Resources
The explainer video library
33 guides on making explainer videos that work — craft, use cases, what things really cost, and the method behind the 20-cut process. Real numbers throughout, including our own.
Craft
16 guidesAnimation timing and easing: why your video feels off
Timing is meaning, not polish. The real numbers behind sync, holds, easing, and rhythm — from sixty-odd produced explainers.
8 min read
Camera moves in product videos: when to move, when to cut, when to hold still
The camera is the video's attention. How one moving camera over one fixed layout beats static frames — with the evidence.
8 min read
How should an explainer video end? The CTA and the last ten seconds
End on behavior, not a slogan: the closer doctrine, end-card mechanics, and the right ask for homepage, Product Hunt, docs, and ads.
8 min read
Explainer video hooks: the first five seconds
Cold-open doctrine, the six-step hook anatomy, and the named ways openings die — from sixty-odd produced explainers.
7 min read
How long should an explainer video be?
Real length data from sixty-odd produced explainers, the words-per-second math, and why runtime follows scene count.
6 min read
The six explainer video mistakes that happen before anyone animates
The expensive mistakes are upstream of the visuals: no falsifiable thesis, narration-first scripts, skipped still reviews, unbounded revisions.
9 min read
Music for explainer videos: what the soundtrack is actually for
What the music bed does, how loud it should be, why silence beats bad sound, and the licensing terms every buyer should demand.
7 min read
How to write an explainer video script
Write the visuals first, one idea per scene, narration last. The scripting method behind sixty-odd produced explainers, with real examples.
6 min read
How to storyboard an explainer video
What every storyboard row must contain, why the scene list is a contract, and how a still review catches failures at 5% of cost.
6 min read
How to write voice over for an explainer video
The narration register that survives review: full sentences at 1.9 words per second, written last, to a locked picture.
8 min read
How to make an animated explainer video
The working method behind sixty produced explainers: plan backwards, lock a scene list, review stills before motion, write narration last.
7 min read
How to make animated videos
The four realistic paths for a beginner, what each tool class is good at, and what actually determines whether the result is any good.
6 min read
One idea per scene: the rule that runs the whole video
What 'one idea' actually means, how to catch a two-idea scene before you build it, and how to sequence beats into a chain that teaches.
7 min read
Show the real product: why invented UI kills explainer videos
Fake dashboards read as brochures and real ones read as proof. The grounding method that keeps every frame of your video true.
7 min read
What makes a good explainer video?
The rules that separate alive videos from dead ones, learned across sixty-plus produced explainers: sync, focus, holds, real surfaces.
7 min read
Why do explainer videos look cheap?
Cheap is a mechanism, not a budget: text walls, dead holds, fake UI, template rhythm. The named failure modes, their tells, and the fixes.
7 min read
By use case
10 guidesAI startup explainer videos: show the behavior, not the brain
AI products do invisible work for skeptical buyers. The fix is real inputs, real outputs, and timing that makes the mechanism visible.
8 min read
API explainer videos: explaining a product with no UI
Make one real request the main character. Diagram rules, code-on-screen rules, and where API videos live: docs, launches, talks.
7 min read
Devtools explainer videos: how to explain a developer tool without setting off the marketing alarm
Developers punish marketing video. What survives: the real tool, calibrated claims, and diagrams that show the mechanism.
7 min read
Documentation videos: making videos that work as reference
Docs videos get watched by stuck people mid-task. How to make them atomic, consistent across a series, and cheap to keep true.
8 min read
Feature release videos: turn your changelog into a cadence
Why release videos are a series, not a stack of one-offs — and how a standing visual system makes each one cheaper than the last.
8 min read
Launch videos: one claim, shown once, shipped on time
How a launch video differs from an explainer, what deadline production really costs, and what to cut when the date won't move.
7 min read
Onboarding videos: what users actually watch inside a product
Users consult onboarding videos like docs, not like a series. Design for that: one concept each, gravity-center first, short.
7 min read
Open-source project videos: turning stars into users
Why a README video converts stars into first runs, what it should show (the real tool, fast), and how to make one with no budget.
7 min read
Product Hunt launch videos: what actually works in the gallery
The silent-autoplay reality, the length that survives a skim, and the failure modes we see in launch galleries every week.
7 min read
SaaS explainer videos: where they live, what they must prove, what to expect
The three placements, the three beliefs a SaaS viewer needs, and how to stage dense dashboard UI without faking it.
7 min read
Pricing & decisions
6 guidesAnimated video tools: the five classes, and what each one can't do
Template editors, AI generators, motion-design software, code-based animation, and services — real costs, learning curves, quality ceilings.
7 min read
Explainer video: agency vs. DIY — the honest fork
What agencies actually deliver for $5–15k, what DIY really costs in your own hours, and how to decide by stage, budget, and deadline.
6 min read
How much does an animated explainer video cost in 2026?
Real numbers: agency ranges, tool subscriptions, and our actual public prices — $1,500 to $3,500, with a free 20-cut candidate board first.
3 min read
Explainer video styles: what each one is for (and when it looks cheap)
Diagrammatic, screencast, character, whiteboard, 3D, typographic — what each style does well, what it costs, and its cheap tell.
8 min read
How long does an explainer video take to make?
Agencies run 4–9 weeks. Where the weeks actually go — rounds, handoffs, approval waits — and what a realistic fast path looks like.
5 min read
Product demo vs. explainer video: which one do you need?
Demos prove, explainers teach. The altitude difference, where each format fails, and the hybrid pattern that does both jobs.
6 min read
The method
1 guideReading is slower than seeing it done.
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