Keyframes: the smallest possible working model

A keyframe records the value of one property at one moment. The software fills in everything between two keyframes. That is the whole idea, and once it clicks, animating a mockup becomes a matter of deciding what should be different at the end of a shot than it was at the beginning.

Two keyframes is a shot; four is usually a mistake

A push-in is two keyframes on zoom. A turn is two on rotation. Most good mockup shots are exactly one property changing between two values over two to four seconds. When a move feels busy, count the keyframes: if a single property has four or more inside one shot, it is changing direction, and direction changes read as nervousness unless they are deliberately choreographed.

Animate the camera, not the device

Rotating the device and orbiting the camera produce similar-looking results, but they feel different: a moving camera reads as the viewer approaching the product, while a spinning device reads as a turntable in a showroom. For product marketing the camera move is almost always the better choice, and it also keeps your lighting stable, since the lights stay with the scene rather than sliding across the surface.

Record, then prune

The efficient workflow is to move the camera to where you want it while recording is on, letting the tool write keyframes as you go, then delete everything you do not need. Trying to author precise values from scratch is slower and produces stiffer motion. What matters afterwards is cleanup: an accidental keyframe half a second before the intended one is the usual cause of a move that stutters at the start.