> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.dscout.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.dscout.com/study-basics/question-types/open-ended-questions/video-questions.md).

# Video questions

<table><thead><tr><th>Study type</th><th data-type="checkbox">Availability</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Screeners</strong></td><td>true</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Usability tests</strong></td><td>false</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Media surveys</strong></td><td>true</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Intercept studies</strong></td><td>false</td></tr><tr><td><strong>AI moderated studies</strong></td><td>false</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Diary studies</strong></td><td>true</td></tr></tbody></table>

Video questions let participants answer by recording a video or uploading one. Use a video question when you want to see and hear participants in their own words, such as showing you a room, a product in use, or an experience as it happens. In screeners, a video can also serve as proof that an applicant is eligible.

<figure><img src="https://3976082747-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FIKfn7RcT4CW9XaIbqAdd%2Fuploads%2FjrmZmj62YOZRvJpj4hTZ%2FScreenshot%202026-10-19%20at%2012.14.18%E2%80%AFPM.png?alt=media&amp;token=51622912-d584-4e10-aca5-57011c604641" alt="" width="375"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Each video question collects a single video in .mp4 or .mov format. To collect more than one video, add a separate video question for each. For the number of video questions each study type allows, see [Media limits](/study-basics/design-a-study/media-limits.md).

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** Video questions aren't available in usability tests, intercept studies, or AI moderated studies.
{% endhint %}

### Video question settings

The settings available on a video question depend on which type of study you're building. Select your study type below for more information.

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Screeners" %}
Add a video question to a screener in the **Additional questions** section of the **Screener** tab. A screener can include one video or screen recording question.

| Setting                   | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| ------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Prompt**                | The question applicants answer, such as a request for a video showing they own a required device. Tell applicants what they'll need to record the video, such as being at home or being in a car. You can format the prompt with `*bold*`, `_italic_`, and `[link text](http://example.com)`. Type @ to recall a closed-ended response from earlier in your screener. |
| **Maximum video length**  | How long applicants can record: **30 sec** or **1 min**.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| **Stimuli** (optional)    | Attach up to 5 images for applicants to react to. For more information, see [Question stimuli](/study-basics/question-types/question-settings-and-organization/question-stimuli.md).                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| **Stimuli randomization** | Presents attached stimuli in a random order to each applicant. This setting appears once the question has more than one stimulus attached.                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| **Skip logic** (optional) | Route applicants to a later question or end the screener after they answer. For more information, see [Skip logic in screeners](/study-basics/design-a-study/skip-logic-in-screeners.md).                                                                                                                                                                             |

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** Video questions aren't supported in screeners for Partner Panels. For more information, see [Recruit from Partner Panels using a screener](/recruit-participants/partner-panels/recruit-from-partner-panels-using-a-screener.md).
{% endhint %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Media surveys" %}
Add video questions on the **Media survey** tab of your builder. A participant can be asked for up to 3 video or screen recording questions.

| Setting                   | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Prompt**                | The question participants answer. Describe what the video should show or cover, and consider attaching an example as a stimulus. You can format the prompt with `*bold*`, `_italic_`, and `[link text](http://example.com)`. Type @ to recall a closed-ended response from earlier in your study. |
| **Maximum video length**  | How long participants can record: **30 sec**, **1 min**, or **2 min**.                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| **Stimuli** (optional)    | Attach up to 5 pieces of media for participants to react to. For more information, see [Question stimuli](/study-basics/question-types/question-settings-and-organization/question-stimuli.md).                                                                                                   |
| **Stimuli randomization** | Presents attached stimuli in a random order to each participant. This setting appears once the question has more than one stimulus attached.                                                                                                                                                      |
| **Skip logic** (optional) | Route participants to a later question, question group, or the end of the study after they answer. For more information, see [Skip logic](/study-basics/design-a-study/skip-logic-in-usability-tests-media-surveys-and-intercept-studies.md).                                                     |
| {% endtab %}              |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |

{% tab title="Diary studies" %}
Add video questions to a diary study on the **Questions** tab of your builder. A participant can be asked for up to 3 video or screen recording questions in an activity.

| Setting                   | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Prompt**                | The question participants answer. Describe what the video should show or cover, and consider attaching an example as a stimulus. You can format the prompt with `*bold*`, `_italic_`, and `[link text](http://example.com)`. |
| **Recording length**      | How long participants can record: **30 sec**, **1 min**, **2 min**, or **5 min**.                                                                                                                                            |
| **Video style**           | Choose **selfie**, **nonselfie**, or **either** to set which camera the recording starts on. Participants can switch cameras before they start recording. This setting doesn’t appear for desktop activities.                |
| **Stimuli** (optional)    | Attach up to 5 images for participants to react to. For more information, see [Question stimuli](/study-basics/question-types/question-settings-and-organization/question-stimuli.md).                                       |
| **Stimuli randomization** | Presents attached stimuli in a random order to each participant. This setting appears once the question has more than one stimulus attached.                                                                                 |
| **Skip logic** (optional) | Route participants to a later point in the activity after they answer. For more information, see [Skip logic in diary studies](/study-basics/design-a-study/skip-logic-in-diary-studies.md).                                 |
| {% endtab %}              |                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| {% endtabs %}             |                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |

