An explainer video does exactly what the name suggests: it explains something. Your product, your service, your process, your technology. In 60 to 120 seconds, a good explainer video takes a concept that might take 10 minutes to describe in a meeting and makes it instantly clear.
Explainer videos are one of the most versatile and effective types of video content a business can produce. They work on landing pages, in sales presentations, at trade shows, and across social platforms. This guide covers how to create one that actually works.
What Makes a Good Explainer Video?
Clarity Above Everything
The entire purpose of an explainer video is to make something clear. If the viewer finishes the video confused about what you do or how it works, the video failed. Period.
Clarity comes from structure, simplicity, and discipline. Say one thing. Say it well. Don’t try to explain your entire business in 90 seconds. Explain one specific product, service, or concept.
The Right Length
Most effective explainer videos are between 60 and 120 seconds. Under 60 seconds, you don’t have enough time to set up the problem, explain the solution, and deliver a call to action. Over 120 seconds, you’re losing viewers.
There are exceptions. Complex B2B products or technical processes might justify a 3-minute explainer. But default to short. If you can say it in 90 seconds, don’t stretch it to three minutes.
A Clear Structure
The most effective explainer videos follow a simple framework:
- The problem (10-15 seconds): Identify the pain point your audience recognizes. This hooks the viewer by showing you understand their situation.
- The solution (30-45 seconds): Introduce your product or service as the answer to that problem. Show how it works, not just what it is.
- The proof (15-20 seconds): Evidence that it works. Statistics, results, client logos, or a brief testimonial.
- The call to action (5-10 seconds): One clear next step. Visit the website, book a demo, start a free trial, or schedule a call.
Explainer Video Styles
Animated Explainers
The most common style. Uses motion graphics, illustrations, and animated text to visualize concepts. Animated explainers are particularly effective for:
- Software and SaaS products
- Abstract services (consulting, financial products, insurance)
- Technical processes that are hard to film
- Concepts that benefit from diagrams and visual metaphors
The visual style ranges from simple flat design to detailed illustration to 3D animation. The right choice depends on your brand aesthetic and the complexity of what you’re explaining.
Live-Action Explainers
Use real people, real locations, and real products. Live-action explainers work well when:
- Your product is physical and looks great on camera
- You want to show real people using your product or service
- Trust and authenticity are priorities
- Your brand identity is better served by real footage than animation
Live-action explainers often incorporate motion graphics for text overlays, data points, and transitions. This hybrid approach combines the credibility of real footage with the clarity of animated graphics.
Screen Recording Explainers
Capture your software or app in action with animated cursors, highlights, and callouts. This style is standard for SaaS products, apps, and any business where the “product” lives on a screen.
Whiteboard Explainers
A hand draws illustrations on a white background as the narration progresses. This style was extremely popular in the early 2010s and has become somewhat generic. It can still work for educational content, but consider whether a more current style might better represent your brand.
3D Animated Explainers
Use three-dimensional animation to show products from any angle, including cutaways, exploded views, and internal mechanisms. This style is particularly effective for manufacturing companies and technical products where internal engineering is a selling point.
Fourside Studios produces both live-action video and 3D visualization, which means we can create explainer videos that blend real footage with 3D-rendered product demonstrations. This combination is especially powerful for physical products with complex features.
The Explainer Video Production Process
Step 1: Define the Concept
What specifically are you explaining? To whom? What do they already know, and what do they need to understand? The answers to these questions shape every creative decision that follows.
Step 2: Write the Script
The script is the foundation. For a 90-second explainer, that’s approximately 200-225 words. Every word matters. The script should be conversational, not corporate. Read it out loud. If it sounds like something a person would actually say, it’s probably right. If it sounds like a press release, rewrite it.
Step 3: Create a Storyboard
The storyboard maps the visual narrative to the script. Each frame shows what the viewer will see during that portion of the voiceover. For animated explainers, the storyboard is critical because there’s no existing footage to work from. Everything must be designed and built.
Step 4: Develop Style Frames
For animated explainers, the design team creates style frames that define the visual look: color palette, illustration style, typography, and animation complexity. This step ensures alignment on the visual direction before the time-intensive animation phase begins.
Step 5: Record Voiceover
A professional voiceover artist records the script. The voice should match your brand’s tone. Warm and friendly? Authoritative and confident? Energetic and fast-paced? The voice sets the emotional context for the entire video.
Step 6: Animate or Film
For animated explainers, this is the production phase where every frame is designed, built, and animated. For live-action explainers, this is the shoot day.
Step 7: Sound Design and Music
Background music and sound effects bring the video to life. The audio bed should support the pacing without overpowering the voiceover. Subtle sound design, a whoosh on transitions, a click on button interactions, ambient texture under scenes, makes a significant difference in the finished product’s quality.
Step 8: Review and Finalize
Expect two to three rounds of revisions. Provide consolidated feedback from a single point of contact to keep the process efficient.
Where to Use Your Explainer Video
An explainer video is one of the hardest-working assets you can produce:
- Homepage as the first thing visitors see
- Product or service pages to explain specific offerings
- Landing pages to boost conversion rates (studies consistently show that landing pages with video convert significantly higher than those without)
- Sales presentations to standardize your pitch
- Trade shows on booth displays
- Social media as organic content or paid ads
- Email campaigns to drive click-through
- Onboarding to help new customers get started
What Does an Explainer Video Cost?
Costs vary by style and complexity:
- Template-based animated explainers are the most affordable but look generic
- Custom animated explainers with original design and illustration are mid-range
- Live-action explainers depend on crew size, location, talent, and post-production scope
- 3D animated explainers are typically the most significant investment due to modeling and rendering time
For most businesses, a custom animated or live-action/motion graphics hybrid explainer video is the sweet spot of quality, effectiveness, and value.
Book a free 30-minute strategy call to talk through your explainer video project and get a realistic estimate based on your specific needs.
Getting Started
If you can describe what your product or service does in a conversation, you have everything you need to start producing an explainer video. The production team’s job is to take that explanation and make it visual, concise, and compelling.
Book a free strategy call and let’s figure out the best approach for your explainer video. No pitch, no pressure. Just a practical conversation about how to communicate your value clearly.
Fourside Studios is a video production and 3D visualization studio based in Western Massachusetts, producing brand commercials, explainer videos, and animated content for businesses nationwide.