08 May Creating an animated explainer video.
You are a business owner who would like to take your company to a whole new level. This could mean increasing sales, increasing the number of clients you acquire every month or you would simply like for people to know what your company can do for them. An explainer video could be the best choice for your business. You can describe your company and the service/product it offers in no more than a few seconds.
There are 10 factors you need to understand if you want to ensure that you produce an explainer video that not only looks great but describes your company favourably.
1. A Clear objective
Both the client and the animators need to have a clear understanding of what the objectives of having an explainer video are. As a client you need to know what you want from the animated explainer. An example could be that you would like the explainer to describe a particular product offering. This makes it easier for the animators to create assets, such as a storyboards and/or scripts that would best describe your product. The animators also need to understand the client’s objectives and where they fit in the client’s objectives.
2. The Script
In order for the animator to have a clear understanding of their course of action and what needs to be done, a script is required. A script is like the spine in a human body, without it things will begin to fall apart and quickly. A script refers to content that describes what will be animated and can include what the voice-over will say. Getting the script right is the only way that the animator can turn words into imagery. With a clear understanding of the script the animators and illustrators can create the artwork needed for the animated explainer.
3. The Storyboard
Once the script has been approved by the client, the animators can begin to create storyboard. The storyboard is essential for laying out how things will look. The storyboard can be as complex or as simple as it needs to be, as long as the animators can understand what needs to be animated and how.
4. The Voice-over
A voice-over refers to the voice that an audience hears when they view an animated explainer video over the Internet or even on television. Usually the animator will try to match the animation sequences with the voice-over. To ensure that the animated explainer has impact, the voice-over must sound similar to the target audience – it must be a voice-over that an average person can relate with.
5. Designs and Illustrations
The animated explainer needs to be consistent in terms of color and style. Illustrators use the company’s corporate identity colours in their designs – for instance, the logo, business cards amongst other items. Animators needs to be clear about what illustration style is going to be used. Having two different animation styles would make it hard for the animation to make sense or be fluid. Fluid describes how the animation transitions from one scene to another. It also refers to the relationship between the elements, whether in the foreground or the background.
6. The Animation
Animating is a process but it can also be enjoyable. Making illustrations and different elements move along with a piece of music or voice-over is a lot simpler when all the above processes have been adhered to. One must understand that animation requires consideration of multiple different factors such as:
- Timing of the illustration and elements. Animators need to consider how long an artwork is kept on screen, how fast they enter into the screen and remember to sync the animation to the voice-over if there is one
- Elements on screen. How things are organized on the screen must be taken into account. One must make sure the elements don’t clash with each other.
- Hierarchy. This means deciding on which element is more important in the composition.
7. The Timing
An animated explainer video doesn’t need to describe every single product you offer in one video; people will tend to lose interest if the video is too long or not interesting. An animated explainer can be (and should be) between 30 seconds to 2 minutes long. In extreme cases they can be shorter or longer depending on the strength and type of message.
Animated explainers that are longer than 2 minutes are usually for an animated explainer that describes the company as a whole – some companies can be very complex and it may be a challenge to explain in a short amount of time.
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8. Sound Effects
Sound effects are the “cherry on a cupcake” that brings the whole animation together. Well placed sound effects can enrich your visuals and pull the viewer into that moment. Be subtle about the sound effects. Overpowering sound effects will stick out like a sore thumb and will make the animation seem less organized, but on the other hand, if the sound is not clearly audible, the visuals will lose impact.
9. Share the explainer
Once you are happy with the animated explainer you need to share it. The animated explainer needs to be on the home page as well as on social media. There are many ways to share the animation – “boosting” on Facebook is one of the many options. Sharing the animated explainer on social media and other platforms allows for more people to view it and learn about your company
10. General knowledge
Speed up your design process and ensure that no time is wasted sorting through work files. Here is a list of overlooked considerations for creating artwork (be it animated explainer, website design, etc.)
- Keep your files organized
- Name correctly
- Work efficiently, animation requires a lot of focus so you need to get rid of anything that may distract you.
- Finally, make sure your files are organized from the beginning to the end.
In conclusion, having good organization skills helps simplify a complicated process. Time wasted searching for misplaced files or files that have not been named, is time which could have been used making the storyboard or animation stronger. The more time you have to animate the better the animation will be.