### Add a video question to a study

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** In a screener, video questions go in the **Additional questions** section. They can't be knockout questions, and they aren't available on the screeners of auto-recruit studies, which support only multiple choice questions. For more information, see [Question types in screeners](/recruit-participants/what-are-dscout-screeners/question-types-in-screeners.md).
{% endhint %}

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
Navigate to the tab of your builder where you want the question—**Questions**, **Media survey**, or **Screener**, depending on your study type.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Click **+ Add** in the center of the builder or in the left sidebar. (**+ Add question** in diary studies, or **Add additional question** in screeners.)
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Select **Video**.

<div align="left"><figure><img src="https://3976082747-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FIKfn7RcT4CW9XaIbqAdd%2Fuploads%2FXELpRQqD7gdGAaOMrx2r%2FVideo_questions.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=30eb686c-5b67-4977-8ef3-9f255bc4cdb8" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Enter your **Prompt**.

<div align="left"><figure><img src="https://3976082747-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FIKfn7RcT4CW9XaIbqAdd%2Fuploads%2FwoMEaROp3vohBFunl9ma%2FVideo_questions%20(1).jpg?alt=media&amp;token=6010a43c-fb07-42e3-aabf-35cadd977cbc" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Configure the remaining settings. For details, see [Video question settings](#video-question-settings) above.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Click **Done**.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

#### Group and randomize video questions

Video questions work with Dscout's question-organization features:

* [**Question groups**](/study-basics/question-types/question-settings-and-organization/question-groups.md) keep related questions together and can randomize the order they're presented in.
* [**Multi-variate testing**](/study-basics/question-types/question-settings-and-organization/multi-variate-testing.md) presents different concepts or design variants to different participants.
* [**Question banks**](/study-basics/question-types/question-settings-and-organization/question-banks.md) let you save a video question and reuse it in other studies that support video questions.

### Analyze a video question

Dscout automatically transcribes each video response, so you can read what participants said alongside the video.

#### Screeners and media surveys

In the **Questions** view, a video question shows a grid of thumbnails. Each thumbnail shows the video's length, and the participant's name below it opens their full entry in a new tab. Select a thumbnail to watch the video.

Use **Sort by** to order the videos by **Newest to oldest**, **Oldest to newest**, **Participant name: A to Z**, or **Participant name: Z to A**.

If you've generated AI summaries or AI themes, they appear above the videos. For more information, see [AI summaries](/dscout-ai/built-in-ai-features/ai-summaries.md) and [AI themes](/dscout-ai/built-in-ai-features/ai-themes.md).

<figure><img src="https://3976082747-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FIKfn7RcT4CW9XaIbqAdd%2Fuploads%2FAqUeW4B3O76hsS9xziU1%2FVideo_questions%20(2).jpg?alt=media&amp;token=83e8fea8-7a15-4f8e-a45b-ace1b75204d5" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### Diary studies

In diary studies, open an entry to watch the participant's video and read its transcript with the rest of their responses. Words from video responses also appear in the [Open-ended responses view](/diary-studies/analyzing-your-diary-study/open-ended-responses-view.md).

<figure><img src="https://3976082747-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FIKfn7RcT4CW9XaIbqAdd%2Fuploads%2F37g0UOI5a3ZZOpyP6sfX%2FVideo_questions%20(3).jpg?alt=media&amp;token=a3fee79f-1673-475f-8289-b8e9f1642fa8" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### View individual responses

Open a participant's entry or session to watch their video, read the transcript, and add tags. Highlight text in the transcript to tag it. Click **Edit** to edit the video transcript directly.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Warning:** Editing a transcript removes the highlights and tags already applied to that response.
{% endhint %}

**Download** saves the video to your computer. **Download** isn't shown if you don't have permission to export data or if the study is in test mode. If you can't seem to download media from your Dscout studies, contact [Dscout Support](mailto:support@dscout.com).

<figure><img src="https://3976082747-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FIKfn7RcT4CW9XaIbqAdd%2Fuploads%2FoZxIdzyQ2wwXjUikouD8%2FVideo_questions%20(4).jpg?alt=media&amp;token=d1849eeb-5b55-46ca-8637-7479529ec03a" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### Export videos and transcripts

To download every video at once, use your study's export. In media surveys, **Entry photos and videos (.zip)** includes each video as an .mp4 file. For more information, see [Export media survey data](/media-surveys/analyze-a-media-survey/export-media-survey-data.md).

The CSV export of your study's response data has one column for each video question, which contains the transcript of each participant's video.

### Frequently asked questions

<details>

<summary>How long can a video be?</summary>

In media surveys, you can choose 30 seconds, 1 minute, or 2 minutes. In screeners, you can choose 30 seconds or 1 minute. In diary studies, you can choose 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, or 5 minutes.

