunch your chrome browser. 

You can draft emails and add videos or reply to emails using Vmaker videos. To record a video email, open Gmail and click on compose email or reply to an email. You will see a Vmaker icon placed next to the send button in your email window

Click on it to record a video or add a video that you last recorded on Vmaker for the recipient of your email. Once you are done with it, the link to your video will be automatically generated which you can insert into the body of your email.

Accelerate code reviews and make development faster & efficient on Gitlab using Vmaker.

Traditionally, code reviews have been through screen sharing or video calls. The reviewer runs through each code and explains the revisions to the developer. This means both the reviewer and the developer have to spend a significant amount of time connecting with each other through calls. Clearly, this is a very time-consuming process. The entire process of code review can be simplified by using Vmaker’s integration with Github and Gitlab.

For code review

Send a video to your reviewer explaining your code and the changes done by you. Also, you can show your code working and avoid unnecessary questions that your reviewer might have. 

For Reviewing Code

A video gives the code reviewer context making it easier for them to understand the flow and intent of the developer. This also reduces back and forth discussions on the changes to be carried out.

Make your agile project management efficient on Jira using Vmaker to record video comments. 

Reduce the overall time taken to fix bugs by using Vmaker to record a video with a narration of the issue. Give context to the development team to understand the issue and provide a solution without the need for back and forth conversations.

Bug fixes and tasks:

The support team can re-create or record a bug in real-time and add it to the comments in Jira which the development team can refer to. If there’s a one-off issue that a user is facing, the support team can connect with the user of a screen sharing session and record the issue using Vmaker.

Stories

Sometimes, users may suggest enhancements that the support or marketing team needs to document and take it to the product team. This whole process can be made effective using Vmaker to record a video of the user suggested enhancement and creating a visual representation for the product team as reference.

Epic

User-suggested feature requests can be documented by creating a video using Vmaker. Teams can clearly define the objective of the feature request, create a case study and mention the requirements. This video will act as a go-to document for the product team to clearly understand the requirements and implement the features into the product.

With the launch of seamless Vmaker integrations with Gmail, Github, Gitlab, and Jira, Vmaker has opened new possibilities for video messaging and communication. The processes that were withheld due to the limitations of synchronous communication can now be overcome with Vmaker.

Bonus Read:The Ultimate Guide to Screen Recorder