Your killer product or service looks the part, now it’s our job to help people understand it. Explainers are helpful videos that tell viewers how useful your stuff is.
Surely you’ve been recommended something by someone, gone to the website for it, and looked for that all-important play button that’ll kick off a video telling you all about it and how awesome it is. That feeling of disappointment when you realise you have to read through a website to understand it is unparalleled. “I’ve gotta SCROLL? And READ? How archaic.”
Explainer videos neatly and succinctly help potential and existing customers better understand your product or service. Your audience may be hard to win over, and need a comedic style to give it an edge, or your customer base could be incredibly loyal people who just wanna get to the details. Using live-action, animation or motion graphics, there’s an approach to suit any type of audience, but the most important thing is that they walk away and they “get it”.
Storm & Shelter are awesome! They're a very capable and competent bunch and a lot of fun to work with. They pulled out all the stops and went well beyond what was asked of them to deliver an outstanding explainer video for us. Creating this kind of video can feel a little overwhelming, but they held our hand through the process and we felt we were in safe hands all the way. I would highly recommend them.
I search globally for the best people to work with regardless of their location - in this case the best happened to be in Cardiff. When I met the team it was clear they were very passionate for what they do and were perfect for this project. They invited me to demo TestLodge and spent the time to fully understand the tool. This meant they created a script which explained the product clearly but also helped with getting new users more interested in the tool. They took time to find the right people for the video and didn't settle until they were found. The final quality of the video was excellent and has added a professional edge to the homepage. Since adding the explainer video to the homepage, trial signup rates have increased.
As an online learning business, video is at the core of what we do. It’s essential our content is of the highest quality and produced on time, every time. We work with Storm and Shelter as a retained client. They produce all our content and we wouldn’t consider going anywhere else. Not only is their work exceptional, but their attitudes match. To find suppliers who care about your business in the same way you care about your business is exceptionally rare, but that is what we have found with these guys. Seriously, we are so glad we found them.
Stuff to consider when making Explainer Videos
Every video production project is different, but there are a few important things to consider depending on the type of content you're need, who the audience is, and how it's delivered.
Coming up with ideas for a brand campaign is the most fun we can have with our day. Call us sad, but seriously, we get off on this stuff. This kind of content exists to get people excited about ‘your thing’. That means manipulating tickling their emotions in just the right way, which requires a deep understanding of your market and your customers. The concept has to be on point, balancing creativity with a solid strategy. Two things we happen to be pretty good at. We got this. Trust.
The script is one of the most important factors of this content type. You’re using this video to explain to people how your product or service works, so they’ve gotta understand it 100%. We’ll work closely with you (as you know your product best!) to develop a script that accurately represents the user experience, whilst being flavoured with your brand voice to embed the brand recognition.
Whether it be voiceover-led or just text on screen, it’s important that it’s impactful and speaks to your target audience in just the right way. Researching audiences and competitors and working with experienced writers is our worst-kept secret to success.
These bad boys are helpful not only for us but for you too. Storyboards are the director’s vision transferred from their colourful brains onto paper. When we’re involving any screenshots, screen recordings or any detailed walkthroughs of the user experience, a storyboard will come in very handy. They’ll allow both you and us to nail the required steps to illustrate and explain the product or service, making sure we’ve not missed out a crucial step, feature or button press.
The production team will use these storyboards to plan the shots from a logistical and practical standpoint, but we’ll also get your eyes on these so that you can see what’s been rattling around in the director’s head and make sure it all lines up with what you want to see. We’ll work with you to make sure that you’re happy with the plans and get the best idea of what your vid’s gonna look like.
There’s no point spending a bunch of money on getting an explainer video made if the talent is lacklustre and doesn’t sell your brand and product the way it deserves. We’re here to make sure that the people in your ad look and feel perfect for the role. Whether that be finding that incredibly well-spoken, beautiful hunk of a man or that creepy-looking old woman trained in stage combat, we make sure they’ll hit the mark and look the part. With bags of experience dealing with talent agencies and free agents alike, we know how to scour the Earth to find the perfect talent for any production.
About to throw your explainer video across social media? Hold your horses, sunshine. Where are your subtitles? Whilst most people tend to watch TV with the sound on, when it comes to social feeds, very few will listen with audio as they’re scrolling. This means it’s super important to get your ad transcribed and subtitled so that viewers can be dragged into your narrative message without making the almighty effort to hit that unmute button.
