Prequel: Photo & Video Editor

What it does

Prequel is a mobile photo and video editor designed for social media content creators. The app provides a vast library of trendy, aesthetic filters, effects, and one-tap templates. It heavily leverages personalization and AI to help users create eye-catching visuals with minimal effort, distinguishing itself from more utilitarian editing tools.

Where it shines

Prequel excels at making complex edits accessible. The onboarding (00:20 - 01:16) is a standout example, using an incredibly detailed quiz to tailor the user experience before they even see the main interface. The app's core strength is its template-driven video creation, where users can select a few photos (03:54) and have the app automatically generate a polished, music-synced video (04:13). Finally, its AI features, like the cartoon filter (14:27), offer dramatic, one-click transformations that provide immediate, high-impact value.

UX highlights

Template-first creation: The main feed prominently features templates (03:14), encouraging users to start from an inspiring endpoint rather than a blank canvas.
Contextual tooltips: The app uses subtle tooltips to introduce advanced features like bulk editing (07:59) and object removal (10:39) without being intrusive.
Interactive previews: When browsing effects, users can tap and hold to see a live preview on their media (05:48), making it easy to experiment quickly.
Multi-modal editing: Prequel seamlessly combines different editing modes. A user can apply a template, then dive in to add stickers (05:20), text (04:34), and fine-tune adjustments (08:18) in a layered, non-destructive way.
Clear social sharing flow: After exporting content, the app presents a clean sharing sheet (07:17) with direct shortcuts to major platforms like Instagram and TikTok, understanding its users' primary goal.
Favorites for presets: Users can save their favorite templates and presets (12:40), which appear in a dedicated 'Favorites' tab for quick access, speeding up their workflow over time.

Monetization & growth

The app introduces its subscription model after a deep personalization quiz. The paywall (01:53) cleverly uses a toggle to reframe the offer as a "3-day free trial," lowering the barrier to entry. It emphasizes a large discount (85% off) for the annual plan and shows the cost broken down per week to make it seem more affordable. The screen is also loaded with social proof, rotating through user testimonials to build trust right at the point of conversion.

Who it’s for

Prequel is clearly built for Gen Z and Millennial content creators who are active on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. The focus on aesthetics, trendy templates ('Old Money', '90s Anime'), and one-tap video creation is aimed at users who want to produce high-quality, stylized content quickly without a steep learning curve. It caters to both casual users who want to elevate their social posts and more serious creators who need to produce content in bulk.

Notes & opportunities

The onboarding quiz is a double-edged sword. While it provides deep personalization, its 11-step length could be a significant friction point leading to user drop-off. Perhaps testing a shorter version or allowing a skip option could be beneficial. Additionally, some of the AI features like body detection failed on a non-human photo (08:51), which could be a frustrating experience if the error messaging isn't clear about why it failed. Providing more context in such cases would improve the user experience.