THE USEFUL TECH
🔍 THE USEFUL FIND · MONDAY DISCOVERY · ISSUE #013
👋 HEY, IT'S RAJA
This week's find is one I built myself. For the last few weeks I've been working on Useful Studio, a plugin that turns Claude Code on your Mac into a motion design studio, and it's out today.
You type 1 line. It writes the story, animates every frame, checks its own work and hands you a finished video in your own brand. Below is what it makes, how it works, and the 3 things you need to run it.
🔍 The find: Useful Studio
Launch films, reels, explainers and b-roll, rendered as real MP4s on your Mac.
Why I built it
A 30-second launch film from a motion design studio costs around $3,000. Most indie apps can't spend that on one launch, so they ship with a screenshot and a paragraph.
Claude Opus 5.5 got a lot of attention for video, but the model doesn't make video. It writes code that animates in a browser tab. Turning that into an MP4 with readable text, music that fits and a vertical cut was still your job. Useful Studio does that part.
What 1 command gives you
Type /studio-launch in Claude Code and answer a few plain questions about your product. You get a 25 to 35 second launch film in 16:9 for YouTube and your site, and 9:16 for Reels and Shorts, in your colours, fonts and logo. The music hits its drop on your reveal.
Every frame of the Useful Studio launch film came out of that command. Watch it with the sound on, along with 10 more videos it made from start to finish.
The 6 kinds of video it makes
Launch films for an app or product, with your screenshots inside device frames.
Reels and Shorts that hook in the first second and loop cleanly.
Explainers with a voiceover that runs on your Mac and captions timed to every word.
B-roll graphics over your talking-head video, timed to what you say.
App Store previews from your own screen recordings, at every size Apple and Google ask for.
Blog posts turned into videos, narrated and vertical.
The last 2 come with Studio Pro, which also covers client work. All of them work with 20 templates and 12 styles you ask for by 1 word, like paper, neon or retro.
It grades its own work
/studio-critique watches each finished film and scores it from 1 to 10 on hook, readability, motion, pace, composition, brand and sound. It fixes the 3 weakest and goes again until every score is 8 or more. It also refuses to render a film where text moves while you're reading it or a line leaves the screen too soon.
The launch film finished with 10, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10 and 10.
What you need
A Mac on macOS 14 or later.
Claude Code with a paid Claude plan.
About 5 minutes for setup. The guide tells you exactly what to type.
There's no API key, no subscription and no per-video fee. Everything runs on your Mac, and your files never leave it.
📍 Where: theusefulmedia.com/studio
⏱️ Setup: about 5 minutes
💻 Needs: a Mac on macOS 14+ and Claude Code with a paid Claude plan
🎬 Makes: MP4s in 16:9 and 9:16, in your own brand
💡 Useful Studio is an independent product by The Useful Media Co, made for Claude Code. It is not made or endorsed by Anthropic.
Launch pricing ends 31 October
Useful Studio is live today. The page has the launch film, all 11 videos it made, and everything each version includes. Not ready yet? 3 of the templates are free on the same page.
If you make something with it, reply and send it to me. I'd love to see it.
See you Wednesday.
Keep it useful,
Raja · The Useful Tech
P.S. Enjoyed this? Forward it to a friend who loves their Apple gear a little too much.