Explainer videos are the entire rave in the advertising industry for use from manufacturing to education to human resources. Businesses have found out that there is a high rise in viewer’s engagement when an explainer video is seen and their landing pages have a higher viewership when an explainer video is placed on it when compared to texts. Explainer videos are short, concise, straightforward videos that help a brand introduce its products, the uses, and the problems it solves to the target audience in a way that generates a following and interest them in making a purchase of the products.

With the rise in video content, making an explainer video to improve product visibility and brand presence has been on the minds of every business. Online explainer video software has been created to assist the D-I-Y-conscious businesses with small budgets and others choose to go with hiring freelancers or explainer video companies or marketing agencies to assist them with the creation of professional videos that give their brand a classy look. Even with all the different ways to make the videos, one thing to recognize is that there is no cheap explainer video. A brand has to spend some money to get a standard video for its brand. Sites like Biteable, Vyond, Animaker, etc may advertise a free video making access but the limitations of these free plans limit not only the creativity, custom characters and templates required for the uniqueness of different videos, but mostly the effectiveness of the media in conveying the desired message to the audience.

Why are explainer videos expensive?

Creating an explainer video may look to be an easy task as the simplistic look and straightforward characters may seem easy to compile but this is very far from the truth.

• The type of explainer video a brand chooses to make will start dictating the costs of creating the video. If a brand decides to make a 3d video, it will be more expensive than a 2d video,  a stop animation video is also more expensive than a whiteboard video and a whiteboard is more expensive than a screencast. One important note is that a 2d animation video can be less expensive than a whiteboard animation depending on whether stock or custom characters are commissioned for the project.
• The characters for the video: The environment and characters used for a 3d animation may be more expensive than a 2d animation and a whiteboard animation video may be more expensive than a 2d animation too. When a video is being made, the creator will ask if the buyer wants stock drawings or custom drawings for the video. Now, the difference between these characters is that stock characters are template characters or characters that are not specifically made for the project while custom characters are specifically drawn or created for the project. They include what makes the character unique to the brand. As such, the creator will have to either make the characters from scratch or purchase them from artists, which will cost funds.
• Voice over: Professionally-written scripts and voice-overs are custom-made for each video because no two brands want to tell their audience the same thing. This will also require some allocation of funds for the creation of the script and the recording of the voice-over by the artists.
• Animation: Here comes the eternal question: How long does it take to animate. The animation itself is a time-consuming, meticulous job for the animator. The characters commissioned have to be assembled one after the other with the voice overlaid and the texts to give the video seamless flow. This process will be played and replayed until it is just perfect. The level of expertise needed to create a standard video comes with the cost to match it. There’s no easy answer to it.

Explainer videos appear to be expensive because a lot of things go into making one with costs rising at every step and character needed in the creation of the video. Thinking of an explainer video as an investment will assist a business in making sure that it is done well by professionals.