3 Secrets to Effective Explainer Video Storyboarding

EXPLAINER VIDEO STORYBOARDING.  NAIL YOUR STORY BEFORE PRODUCTION BEGINS. Explainer video storyboarding can be important. The point of your explainer video is to communicate to viewers the purpose of your...
explainer video storyboarding animation

EXPLAINER VIDEO STORYBOARDING.  NAIL YOUR STORY BEFORE PRODUCTION BEGINS.

explainer video storyboard 3 Secrets to Effective Explainer Video Storyboarding

Explainer video storyboarding can be important. The point of your explainer video is to communicate to viewers the purpose of your product or service, how it works and why they should choose you over other options. While explainer videos are meant to simplify your message so that you can fit all of this into 90 seconds or less, actually accomplishing this task while keeping your video entertaining and fun — that’s not so simple.

You might be saying, “There is so much to say about my product and I don’t want to leave anything out.” Remember, your explainer video is not the platform for communicating the minutia of your product down to the tiniest detail. Your explainer video needs to pique your clients’ interest and capture their imagination. After watching your video, viewers should be excited to go to your website where they can find out more, download a trial, sign up or make a purchase.

You don’t want your explainer video to further confuse your audience as to what your product does and trying to fit more than 3-4 ideas into one 90-second spot could do that. You can avoid time-consuming production-cycle tangents and revisions by first writing a script and then creating a storyboard for your explainer video.

What Is an Explainer Video Storyboard?

A storyboard helps streamline the explainer video production process by planning out each scene of your explainer video before the team starts on the animations. Storyboarding lets you view and evaluate versions of each scene in your explainer video. It will help you better visualize how the explainer video will play out and it helps your production team carefully plan how your animated video will work with its voiceover. 

In a nutshell, your storyboard is the blueprint for your explainer video. It maps out the flow of your video explainer so that you and your production team can come up with a solid plan for your video that you agree on.

  • Hash out
  • Establish specific shots
  • Get rid of weak ideas
  • Minimize post-production edits

Like your script, your storyboard is easier and less time-consuming to revise than finished animations and should always be done before your production team starts animation.

The Secret to Effective Explainer Video Storyboarding

At DemoFlick we stick to some simple but key rules so we can deliver you with a storyboard that will help you organize your thoughts and visualize your explainer video.

1. Keep it simple. 

First visualize the technical details, content, background, time of day and content. Everything in your explainer video should appear for a reason. Complicated ideas and visuals will work against the purpose of your explainer, which is to tell your story as simply and concisely as possible. Sometimes themes or symbols can help hold the video together and give it a unique, cohesive feel.

2. Think long-term.

When produced properly, your explainer video will be useful to you for a very long time. But when produced improperly, one little change to your product’s design can cause your explainer video to become outdated. Avoid this issue by portraying your website, product or interface symbolically when possible. This can help keep your explainer video relevant for as long as possible.

3. Be charming, not chatty.

You only have one chance to deliver your message, and you only have about 90 seconds to do it. Using a few powerful words will get you a lot further than chatting up your audience with a lot of bullet points and visual verbiage. Let your voiceover do the heavy lifting when it comes to verbal messaging and let the animations help bring your product and ideas to life with potent visuals and compelling transitions.

If your storyboard is your grocery list, your explainer video is your dinner party. Forgetting a single ingredient can ruin the whole evening, so be sure you have everything you need before you start cooking. Explainer video storyboarding can help. 

Next steps.

Check out these choice articles and find out explainer video dos and don’ts and how we create awesome explainer videos.

After you nail explainer video concept, write your script and create your storyboard, the next step is choosing your voiceover talent. But before you do that, check out some of our favorite explainer videos below and think about how you would like your storyboard to look. Each of these explainer videos keep things simple, are made to live long-term and deliver a clear, simple message.

#1 VisitorTrack Explainer Video

 

#2 PeopleView Explainer Video

 

#3 OpenGeo Suite Explainer Video

 

#4 Agile Manager Explainer Video

 

#5 HP Mobile App Explainer Video

See more great examples.
#explainer video storyboarding# storyboarding animation# storyboarding boston# storyboarding explainer video# storyboarding your animation

Wade Koens

Latest articles

Please select listing to show.

Searching for a certain style?
We'll hand-pick relevant samples for you to watch

Submit
(edited) [16:34]