Have you ever wondered how animated explainer videos came to life? There is a process prior to creating animations that need to be considered. Businesses that aim to create animated videos for their video marketing strategies need to come up with a solid script of video animation that can stand among a plethora of videos. People can react to your videos if they can relate to your message. This is why writing a script of video animation is extremely sensitive to make your point across in a creative way.
The process of writing a script of video animation itself is not easy. This stage comes before creating any animation or choosing the music you would like to add to your video. It’s the starting point of any video marketing strategy, and based on the script an animated video can be identified as a success or not. Your script is basically the outline of your video animation, and therefore it should comply with different rules and principles.
Animated explainer videos are known to be great communication mediums for businesses. No matter what stage your company is at; whether a startup, a small business, or a well-established corporation, animated videos can be used anywhere.
However, one aspect that differentiates between these companies is how they approach video animation using the script of video. Big corporations can fail in their video marketing strategy if they adopt a rather boring storyline. Whereas, a small business, that’s emerging slowly, can successfully reach people through the use of a script of video that holds value and message.
Not even great visuals can overcome a boring storyline. A weak script of video can hinder the quality of your video strategy. Unfortunately, many businesses underestimate the power of scripts for an animated video and pay attention to the visual rather than the content. According to cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner, human beings are 22 times more likely to remember a notion when it has been used in a story. He proceeds by stating that stories are memorable by nature. Stories help us grab the idea quickly and are a factor that can help trigger emotions.
If you used boring statistics and data in a linear manner, your video will most certainly be deemed unvaried. If you inject these numbers in a story with a plot twist and a call to action then you will definitely raise the stakes and bring viewers to focus on your video. Having both numbers and story together can please left and right brain thinkers.
Therefore, the perfect script of video animation is the one that presents a complex and detailed concept in an engaging story while showing off the brand’s personality and making sure you deliver a strong impression. All these elements, if presented in a 3 minutes animated explainer video with a limited word count, then you have perfectly mastered the art of video marketing strategy.
You’re probably wondering if writing a script of video animation should be improvised and unarranged? Well, improvising won’t work in the case of video animation. Content creators should follow a classical narrative structure which means starting from a beginning, middle, and end logic when writing a script. This structure actually proved to be engaging and more memorable.
Some people argue that scriptwriting should be relaxed and not abide by any rules. The truth is, having a structure of what you should write about can actually make the whole writing experience uncomplicated and effortless.
To plan ahead of your writing process, it’s important to know your audience. You can’t start working on the script without knowing who will be watching your video first. This is predominant in any marketing scope. Your audience is the judge, they need to be impressed and taken by surprise. So if you can’t make them resonate with your business through the animated video then there is no point in making one.
One thing to remember as a business owner when writing the script of video animation is to never write a broad script simply to engage every possible customer. Broad storylines are repetitive and boring. You can’t assume that having a broad story will attract more people. Usually, stories that are designed for everybody appeal to no one.
After knowing your audience, now it’s time to set your goal. As we have said before, writing a script is never instant. Preparation and extensive planning must take place in order to ensure great results. Part of these preparations is having a distinctive goal, meaning you need to know what the purpose of the video is.
There are endless video types for every occasion. You can use animated videos to introduce a certain product/service or create a whiteboard video for training courses.
Knowing who will be watching your video and for what reason will ease the writing process. It also depends on what platform your videos will be uploaded to. Contents uploaded on websites are different from the ones uploaded on social media platforms. The storyline in the latter is more fun and energetic in comparison to what should be displayed on a website.
Another purpose of setting your goal before scriptwriting is to identify what your audience should do next. If your goal is to increase traffic to your product's sales page then you need to make sure you add a call to action to your script to ensure viewers will check it.
Once you figure out your audience and your goal, now comes the time to select who your main character should be. If you choose to add many characters to your video animation, you will risk losing people’s interest when they watch the video. People will find it complicated to follow along with the storyline if you feature many characters.
Few video exceptions can go away with having multiple characters. Product overviews for example don’t contain a sequence of events and storyline. However, it's advised if a single person is presented as the core character and the one that does all the talking. If your video is created with an external narrator, it’s also best to focus on only one main character. We want to shift the focus to the content of the video and not its elements.
