6 Essential Points when Creating an Animated Explainer Video
1. Make your Voice-over script human
Problem:
Clients come to us with technologies and services that are often super complex and hard to understand. Its usually their head of product that gives us the outline for what they want the video to say, but their head of product is too close to the product and has no clue how to speak with a layman voice that everyone can understand.
Solution:
It is our job to take extremely technical concepts and not only make them easy for people to understand, but write the voice over scripts in a way that has some levity and human flow to it. This means speaking with a narrative flow, connecting points on a chain, often in lists, with in between remarks, rather than just having dry sentences that state objective facts about a platform or service. This is an art in itself, to ensure your complex information has a human touch.
2. Create your Visuals in detailed phases
Problem:
Animators will build visuals without having vetted them with clients, and then you might have to go back to square one, and waste a lot of time.
Solution:
When building animations we always use an AV script, with Audio on the left column and video on the right. Once all audio is written then we describe the visuals for each audio section in the column next to it. We then have our artists write single-frame storyboards for approval before animating. This way no work is wasted and there is structure in the process
3. Keep it under three minutes
Problem:
People are super busy! If your product takes longer than three minutes to explain.
Solution:
Besides simply making your endite video under three minutes, if you have a very complex project or service and cant explain it in under three minutes then then that means you need to make a two-minute overview video, plus separate supplemental videos that break down the other aspects.
4. Obey the laws of physics
Problem:
Cheap animators arent trained to obey the laws of physics. Objects are not moving naturally and the video looks super cheap. We can spot these animators from a mile away and its the most obvious red flag.
Solution:
Make sure your animator knows how to easy-ease all of their keyframes, and at ramp rates that look natural. This way everything will move with natural-looking movement that will simply feel good. This includes camera movement. In physics no object moves from a speed of 0 to 10 without rapping up to ten and hitting the speeds in between. This concept must be obeyed in every single moment of an animation.
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We can spot cheap animators from a mile away - unnatural movement is the most obvious red flag."
5. Introduce yourself correctly
Problem:
The beginning of your video doesn't tell people who you are and set up what the problem your solving it. It just jumps into a solution, jarring the viewer.
Solution:
Make sure that you introduce the brand in one sentence and then set up the problem you are solving before diving into the solution. This frame of reference builds trust and explains why they are watching the video
6. Make a clear call to action and follow the “outro” formula
Problem:
Your video ends with a dry and empty tone, often abruptly preventing the viewer from feeling good about your call to action.
Solution:
Having made hundreds of videos, there is a formula that always works and if we ever try pivoting from this formula, then it always fails. This formula is simply ending your video with a sentence that asks a question, answers it, and then ends with the brand or product name and a logline about the product. When speaking this moment of the video the voice-over artist must slow down their pace and often talk in a slightly lower tone, giving an energetic bow-tie to the viewers experience. You must also end the video with a URL and the brand logo. If it's a live keynote then a QR code as well, since people can't click it.
