You might wonder what are the factors that contribute to an explainer video’s time and cost. Let us break down the variables.

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1. Research and Script Writing

We facilitate sessions to gain a deep understanding of the client’s products, brand identity, and target customers. We use all the information gathered to work on the script.

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This process in itself can take two weeks but we had two days to finalize the script for FlocknGo’s condensed timeline. They had already taken a jab at an explainer script few months prior to the project, and thus had a fair idea of the scenarios they wanted us to focus on. It helped us understand their core target groups and craft a story that spoke directly to them. Since the product was backed with months of research, interviews and documentation, we were confident that the target audience being spoken to would strongly relate to the product.

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Note: The script length determines the duration of the video. Longer the video, the more time and resources it would take to create it. A rule of thumb, 180 words equals a minute of video.

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2. Animation Complexity and Quality

Certain animation techniques are more complex to do such as frame by frame animation and character animation. This does not mean that simple animation = bad quality.

 

We can create good animations even if they are simple by being skilled in applying design and animation principles. But one should note that even a complex 15 second animation can be priced exponentially higher than a 60 second low-complexity animation due to the time and skill level required to produce them.

 

We went with vector shape based designs for this project as it is suitable to create high quality animations and illustrate app-based scenarios effectively within a short deadline.

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3. Feedback

Creating an explainer video is not a continuous sprint from scripting to final video output, we have multiple stages in-between that require a dialogue between the client and studio to make sure it is headed in the right direction.

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There is a considerable amount of effort being put in by the studio and costs being covered by the client. It is of paramount importance to make sure both sides are aligned at every major step so as to get the best final output.

 

Studios usually provide clients a 2 day deadline for giving feedback, here we needed immediate feedback from FlocknGo.

 

4. Timeline

It takes the teamwork of people with different skill-sets to create an explainer video, and naturally each stage of the process takes a set amount of time. When you are working with a standard timeline for an explainer video, the team has enough time to work on each of the stages.

 

With a compressed timeline, the risk is of the quality being low or the costs increasing due to hiring extra team members to delegate parts of the work.

For FlocknGo’s explainer video, we got the opportunity to work with a couple of very talented designers and animators to help bring the project to life without any reduction in quality due to the timeline.

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There are other miscellaneous costs that go into making an explainer such as towards Voice-Over Artists, Music, SFX, etc. But these four provide the major levers that we can push and pull to fit the project’s cost and time requirements.

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Another thing to take note of, that is rarely talked about is originality.

The creative process is iterative in nature, the more time an artist is given, the more explorations and iterations can be done, and hence the project becomes more original. Lesser time and costs can affect the originality of the project as the artists go with what they have done and know already. It is important to question whether originality matters to the client.