AppPreview

How to record an App Preview
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Apple allowing preview videos in the App Store is extremely exciting for apps like my own [Mindscope], since its magic currently doesn't really shine through all that well in screenshots, where at first glance, it simply looks like text.

A video changes that - within a few seconds, you see entries opening up with their sub-boards, as well as how simple it is to create and move entries around.

Apple has a few conditions that need to be fulfilled in order for a preview video to be accepted for an app.

 - For iPad it needs to be 1200x900 (or 900x1200)
 - It needs to be 30 seconds max
 - It must be screen only, not a video of someone using an iPad (like the ones I did for my landing page and for my help videos)

It seemed a bit too complicated to get my video done, so for my future self and anyone else out there for whom this information might be helpful, here are the steps I took to get an app video made. There may be an easier way - if so, I'd appreciate hearing it!

Record the Video with QuickTime
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 1. With Yosemite and iOS 8, connect the iPad to the computer, and open QuickTime Player.
 2. New -> New Movie Recording 
 3. Choose iPad as recording source from the dropdown menu of the record button.
 4. Now you can record your footage.

Edit in iMovie
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 1. Create a new Movie in iMovie
 2. Import the .mov that you created in QuickTime
 3. Clip the movie to size, add a few text effects if you want (but don't overdo it), add a little jingle if necessary.
 4. Save the movie as HD 1080P (Share -> File -> HD 1080P)
 5. You will now have a 1920x1080 movie with black bars.

We still need the 1200x900 resolution, and we're going to want to get rid of the black bars. To do this, we will use the wonderful, open source tool [Avidemux].

Convert in Avidemux
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 1. [Download Avidemux]
 2. Set "Mpeg4 AVC (x264)" as your Video Output
 3. In the Filters for the Video Output, add a Crop Filter (240 pixels on either side), and then add a Scale Filter (to 1200x900)
 4. Set MP4v2 Muxer as the Output Format
 5. Save your video as MP4

That's it! Now you can upload this video in iTunes Connect.

[Avidemux]:http://avidemux.sourceforge.net
[Download Avidemux]:http://www.videohelp.com/download/Avidemux_2.6.8_ml_64bits.dmg
[Mindscope]:http://www.mindscopeapp.com