Crazy Egg, a website optimization tool, was able to create a video animation for their video marketing campaign. They were successful in using one character both in narration and on scene. The character was designed to interact with different sections envisioning voiceover content. When you check the animated video, you will notice that the character doesn’t move much, but the presence of an animated character in different scenes will certainly grab people’s attention.
Before writing a script of video animation, it’s essential to ask yourself the following questions: What makes your product or service different from other companies? What problems your product was designed to fix? How would you like people to perceive your videos? Who are your targeted viewers?
Once you have the answers to these questions, scriptwriting will eventually become an easy task0
Scriptwriting is done in two parts: the story itself and how you frame it as well. Successful animated videos have one aspect in common; both the storyline and the execution is perfect. You can’t dedicate time to writing an epic story for your brand yet forget how you would like to tell that story. This can hinder the whole video animation experience. Here’s how you can nail the script of video animation:
Conception is key to scriptwriting. Oftentimes you come across a video animation with concepts all over the place. You don’t understand the meaning of it until the very last few minutes. It is distracting to follow along when the video was supposed to be explaining, describing a product, and informative. If you have a brand and you would like to prepare a video where people can relate to your work, then you should definitely pick a specific story and recount it in a clear and concise way.
Most explainer videos or animation videos for companies or brands are either process walkthroughs or problem-solution. The process walkthrough method is often used for a product overview. You won’t be solving any problem in this case as it is a distinct story. The script of video should be in evident beats, covering one point to another in a simple and efficient structure.
As for problem-solution techniques, it usually showcases a brand’s product or service as the ultimate solution to viewers' problems and makes their life easier. In this case, you need to identify the problem in clear situations, then transition to how the product or service can be a solution. One pro tip to follow is to always allocate minimum time to the problem and the rest should be about the solution.
If you don’t want to follow any of these techniques when identifying your concept, the general rule is usually to provide a basic arrangement and a payoff. You need to make sure that your viewers will trust your message from the very first second and answer all their potential questions.
Conciseness is crucial when writing a script of video animation. You don’t want your viewers to be bored because your video is long. The longer your video the less impactful it will be. Animated videos are usually between 30 seconds and 3 minutes. The ideal time is 3 minutes to cover all necessary points without going so much into detail.
To make sure you’re well within the time limit, you can check your word count. The advised setup is usually 130-150 words per minute. Then you should probably read your script loudly to run your read time. Remember that even by doing so, you might be faster or slower than a professionally paced voiceover.
Regardless of what product or service a brand is willing to introduce to people, the best way to tell a story is to look for moments you can make the story pertinent and relatable. This way you will capture people’s attention in a split of a second.
Firstly, you should always speak directly to your viewers. This is not a live-action movie where you recount a story in a closed setup. You are trying to address people and inform them about what your brand is about.
Secondly, make sure to use their language. Since animated videos are created for people to watch, you should be able to identify your audience and use their language to maximize traffic to your products. If you’re addressing academic professionals, then you need to cover that during scriptwriting and use formal language. However, the best practice is to use a friendly tone and language without being too vulgar or too formal.
Brands need to make sure they lead their viewers in the direction they want after watching their animated video. Any video created for the purpose of video marketing needs to include a clear and simple call to action so people will easily understand what you expect from them.
While you write a script of video animation of a product or service, you need to carefully word your CTA and use the direct form to avoid confusion. A call to action must fit a brand’s marketing strategy, meaning you need to make sure you plan the role of the video in your campaign first then base your CTA around it. For example, if you’re selling your product on your website and you need to direct people to check its features, then your call to action should inform viewers to head to your website.
It’s basically transmitting the video’s main purpose and strategy based on the stage you will be using the video for.
Humour is inevitable when working on a video animation. It is a powerful technique for storytelling. For a successful video animation with fun elements, it is crucial to find the right timing to incorporate humor. It needs to fit seamlessly in the storyline without sounding imposing or out of context. There is nothing more frustrating than having bad humor in a video animation as it can drive customers away.
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Linkedin
Youtube