Click sounds, spotlights & typing FX: make screen videos tactile

Short answer: interaction effects, a soft click sound, a spotlight ring on the cursor, a keyboard sound while typing, are the cheapest engagement upgrade in screen video. They give viewers the tactile feedback the original interaction had, and they mark exactly when and where things happen.

Why tactility matters

When you use software, you feel the clicks. Your viewer doesn't, they're watching a silent film of someone else's hands. Interaction sounds restore that missing channel, and the spotlight solves the eternal "where is the cursor?" problem, especially on phones.

The three effects, ranked by impact

1. Click spotlight (visual)

A brief ring or pulse at the click point. It should be quick (~400ms), start at the click instant, and scale outward while fading. Persistent halos around the cursor look dated; momentary pulses look modern.

2. Click sound (audio)

A soft, low tick, not a mechanical camera-shutter clack. It should sit well under voiceover level. When every click in a demo is audible, pacing becomes legible: viewers subconsciously track progress through the task.

3. Typing sound + indicator (audio + visual)

A muted keyboard thock per keystroke, ideally with a small "typing…" indicator near the caret. This turns dead-air form-filling into rhythm.

Two ways to add them

Manually: download click/keyboard samples, then place one on the audio timeline for every interaction in your editor. Accurate placement is the grind, a two-minute demo can have 40+ interactions.

Automatically: recorders that capture your input stream already know every click and keystroke with millisecond timestamps. Girato generates all three effects from that data, synced by construction, each toggleable, spotlight size adjustable. Recording a demo produces the effects as a side-effect of just doing the task.

Restraint rule: effects should be felt, not noticed. If a viewer comments on your click sound, it's too loud.