Frederick Jace
A good explanatory animation is, first of all, one that evokes emotions: amuses, moves, surprises or inspires, that is, it leaves some reflection with the viewer and gives him a certain value. How do you evoke such emotions? First of all, you need to know whose emotions you want to stimulate, and therefore who belongs to your target group. In addition, you need to understand where you will use the video. Whatever it was, but judging by the trends in 2021 in the direction of information and advertising content, the explaining animation video should comply with the following recommendations:
- brevity (video duration is up to 30 seconds) and informational content;
- maximum simplicity of the information supplied, squeezing out the main message;
- quality implementation from script to release.
30 second explainer video by Explain.ninja is a prime example of how this kind of content works for advertising purposes. Plus, it’s a great branding tool for a company to showcase itself through a preview of upcoming events. Before you start any activity (not only the production of videos), think: what do you want to do, what are you going to achieve by this, who are you targeting, and then start asking the question: HOW TO DO IT?
Difficulties on the way of creating an animated explanatory video
In fact, uncomplicated graphics, visual simplicity are deceiving. And often, people decide to do all the work of creating a creative video for advertising or informational purposes on their own. And difficulties will arise at each of the stages: from drawing up a plan and a video explainer script to technical implementation and voice acting. Everything in order.
Idea and scenario
There are a number of key features to consider when creating your idea for a 30 second animated commercial. First of all, the interest of the audience. Then the development of the scenario, where it is important:
- will fit in about 150 words;
- work out the issues of the call to action and the tactics of presenting the material;
- do not give unnecessary information.
Not everyone is capable of performing such a task. If you do not have an innate or acquired skill of writing texts that really work, you cannot do without the involvement of a specialist. And this is only the first pitfall that will have to be faced. By the way, when drafting the text, imagination and a clear presentation of possible scenes that will be used in the video will help.
Graphic development
With the script in hand, you can proceed to the creation of the visual. This is where graphic design and artist skills are needed. In addition, you will need to master the implementation tools that professionals work with. Here is the second pitfall. Ask yourself if you have the necessary skills or the time and enthusiasm to acquire them. If not, stop trying to master limited-functionality programs for creating graphics.
Voice acting
Having worked through all the necessary frames, having formed the final layout of the future animated explanatory video, you can voice the text according to the previously drawn up script. For voice acting you will need:
- the ability to act out emotions (sometimes this plays an important role);
- clearly delivered voice;
- correct diction;
- perfect pronunciation.
In fact, after dubbing, the video is ready for placement. As you can see, there are a lot of complexities and subtleties (and this is just the tip of the iceberg). But who said that you do not need to participate in the creation of a video at all stages?
Contribute
Script changes can be made relatively quickly and easily in the initial stages. Lack of preparation and spontaneity can lead to the fact that you are simply wasting your time. All key decisions need to be made at the stage of script creation. Your idea should first be on paper (or in a word document on a computer) – only then can you plan the next stages of production.
