How to Make An Explainer Video
One of the best ways to tell your story is with Explainer Videos. Explainer Videos are a powerful way to use video to reach and inform your audience. Do you have a product or service that requires a detailed explanation? Well, an explainer video may be the video you need!
While a well-rounded website or brochure detailing what you do or what you sell is crucial, on occasion, your customer may prefer a visual breakdown of your business with a human touch. An explainer video can vary in length, but we'd recommend 1-2 minutes is all you need to tell your story with a strong understanding of what you do, how you do it and how it can benefit your customer.
The Benefits of An Explainer Video
Explainer videos can aid in increasing conversions for your product or service. They can also drastically improve SEO search rankings with video content, and they keep potential customers on your website 2 x longer. They're also shareable across many digital platforms including social media (more on that later), and one of the most practical uses for an explainer video is that they can be re-purposed for an investor pitch!
Let's take a look at some examples of how you can craft your next explainer video.
Types of Explainer Videos
Live-Action
A live-action video in simpler terms features humans. Depending on your product, a live-action explainer video is best. The video features a talking head whether that be yourself, someone from your organisation or paid talent. The explainer video can feature one or many people; there are no restrictions here so long as they have their place in telling your story. The on-screen talent can read from a script on shoot day via a teleprompter while placed within an environment or set that reflects your organisation. A script for the on-screen talent to read is crucial in your explainer video being a success.
Animated Explainer Video
You can also incorporate animated text segments or entirely animated portions in an all live-action an explainer video too; it doesn't all have to be live-action. Having animated elements in live-action explainer videos allows you to have flexibility if your product or service changes over time. Be sure to confirm that your production partner crafting this video for you saves all of the project files. Time and time again we've had brands come to us requiring amendments on their explainer videos as their offering has evolved and they can't make as many drastic changes because you guessed it, their former production partners didn't keep the original files.
Below are a handful of our favourite explainer videos from which we think you'll find some valuable inspiration, check them out.
2D & 3D Animation
There are so many styles of animation you can deploy for your explainer video. Our suggestion is to find a type of animation style, whether 2D or 3D animation, that suits your brand the best. Sometimes you have a product or service like software, for example, that isn't tangible enough for a live-action explainer video.
From here, we suggest you craft a script that details the on-screen action to the best of your ability. Voiceover or on-screen text is also a crucial format to feature in the final product. It's always best to connect with an animator who can design and then animate your explainer video, that way, they'll know you and your brand back to front through the entire process allowing for a successful outcome.
A voiceover artist can be from someone in your organisation or paid talent; you'll know what will work best for you but ensure that the voiceover is recorded in a professional sound studio for optimum results.
Look at some of our suggested animated explainer videos that you might gain inspiration from to get started below.
Whiteboard Animation
A whiteboard video is an explainer video in which animation is hand-drawn on a whiteboard; it's an approach that can work for the most cost-effective brands. Whiteboard animation explainer videos are recorded in person, make sure a professional and certified illustrator who has experience in whiteboard explainer videos crafts this for you.
Whiteboard explainer videos can also be animated to give the illusion of a human drawing the on-screen elements when these drawn elements are constructed in 2D animation software.
Look at some of our suggested whiteboard explainer videos that you might gain inspiration from to get started below.
Where to Start When Creating Explainer Videos?
Step 1 - What Type of Explainer Video Will Work Best For Your Brand
Now that you're aware of the forms an explainer video can take, think about what will work best for you. There's no right or wrong here. Just remember to find some examples of explainer videos that align with your brand and go from there. Your chosen production partner can help articulate the best course of action when selecting an explainer video style.
Step 2 - Craft A Punchy Script
When you've decided on the best visual approach, the next step is to craft a punchy script and to the point. It should read easily and be digestible enough to educate your audience. Be cautious about how much detail you go into because this can blow out your time limit. You or your team should write your script, after all, you and your team know your customer the best and you'll already have a great understanding of who they are and how you can provide value to them.
You'll want to introduce your product or service right from the very first frame in your script. From here, present the problem and how your product or service provides a solution to the problem. Take your customer on a succinct step by step journey, guide them from top to bottom. Lastly, end on a call to action that is backed by broadcasting your trust signals such as well-known customers you've helped, awards you may have or short testimonials.
Step 3 - Kick Off The Project With Pre-Production
Once your script is in a great place, it's time to kick off the project with pre-production, followed by shoot day and then post-production. We always recommend having your script in the best shape for your production partner to build upon when storyboarding commences in pre-production.
Step 4 - Shoot Day
The shoot day and post-production phases have a knock-on effect from your script and storyboarding stage so make sure everything is airtight and ready to go for shoot day because it will make the rest of the project so much smoother once production commences. The devil is in the detail!
Step 5 - Post-Production
All of your content has been captured and now begins the editing stage. If you’ve planned for success from the jump, you’ll be able to fly through the editing phase. There’s nothing worse than being underprepared and thinking you’ll fix it in post-production- one word of advice- post-production can only help you to a certain extent. Always start with a great base to work from, and that great base is crafted on shoot day and in pre-production.
Where Can You Use Your Explainer Video?
The greatness of explainer videos is that they can be hosted on a myriad of digital services such as your website, your social media channels or anywhere your product or service sits. You can also re-purpose your explainer videos for your social channels with square or vertical outputs. The options are endless, and it means your explainer video has many ways of reaching your audience, it doesn't have just one purpose or one platform for your audience to consume it on- make it work for you.
From here, you have all of the tools to getting started on your explainer video. The best way to get to crafting your explainer video is to engage with a professional team of filmmakers who can guide you through the process while crafting an excellent end product; this doesn't have to be the world's largest team.
Remember that an explainer video has the potential to reach thousands of potential customers, so you want it to look its best.
There are lower-cost options available such as filming on your smartphone or engaging with third-party websites such as Fiverr; however, this option is only suited for smaller content creation projects. An amazing explainer video takes time, nurturing and attention to detail to make it the best it can be.
Got a question or curious? Start a conversation with us here. 🤔📲
Together, let’s make every frame count!
