Hello dear reader and a warm welcome to the second and final part of the HCM Explainer Video blog series! Let us explore deeper into how the HCM Explainer Video was created.

The previous blog that was written entailed the Best Practices that were learned whilst creating the HCM Explainer Video. These Best Practices will hopefully serve as good guidance to anyone who wants to create such a video. If you have not read the previous blog post that was uploaded on our website (HCM Explainer Video – Best practices) we sincerely hope that you find the time to read it, ideally before reading this blog post!

In this blog post, we would like to share with you the major steps/production processes that were conducted in the creation of the HCM Explainer Video. So, without further ado, let us explore these methods that were carefully created and followed with structure, system and precision. It would be wonderful if reading this blog would serve your purposes in extracting any necessary information that may improve productivity for any such future project you might conduct.

The following steps describe the production of an explainer video using software to create illustrations and text.

From the initial idea to the storyboard:

The lightbulb moment – the spark of an initial idea. At the very beginning, there is the idea for an explainer video. The video usually averages 2-3 minutes in length and presents, for example, a project, a company or a process. It could well be that often the idea may still be somewhat unsorted. That matters not. To have the idea is of course very crucial to the entire project and may be imprecise. Therefore, the following steps are required in shaping this idea to development and precision.

In this step, it is important to have a full overview and understanding of your idea. To aid you with this, it is a fantastic idea to design a questionnaire that includes the most essential parameters (e.g., topic, duration, target group, key statements, milestones, graphics, music) to guide you through the project. As the project manager, you could conduct an interview together with your client and capture all the information needed for the video.

Before starting the production of the pilot video, it is recommended to create an entire storyboard to design the Explainer Video in detail. This divides the idea into scenes, describes them (with, for example, graphics, characters, text, and music) and assigns initial suggestions for illustration to the scenes. In this step, the unravelling of the story that will be revealed in the Explainer Video will be told.

From a pilot to the final product: 

After you have completed your storyboard and have aligned it with the client to ensure he/she is happy with it, the development of a pilot video can begin. This produces the very first ´test´ video that should include all illustrations, background music and the voice-over. The pilot version of the video is not the complete and final version of the Explainer Video, but it forms the basis for the review and advisory processes. After the first pilot video is concluded, have the client review it and insert any input to changes that should be made. Use this advice from the client to make adjustments (e.g. change in illustrations/text) to the pilot video. Experience shows these steps are frequently repeated.

After having worked on your pilot version for your Explainer Video, the final product which both the project manager and the client will be satisfied with, will have arrived. The final video is often delivered in the original language of production. If you have planned to include an additional or several language versions to the video, this step will follow hereafter. A final release is necessary before publication (e.g. on a blog, Instagram or YouTube channel). Any corrections to the final video can be made here or later at any point in time. Finally, your Explainer Video can be published. Enjoy watching it live the first time whilst eating some popcorn.

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the HCM Explainer Video series. We truly hope you enjoyed the rather short and concise read based on our experience and lessons learned in creating such a video. If you will be creating an Explainer Video in future, we wish you good luck! Please do reach out to us and share your video with us! We hope that our blog series was able to help you.