Glossary
The words this site uses and what each one means here. Two have their own pages, because the whole method depends on them. Below them, the general video terms, each with a page of its own.
Verified walkthrough
A recording of a real product completing one stated task, in a clean environment, checked against evidence the product itself produced, with the attempts that failed kept in the log and a version tag that triggers a re-run.
AI operator
A model that operates real software. It opens the product, performs a stated task and runs into whatever does not work, while the screen is recorded. A video generator, by contrast, renders footage from a script.
Run log
The timestamped record of a recording session, one line per step, including every attempt that failed. It becomes the chapter markers, the written guide and the troubleshooting section.
Re-run
Repeating a recorded task on a newer build after a release touched it. A clean re-run republishes without fuss, and a failed one is flagged with its log, because it means a documented path broke.
Task coverage
The share of the tasks a user can perform in a product that have a video behind them. Count the tasks, count the videos, divide; most teams have never done it.
Version drift
The gap between what a video shows and what the product now does. It grows unnoticed with each release, and you can only detect it if each video carries the version it ran against.
Third-party video share
The proportion of videos about a product that were made by someone other than the vendor. A high share means the community is answering questions the vendor did not.
Slide-Rendered mode
A narrated video built from the run log, photographs and the manual, for hardware, physical steps and air-gapped systems where recording a screen does not help. It says openly that it was rendered and not filmed.
Live Operation mode
A screen recording of a real run, operated live, and the only mode that produces a verified walkthrough.
Designed mode
Motion graphics built on verified facts, for concepts, release notes and comparisons. On its own it proves nothing, and it is never presented as proof.
Air-gapped walkthrough
A walkthrough of a system with no network path out, where the run happens on the isolated machine and the video is rendered from the log and photographs taken on site.
Evidence
Something the product produced independently of the interface being clicked: a file in a bucket with a matching checksum, an alert arriving in another inbox, a machine that boots, a record in an API response.
Video terms
What the words mean in general, and what each one means for a product video.
Video sales letter (VSL)
A video sales letter, or VSL, is a long-form direct-response video that replaces a written sales page. A presenter or narrated slides walk the viewer from a problem, through a story and proof, to one offer with a single call to action, usually with a time limit or a bonus attached.
Closed captions vs subtitles
Closed captions are a text version of a video's audio in the same language, including speech and meaningful sounds, that the viewer can switch on or off. Subtitles are a translation of the dialogue into another language for viewers who can hear the audio but do not speak it.
B-roll
B-roll is supplementary footage edited over or between the primary shots of a video to illustrate what is being said, cover a cut or set a scene. In a product video the A-roll is the screen recording or the presenter; the B-roll is everything else: hands typing, a server rack, a close-up of the result.
How-to video
A how-to video shows a viewer how to complete one specific task, in order, from the starting state to a finished result, so they can repeat it themselves. It differs from a tutorial, which teaches a skill or a concept over several tasks, and from a walkthrough, which records one real run of the task including whatever went wrong.
Explainer video
An explainer video is a short video that explains what a product, service or idea is, the problem it solves and who it is for, in plain language and usually in under a few minutes. It answers "what is this and why should I care", not "how do I use it", which is the job of a how-to or walkthrough.
Product demo video
A product demo video is a recorded demonstration of a product in use, showing its main features and tasks on screen so a prospect can see what it does before trying or buying it. It sits between an explainer, which only describes, and a walkthrough, which records one real task including what went wrong.
Onboarding video
An onboarding video is a short video for new users of a product that takes them from their first session to a first useful result, such as a completed setup or a first task. It is usually one of a series, one step each, and releases affect it more than any other video type because it shows the first screens.
Video SEO
Video SEO is the work of making a video discoverable through search engines and AI assistants: hosting it on a page that explains it, telling search engines it is there through structured data and a video sitemap, and putting the words of the video on the page as a transcript, chapters and captions so the content can be indexed and quoted.
Live action vs animation
Live action is video of real people, places and screens captured by a camera or a screen recorder. Animation is video drawn or generated frame by frame, from 2D characters to motion graphics. For a software video the real choice is three-way: live action, animation, or a screen recording of the product itself.
Short-form vs long-form video
Short-form video is video made to be watched in a feed: brief, usually vertical, designed to hold attention from the first second and to be understood without sound. Long-form video is made to be chosen and followed: a tutorial, a walkthrough, a recorded talk, found by search and watched to the end by someone who needs it.
Raw footage
Raw footage is video exactly as the camera or screen recorder captured it, before any editing: no cuts, no speed changes, no colour correction, no overlays and no sound added. In a product walkthrough it is the primary record of what happened on screen, including the pauses and the attempts that failed.
Sound effects (SFX)
SFX stands for sound effects: sounds added to a video in editing that were not captured during recording, such as a click, a whoosh on a transition, a notification chime or an ambient room tone. In film the term also covers special effects; in video editing it almost always means audio.
Promo video
A promo video, short for promotional video, is a brief video made to raise awareness of a product, release, offer or event and to move the viewer to one next step, such as visiting a page or starting a trial. It sells the reason to look; it is not the place where the product is shown doing its job.
Corporate video
A corporate video is any video a company produces for its own purposes rather than as entertainment: a brand film, a recruiting video, internal training, an investor update, a customer story or a product video. The term covers the whole category; it says who made the video, not what it does.
Video personalization
Video personalization is the practice of producing a different version of a video for each viewer or account by inserting their details, such as a name, company, logo or figures from their data, into the picture, the narration or the sequence of scenes. It ranges from a name on a title card to a demo whose screens show the prospect's own data.
Screencast
A screencast is a video recording of what happens on a computer screen over a period of time, usually with the cursor visible and a narrator explaining the actions, used to show how software works or to document a process. A screenshot captures one moment; a screencast captures the sequence.