Animated Explainer videos are short animations that communicate a company’s story and its products or services in a straightforward and efficient manner. In the recent past, explainer videos have become essential to companies due to the affordability of creating one and the effectiveness they have on business growth.
And while this might sound like a walk in the park, the secret to creating successful Animated Explainer Videos is understanding the entire animation production process; pre-production and the actual production process.
The pre-production process involves laying down strategies, fine tuning the script to make sure it stays on track and adheres to the budget. On the other hand, the actual production process entails harmonizing all the factors in the previous stage and merging them together into an all-inclusive unit. For this reason, the marketers and content creators must visualize the animation process to better understand all the steps involved and most importantly appreciate the importance of each step in the creation of a successful Animated Explainer Video.
The Benefits of using Animated Explainer Videos
A website that only bears text and images looks scary and too much of work. In fact, websites that include Explainer Videos have a higher conversion rate as compared to those that don’t. Why? Because people are more likely to click on a video and actually watch it than read through an entire ‘comprehensive guide.’
Also, Google will rank your website higher when you have an Explainer Video as that renders your work more reader-friendly. Potential clients want to understand what you offer efficiently and proceed from there.
Example of an Anitmated Explainer Video that communicates a company’s story and its products or services in a straightforward and efficient manner.
The Animation Process
As stressed earlier, understanding the pre-production and actual production in its entirety is the key to formulating successful, objective-oriented Explainer Videos. So, to help you better visualize the process, we have detailed the steps involved throughout the process. This methodology will help you save time and money.
Pre-production
- Have a video idea
- Target market identification
- Creative direction
- Formulate a script
- Character concept
- Environmental concept
- Storyboard concept
- Animatic storyboard
Step 01: Have a Video Idea Regardless of the magnitude of the project, everything starts with an idea. And while this might sound like the easiest of steps, it has a great impact on the overall quality and effectiveness of your Explainer Video. So, identify the hitches affecting your company’s communication strategies and develop a video to overcome the challenges.
Step 02; Target Market Identification The target market will have a great influence on the elements and facets you use to create the Explainer video. So, identify your audience and make sure your video resonates with them while incorporation elements that appeal to a broader market
Step 03; Creative direction The creative direction you take for the video must be in line with your target audience and the goal of your video idea. So, envision what story you want the video to tell and who you want to do it.
Step 04; Formulate a script Whether you’re working in house or outsourcing, your script is the engine of all the operations. So, make sure you develop a quality script that effectively tells your story and is appealing to your target market.
Step 05; Character Concept Developing the appropriate characters is the key to creating a successful Explainer Video. However, it’s important to design characters who will visually support your script and appeal to your target audience.
Step 06; Environmental Concept After designing your characters, you’ll need an environment that blends well with your video idea. Create an environment that visually reinforces your script and matches your overall theme. Easy. Right?
Step 07; Storyboard Concept The storyboard should have frame by frame detailed directions of the different elements you want the video to showcase. This pieces of the script are what will be merged together to formulate the Explainer Video
Step 08; Animatic Storyboarding After breaking down the different elements of your video, the final step in the pre-production phase involves effectively merging them together. Putting your vision into motion gives you an opportunity to see how it unfolds, scene after scene.
Production:
- Modeling, rigging, and asset production
- Animation production
- 1st cut
- 2nd cut
- Narration
- Music and sound FX
- Render & process
- Final cut
The production phase of creating an Animated Explainer Video marks the start of the journey to induce life into your creative vision. It involves harmonizing the different scenes, merging them, and enriching the video with the relevant assets to make it flawless and comprehensive.
Step 09; Modeling, rigging, and asset production This is an important step in the production phase, and it involves ‘building bridges’ and linkage models to harmonize the different scenes and character elements flawlessly.
Step 10; Animation Production The Animation production phase includes putting the linkage models and bridges into motion using a genuine software program.
Step 11; First Cut The First Cut gives you an opportunity to have a glimpse of what to expect on the final product. From here, you can make changes and save them to improve the quality of your video. Most importantly, ensure you use placeholder narration to avoid losing your progress, which will take more time and money to develop again.
Step 12; Second Cut The Second Cut reflects the amendments and improvements made from the First Cut. It should thus be as perfect and much closer to the final product.
Step 13; Narration After identifying the ideal narration voice for your video, send your narrator the script and have him/her record it using the right audio recording equipment. There are numerous online narration sites like Flyover Voice Overs that will enhance the precision and quality of the voice over.
Step 14; Music and Sound Effects In-bound music and sound effects enhance the quality of your Explainer Video by evoking emotion and capturing the attention of your target audience. So, make sure the music and sound effects you use are in line with your video idea and depict a positive image of your brand.
Step 15; Render and Process The format you use to save your video will not only influence how you use your Explainer Video but also how easy your target audience can access it. Normally, people use the conventional 1080p format, but you can format it into lower resolutions to enhance mobile friendliness if your target audience will access the video using their phones, for instance.
Step 16; Final Cut The Final Cut represents the final step in the process of creating an Animated Explainer Video. If you have followed all the steps above, the final product should be immaculate, in line with your budget, and true to the intended objective.
In conclusion, understanding the animation process in its entirety is the key to creating an effective Video Explainer. These videos are an effective communication tool, especially when debunking complex situations.
Remember, the aim of introducing a Video Explainer on your website is to lure your readers and convert them into potential clients. So, once you have the final product, go ahead and share it on your website or other relevant marketing channels.
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