You can ship a real launch video with zero recorded footage. Founders do it every day — the four methods below differ mainly in how much of the story work (script, hook, structure) you still do yourself.
1. Screen recording (no camera, but still "footage")
QuickTime, Loom, or OBS pointed at your product. Free, authentic, and the interface is the proof. You still write the script, do the voiceover or captions, and cut it per channel. Best when your product's aha moment is visual and fast. Full walkthrough: how to make a demo video without equipment.
2. Template editors (Canva, CapCut, VEED)
Assemble screenshots, stock clips, and text overlays into a template. No footage needed, but these are editors — they arrange assets you choose and don't know what your product does. The story is entirely on you. See how they compare for launches.
3. AI video generation (Pexo, Runway, Pika)
Describe the video; a model generates it. Strong for cinematic or stylized visuals you could never film. Two catches for a launch: you write the creative direction yourself, and generic AI visuals don't show your actual product — which is what a launch audience wants to see. Comparison: SoloMax vs Pexo.
4. URL-to-video agents (SoloMax)
The only method where the story work is automated too. SoloMax reads your live product URL, extracts audience, pain, promise, and proof from your own page, proposes launch angles, and produces the launch video with hooks, captions, and posting copy for TikTok, Reels, Shorts, Product Hunt, X, and LinkedIn. No footage, no script writing, no brief. Free for the first two launch videos.
Which one should you use?
| Your situation | Use | |----------------|-----| | Product's aha moment is visual, you have 4+ hours | Screen recording | | You have brand assets and editing patience | Template editor | | You need cinematic visuals unrelated to your UI | AI generation | | You want the launch pack done from just your URL | URL-to-video agent |
The common failure isn't picking the wrong method — it's spending a week on the video while the launch window passes. Pick the method that gets a video published this week, test two hooks, and let the results tell you whether to invest more.