7 tips to create Whiteboard animation videos that users love, remember and share.
Aravind - November 23, 2017 - Leave your thoughts.
Want to create a video that educates and engages your audience at the same time?
Whiteboard videos are the best choice. They are simple, engaging and to the point. Whiteboard videos might not be as cool as this dog with the shades but they are definitely cool!
So does it mean you can create a Whiteboard animation video and you will immediately reach a million views? Unfortunately not. In the internet era where thousands of whiteboard videos are created every day, just cool isn’t enough!
Here are some killer tips to make your cool whiteboard videos the coolest.
1.Invoke the other boards
Whiteboard animation videos are amazing for several reasons but its white color is not one of them. 10 years ago the first whiteboard videos were made on a “white” board and that just stuck.
It's time to challenge the status quo.
Schools and colleges have exposed us to several types of boards such as the blackboard and the greenboard. Wouldn’t it be cool to bring all these boards into our videos? Well, we thought so too.
That is why when we made sure our whiteboard tool is not just white.
P.S. We are not selling the tool here, just bragging about it! ;)
2. Go mobile!
- The millennial voice
It’s not 2010 anymore. You can’t ask your audience to turn their phones just to see your videos.
Users hold their phones vertically 94% of the time. As content creators, it is now our duty to make videos optimized for the vertical mobile screen.
There has been a tremendous spike in vertical videos online from a mere 5% to a whopping 30% in just 5 years!
A trend that started with Snapchat has spread like wildfire to other social platforms. Now the world is gearing up for a vertical video take over.
In this era, won’t it be great if you can make your whiteboard video vertical? We thought so too. Check out the world’s first vertical whiteboard video maker.
3. Continuous narrative
All the assets of your whiteboard come together to tell a story. Erasing the board at the end of every scene disrupts the flow and thereby reduces the impact of the video.
Here is a great whiteboard video with a continuous narrative.
The video utilizes continuous narrative to convey complicated concepts in a simple and engaging manner. Had the creator chosen to take the usual route of erasing the board at the end of every scene, it would have lead to a broken narrative.
In the age of social media, even a micro-second lag in your narration can make your viewers swipe up to a more engaging content on their social media wall. So, choose a continuous narration to retain your viewer's attention!
4. Animate your whiteboard characters
Whiteboard animation videos are far more engaging than other forms of 2d animation because we get to see the characters come to life on screen. But what if the characters could be animated rather than remaining as static images on the whiteboard? Wouldn’t that be more engaging to the audience?
Here is a great example of an animated whiteboard video.
As you can see in the video, the characters come to life once they are created by the hand. This makes the video much more interesting to the viewer. Since a lot of whiteboard animation videos still stick to the static image style, adding animation to your videos can really help your videos stand out!
5. Beware of the hybrid video syndrome
A lot of “smart” video creators attempt to save energy and time by cross-creating 2D animation video scripts as whiteboard videos. This endeavor is not a time saver but a time killer.
Whiteboard videos are absolutely different from any other form of animated videos. In a whiteboard video, the characters are not animated the same as a 2D animation video. So the script has to have enough meat to keep the audience engaged.
Don't trust me? Well let's see what the world leader in marketing innovation, Coca-Cola has done.
The video proves that even Coca-Cola chose a fairly heavy and content-rich script to keep the whiteboard video engaging.
6. Make an awesome story the Aristotle way
- Casey Neistat
Whether you are creating a video to spark the next revolution or to teach human evolution, the most important part of your video is the story.
The story engages your audience and makes them care about your message. How can you make your story interesting? The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle has the secret for you in his 3 act structure.
Break your story into 3 parts:
In the digital age, why should you follow a process that is several centuries old? Well, because it works. Whether it is your favorite TV series or the summer blockbuster, every great story can always be classified into the three acts. If the Hollywood biggies are doing it then why shouldn’t you?
7. Make sure all illustrations are proportional
A whiteboard video creates a network of interconnected characters and stories that come together to convey a message. All characters play a small but vital part in conveying your message. Making all your characters proportional in size is a simple yet powerful technique to leave a lasting impact on your audience.
Here is a great example:
At the end of this video, the camera zooms out to reveal all the characters that played a part in conveying a particular message. This is a technique that reminds your audience of all the great characters that you introduced. But this technique is possible only because all the characters were proportional.
Conclusion
Whiteboard animation is a genre of video that has proved to be very effective in terms of engagement as well as education. Following these simple steps, you can capitalize on a genre of videos that is still making waves across several industries. So what are you waiting for?
Go ahead and create your whiteboard video right away!