We’ll transcribe, translate (if necessary) and subtitle your ads, supplying you with .SRT subtitle files for the social platforms that support them (giving viewers the choice to watch with subs or without) and for those that don’t, we’ll supply versions of your ad with the subs ‘burnt’ into the video so that they’re always visible. Don’t make the mistake of thinking those pretty pictures are enough to draw these buggers in. Make sure your script is seen as well as heard!
Explainer Videos FAQ
How long does an explainer video take to make?
This really does depend on what kind of explainer video we’re looking to make. If we’re talking live-action, often times this can take a little longer than animation or a quick screen-captured walkthrough of a website. Overall, something like this can take anywhere between 4-8 weeks if we’re starting from scratch and including amend times. Generally, it’s the scripting stage that takes a good amount of time, as we’ll be working with you to get to know how your product works or the step-by-step intricacies of your service. Trust us when we say it’s better to get it right at an early stage rather than trying to cram in additional stuff later on!
How much does an explainer video cost?
It’s a classic “piece of string” question, unfortunately! Starts at the question of live-action or animation. Both can achieve different things on the same budget. For live-action, it all depends on things like how many locations we’ll need to film in, how many days we’ll need to film everything you want to include, whether there are actors, the list goes on.
For animation, it’s more about the quality and art style. More budget means more time, which means more intricate designs and more time for refined movement and behaviour. Either way, you’re likely talking around £5,000 as a starting point, then upwards from there! We’ll often give you some options of budget scales just in case a particular approach could be more effective with more budget, or we could even do more than the brief asks for on that amount of money.
How involved will I be during production?
That’s totally up to you, but with explainers, it’s definitely worth having those who live and breathe the product or service to be at hand! We’re happy to sit down with you at every stage of production, have you on set or even sitting in on an edit, or we can take the brief and come back to you with a first edit. The level of involvement is wherever you feel comfortable—we’ve got processes in place to suit however you’d like to approach it, including dedicated review platforms for multiple stakeholders (goodbye email chains!) and trusted catering & transport contacts for when we’re accommodating an army on set!
How will I review the edit?
We use a review service called Frame.io which allows us to conduct online review cycles of the ad, where you can log in and leave comments directly on the vid. No more long email chains where things get lost and cross-talk makes it a multi-coloured quoted text nightmare. This also means you’re able to have a comprehensive and contained review with stakeholders no matter where they are or when they’re free to feed back—it’s all visible and organised so everyone (who needs to) has their say.
Do you guys cover international requirements?
Sure thing! As well as gracing pretty much every corner of the UK with our presence, we’ve filmed around Europe and understand the logistical challenges that come with shooting abroad. We’re used to having to describe, assemble and disassemble our kit at customs, as well as finding our way around new cities. Who doesn’t love a bit of travel?
I’m from an agency. What makes you guys different to the next production company?
Well, if you’re looking for a company that’s nice and quiet and that’ll just do whatever it says in the brief with a yes sir, no sir mentality, then I’m sorry, you’re in the wrong place. Sure, everything we do hits exactly what your client needs and is in-line with your objective, but we’re the kind of people to run with an idea and throw in a few suggestions and curveballs, giving feedback from a production perspective so that we can make the best possible content for the client. We’re not obnoxious, middle-finger-in-the-air kinda stubborn, we just know from experience that clients enjoy the fact we offer our creative input and give an experienced outside perspective to help content shine and get those other agencies going "ah jeez, wish we’d have thought of that".
How we like to get things done.
Getting great content made should be as straightforward and painless as possible for our clients. So we double down on our processes, thrive on transparency, and communicate like the warm, bright (and slightly peculiar) humans that we are. We’re aware that our clients are busy people—our job is to make your life easier, not to add to your workload.
Sure, making money is important to us; it means we get to keep doing what gets us out of bed in the morning. But we’re always clear about where your budget goes. No sneaking around, no hidden costs. We don’t believe in tricky small print—we like big, bold, honest conversation.
These lovely human beings look after our clients. Look how chirpy they are! Don't you just wanna pick up your phone and give 'em' a call? Or, if interacting with humans in real time saps your energy (know them feels), feel free to lob us an email.
