Screen Recordings on aitasks

Bug Report from a Recording

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Someone sends you repro.mp4: a minute of tapping through an app, with something going wrong somewhere in it. This walkthrough gets you from the clip to a numbered, frame-cited account of what happened, ready to become a task.

Before you start

A good recording makes everything below easier. Ask for touches to be shown, the screen to be still for a moment around the problem, and Do Not Disturb to be on — see Recording Tips.

Animation from a Prototype Recording

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A designer sends a prototype clip, or you want to match how a competitor’s sheet slides in. “Make it feel like this” needs numbers: a duration and an easing curve. This walkthrough measures them from the recording and turns them into code.

Before you start

Measure from source when you can. Compose Animation Preview in Android Studio, or the Animations panel in Chrome DevTools, shows the real durations and curves. A curve fitted from video is the answer when there is no source: a designer’s prototype, a competitor’s app, a production build.
One motion per recording, with the screen still for about half a second before and after it.
60 fps or more. For the most precise timing, record with animations slowed down — see Slowed capture.

More capture advice is in Recording Tips.

Recording Tips

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A good recording beats any amount of analysis. Hand the person recording the part that fits their situation.

For any recording

Keep still around the action. Leave the screen still for about half a second before and after it; that gives clean start and end pictures.
One thing per recording when measuring an animation.
Turn on Do Not Disturb. A notification sliding in during an animation corrupts the measurement.
Record at 60 fps or more. Frame rate matters more than resolution.
Measure from source when you can. Compose Animation Preview in Android Studio, and the Animations panel in Chrome DevTools, show the real durations and curves. A curve fitted from video is the fallback when there is no source.

Android

adb shell settings put system show_touches 1 # draw taps (bug reports)
adb shell screenrecord --bit-rate 8M /sdcard/rec.mp4 # Ctrl-C to stop
adb pull /sdcard/rec.mp4
adb shell settings put system show_touches 0

Length and size. screenrecord stops after 180 seconds by default; --time-limit N sets another limit, and from Android 14 --time-limit 0 removes it. --size WxH lowers the resolution, which is fine for bug reports.