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 decisions are meaning decisions: the sync, hold, easing, and rhythm rules we tuned across our produced explainers.
6 min read
Camera moves in product videos: when to move, when to cut, when to hold still
The camera is the video's attention: when to move, when to cut, when to hold still, and what separated rejected videos from accepted ones.
6 min read
How should an explainer video end? The CTA and the last ten seconds
How to end an explainer video: the closing line, the final frame, and the right ask for homepage, Product Hunt, docs, and ads.
7 min read
Explainer video hooks: the first five seconds
The two opens that pass review, the six-step hook anatomy, and the named ways explainer openings die.
7 min read
How long should an explainer video be?
Real length data from our produced explainers, the words-per-second math, and why runtime follows scene count.
5 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 stills, unbounded revisions.
8 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.
5 min read
How to write an explainer video script
Write the visuals first, one idea per scene, narration last: the scripting order that keeps a video from becoming a narrated slideshow.
6 min read
How to storyboard an explainer video
What every storyboard row must contain, why the scene list is a contract, and where the still-frame gate fits before motion.
5 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.
6 min read
How to make an animated explainer video
Our working method: plan backwards from the viewer, 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.
5 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.
5 min read
Show the real product: why invented UI kills explainer videos
Viewers can tell invented interface from the real product, even when they can't say why. The grounding method that keeps every frame of a product video true.
5 min read
What makes a good explainer video?
The rules that separate alive videos from dead ones, learned across our produced explainers: sync, focus, holds, real surfaces.
7 min read
Why do explainer videos look cheap?
Explainer videos look cheap for mechanical, nameable reasons, none of them budget. Each failure mode, its tell, and the fix that removes it.
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.
6 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.
6 min read
Devtools explainer videos: how to explain a developer tool without setting off the marketing alarm
Developers punish marketing video. A devtools explainer works when it behaves like documentation with better staging.
6 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.
6 min read
Feature release videos: turn your changelog into a cadence
Release videos work as a series with a standing system: the first video carries the setup cost and the rest mostly reuse it.
6 min read
Launch videos: one claim, shown once, shipped on time
A launch video makes one claim and proves it with a real run. How to pick the claim, prove it honestly, and ship it on time.
5 min read
Onboarding videos: what users actually watch inside a product
Users consult onboarding videos like docs: mid-task, out of order, wanting one answer. Each video should be built for that reader.
6 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.
5 min read
Product Hunt launch videos: what actually works in the gallery
Most Product Hunt visitors watch muted and give a video seconds. How to cut a launch video that survives that, with real examples.
8 min read
SaaS explainer videos: where they live, what they must prove, what to expect
Why placement decides the script, the three beliefs a SaaS viewer needs, and how to stage dense UI without faking it.
6 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 animation, and services: real costs, learning curves, quality ceilings.
7 min read
Explainer video: agency or DIY?
The five jobs every explainer needs done, which ones each path actually hands off, and how to choose 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 of $1,500 to $3,500, with a free 20-cut board first.
4 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.
7 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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