</details>

<details>

<summary>How many video questions can I include?</summary>

A participant can be asked for up to 3 video or screen recording questions in a media survey or in a single diary study activity. They can be asked for 1 video or screen recording question in a screener. Video and screen recording questions share the same limit. The limits are counted along any one path through your skip logic, so what matters is the most videos any one participant could be asked for. If you go over the limit, Dscout asks you to remove video questions before you can launch your study or submit it for review.

</details>

<details>

<summary>What file types can participants upload?</summary>

Participants can upload .mp4 and .mov files.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Can participants respond in a language other than English?</summary>

Yes. Dscout detects the language participants speak and transcribes their video in that language. Dscout AI works best in English, so summaries and themes for responses in other languages may vary in quality. For more information, see the [Dscout AI FAQ](/dscout-ai/what-is-dscout-ai/dscout-ai-faq.md).

</details>

<details>

<summary>Can participants upload a screen recording to a video question?</summary>

Yes. A video question lets participants upload a file, including a screen recording they’ve already made. A screen recording question, on the other hand, requires participants to record their screen on the spot.

</details>

<details>

<summary>What happens when a participant reaches the maximum video length?</summary>

The recording timer counts down. When it reaches zero, participants get a few extra seconds to finish their thought. Then the recording stops automatically, and the video is saved with their response.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Does Dscout change participants’ videos after they upload them?</summary>

Dscout processes each video so it plays smoothly. The processed MP4 is the version you can play, download, and export. It’s scaled to fit within 1080 pixels on its longest side and set to 30 frames per second.

</details>

<details>

<summary>What if a participant’s video doesn’t finish uploading?</summary>

Dscout reminds participants when a video hasn’t finished uploading.

* **Diary studies:** Participants get an email about 4 hours after they finish an entry.
* **Media surveys taken in the mobile app:** Participants get push notifications on their phone, and an email at 4 hours.
* **What the email says:** It lists the videos that haven’t uploaded and links back to the app.
* **Where reminders don’t apply:** Neither participants who take a media survey on a computer nor applicants in screeners get these reminders.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Can I make a video question optional?</summary>

No. Dscout doesn't currently have a setting to make a question optional. To let participants skip a video, first ask a multiple choice question, such as "Can you record a video?", and use skip logic to send participants who answer "No" past the video question. For more information, see [Skip logic in usability tests, media surveys, and intercept studies](/study-basics/design-a-study/skip-logic-in-usability-tests-media-surveys-and-intercept-studies.md), [Skip logic in diary studies](/study-basics/design-a-study/skip-logic-in-diary-studies.md) and [Skip logic in screeners](/study-basics/design-a-study/skip-logic-in-screeners.md).

</details>

<details>

<summary>Can I require a selfie video?</summary>

No. **Video style** in diary studies only sets which camera the recording starts on. Participants can switch cameras before they start recording.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Why can't I add a video question to my usability test, intercept study, or AI moderated study?</summary>

Video questions aren't available in these study types because they are continuously recorded. If you want participants to answer out loud, use a [Talk out loud question](/study-basics/question-types/open-ended-questions/talk-out-loud-questions.md). For the question types each study type offers, see its question types article:

* [Question types in usability tests](/usability-tests/what-are-usability-tests-in-dscout/question-types-in-usability-tests.md)
* [Question types in intercept studies](/intercept-studies/what-are-intercept-studies-in-dscout/question-types-in-intercept-studies.md)
* [Question types in AI moderated studies](/ai-moderated-studies/what-are-ai-moderated-studies/question-types-in-ai-moderated-studies.md)

</details>

<details>

<summary>Why can't I add a video question to my Partner Panels screener?</summary>

Screeners for Partner Panels don't support video questions. You can include a video question in your study itself. For more information, see [Recruit from Partner Panels using a screener](/recruit-participants/partner-panels/recruit-from-partner-panels-using-a-screener.md).

</details>

<details>

<summary>Which Dscout AI features work on video questions?</summary>

Dscout AI can summarize video responses and group them into themes, based on their transcripts. AI summaries and AI themes need at least 5 responses to a question. For best results, wait until you have 15 or more responses. For more information, see [AI summaries](/dscout-ai/built-in-ai-features/ai-summaries.md) and [AI themes](/dscout-ai/built-in-ai-features/ai-themes.md).

</details>

<details>

<summary>Does Dscout AI use the edited version of a transcript?</summary>

Yes. Dscout AI uses the current transcript when it analyzes a video response, including any edits you’ve made.

* **Editing is destructive:** it removes the highlights and tags already applied to that response, including AI themes, which can’t be regenerated.
* **Existing AI results don’t update:** editing doesn’t change AI summaries or AI themes you’ve already generated, so make your edits before you start AI analysis.
* **More information:** see [AI summaries](/dscout-ai/built-in-ai-features/ai-summaries.md) and [AI themes](/dscout-ai/built-in-ai-features/ai-themes.md).

</details>


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