Marketing Explainer Video (Whiteboard style)

KpsCowley

Hi Guys,

I want to get a quick explainer video made for my website. I like the whiteboard video style. I have been in contact with a number of companies in Ireland and the UK. I was shocked by the price! Generally €2000 for a 1 minute video with aprox 150 words script!

As I am just starting up 2000 is way to much for me to spend on this.

I found a DIY method of doing it, but fear that the finished product would be very amateur looking. This would be using software called Sparkol Video Scribe (.youtube.com/watch?v=UUf1UNJ-Zlg&list=PLII65C4cRzkGXU-_XhPDlOCsuqdnATfDy) (Skip to 7:50).

Has anyone else had something similar made or can point me in the right direction?

Thanks

jimmii

You're better off getting a proper professional company to do it not so long ago there was someone on here who were starting up a company to do that so hopefully they see this post! If you are looking to get it done for very cheap then you could try fiverr its not ideal but it could make do until you are a position to hire a specialist company to do it.

KpsCowley

Thanks Jimmii,

I will go and have a look at Fiverr now.

IsMiseMyself

Yeah you could get an explainer done for around €60 on any of the sites like Elance or people per hour. €2000 is a bit steep.

Graham

This is what all those fiverr whiteboarders are using if you fancy going the DIY route:

http://www.videoscribe.co

The free 7 day trial might be enough for you.

Personally I think they've been done to death but YMMV.

You can't begin to compare the fiverr/videoscribe productions with a professional job, hence the major discrepancy in prices.

Powtoon might be worth a look too if you're having a go yourself.

Graham

jimmii wrote: »

there was someone on here who were starting up a company to do that

If I remember correctly they were template videos from Videohive, they're a slightly more professional option if you're handy with Adobe Creative Suite:

http://videohive.net/item/whiteboard-write/1614724

Fukuyama

I run a small explainer video business.

EDIT: Sure feck it - might as well help a fellow boardsie: We're currently developing and trying out a few new ideas. OP, send me a PM and we might be able to make a free video for your business (Would depend on industry, suitability etc...).

In my opinion the "whiteboard" videos are overdone as a previous poster said which is why we don't do them. It's a style that's outdated. Plus, a lot of spam ads and scams use them as they're cheap to produce so they're often associated with less-than-legit businesses in the minds of savvy web users.

Fiverr is an option for the animation side of things. In the end you get an animation worth $5. If it looks like it costs more than $5 then that's because the animator is likely using stolen assets so keep that in mind if you're publishing the video on your company's site. It's a common practice by animators based in developing countries like India etc...

Anyways, in my opinion you're better off not wasting your $5. An honest 'placeholder' video made using an iPhone in which you describe your business and demonstrate your product would convert better in many industries. Web users love honesty, they love seeing the people behind interesting new stores/ideas/companies and they love an underdog. Plus, they can smell "salesman marketing" a mile off.

In terms of content avoid the common trap of what I call "infomercial speak". This was an interesting trend I noticed in the early days of my business. Many clients wanted to use worn out phrases and cheesy salesman-speak that belong on a JML ad for a WonderMopTM.

If you still want on-screen graphics and a voiceover then fire up PowerPoint and screencasting software. You can basically give a video presentation using Powerpoint animation features to the max and add in some background music later. It'll look unprofessional but it could tide you over for a while if you're still in the early phases.

Just remember that a video makes just as much an impression on your customers as site design does. They expect minimum of 720p with good audio and no "sales fluff" - just the facts. They're great conversion tools but it's very easy to drive customers away with a bad video.

KpsCowley

Hi Dean,

Thanks a million for contacting me. I was looking at fiverr, but the standard wasn't great. The videos in your portfolio look great.

It would be fantastic if you could make a video for my site.

Hopefully I will post it here when done so all you guys can see.

Regards,
Kevin.

Trojan

Graham wrote: »

You can't begin to compare the fiverr/videoscribe productions with a professional job, hence the major discrepancy in prices.

This is worth repeating.

A custom animated video from a professional video production company will start from €2k at entry level (I've been quoted €10-20k). These companies will spend a lot of time on important elements like the script which is absolutely crucial in generating sales. At the low end you won't see that.

You can see a dynamic text example explainer video at www.selfassemblysites.com.

KpsCowley

Hi Guys,

Here is an update on my explainer video journey.

I was in touch with Dean (Fukuyama) who had agreed to make the video, we talked by email and by phone. I was expecting to be contacted by Dean at the end of the first week with the basic working of a script, but that never came. Over the past three weeks I have tried to get in contact with Dean, through his website, through email and by phone, but was unsuccessful on all accounts.

In summary, I would not recommend VidFoundry.

After realising that I would never get a reply from dean I decided to go on the offensive myself. My options were limited due to my budget (Trojan you are totally right). So I did a lot of research into making a script. And with a lot of help from a friend I think its looking pretty good now! So the next step is to get Adobe After Effects and use the Videohive templates (as suggested by Graham, thanks). I hope to get started into this next week.

I will post the video here, or even the first draft for review.

Thanks for all the help from everyone who commented on this conversation.

Regards,
Kevin.

Axwell

I assume you read the homepage and the message posted on March 17th? Explains why you probably couldnt get in touch, if hes working full time then not much time is going to be allocated to the business now I would imagine.

KpsCowley

Axwell wrote: »

I assume you read the homepage and the message posted on March 17th? Explains why you probably couldnt get in touch, if hes working full time then not much time is going to be allocated to the business now I would imagine.

Hi Axwell,

I did read the message on the website. Dean the founder of vidfoundry contacted me and offered to make the video (after March 17th). We had some contact but frustratingly the communication dropped off to nothing with no explanation. I wasted a number of weeks with this. I would not recommend against using a business lightly. I did so to save anyone else the trouble.

But I am looking forward to moving forward and getting on with the build. And as said above, will post here for scrutiny once the first draft is complete.