Cinema is a funny thing: When everything’s working, the artifice falls away and you’re absorbed in the story. But when something’s not working, all you can see is the scaffolding trying to prop up a bad movie. Explainer videos work the same way: if the script is great, you’ll forgive a more simplistic art style. Or if the visuals are stunning, you’ll be absorbed in the experience, even if you don’t know what you’re being sold. Let’s look at both imbalances in turn:<\/p>\n
Great Script, Simple Animation Style<\/strong> Gorgeous Animation, Weak Script<\/strong> The Winner: Script (with a great artist doing a simple style)<\/strong> The best case is a good balance of both.<\/strong> The art supports the script, the artifice remains intact, and viewers are absorbed in your story. But if you have to choose ONE, and you’re trying to win over hearts and minds? Scripting can trump art in the realm of explainers.<\/strong> I’d rather watch a well-written film with unknown actors than sit through a star-studded film with a paper-thin plot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cinema is a funny thing: When everything’s working, the artifice falls away and you’re absorbed in the story. But when something’s not working, all you can see is the scaffolding trying to prop up a bad movie. Explainer videos work the same way: if the script is great, you’ll forgive a more simplistic art style…. Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":165,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/parkerharper.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/type.png?fit=1460%2C856&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkerharper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkerharper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkerharper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkerharper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkerharper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/parkerharper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":167,"href":"https:\/\/parkerharper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12\/revisions\/167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkerharper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkerharper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkerharper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkerharper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThis pairing focuses viewers on your argument with laser-like attention: if your script isn’t air-tight, you’re doomed.<\/strong> The visuals won’t save you. But if your script is great, and your visuals pass a minimal (non-distracting) threshold, you’ve got an effective explainer. A great script will work with terrible drawings on a whiteboard, or sock puppets. As long as viewers can process your argument, you win.<\/p>\n
\nThere’s no substitute for quality art and animation. The best explainer artists are really striving for the intersection of art and commerce.<\/strong> But if you’re message is unclear, then viewers will ONLY come away remembering the stunning artwork, NOT YOUR PRODUCT. Yes, it’s a brand impression, and yes it supports more luxurious brand notions, but in the end, it’s like great actors stuck in a terrible movie: you love the actors, but feel bad they’re trapped in a dud.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nIt really depends on what you’re trying to achieve with your explainer video: are you trying to convince potential customers to change their current behavior (and choose YOUR product), or are you just trying to make a memorable brand impression? Remember, music and art are highly subjective: the wrong music or artwork can instantly alienate huge segments of your audience.<\/strong> And the simpler the art style, the more universal it is. (Scott McCloud illustrates this concept here).<\/a> The corollary to this argument? In the hands of a true artist, stick figures can knock your socks off.<\/strong><\/p>\n