Media & ContentBeginnerPreview
Explainer Video Production
A practical beginner course in producing 60-90 second explainer videos: writing problem-solution scripts at 150 words per minute, recording or sourcing voiceover, animating clean 2D in After Effects or a template tool, and assembling stock assets into a delivery that converts.
Aspiring motion designers, video freelancers, marketers, and founders who want to produce or commission professional explainer videos for SaaS products, startups, and services.
Course content
Workbook & downloads
Put the course into practice — a printable workbook plus editable templates you can fill in and reuse.
Preview the workbook
This workbook turns the course into a repeatable production system you run on every explainer project. Each section maps to a course module: you will define a tight brief and beat sheet, write a script to a hard word budget and prove its timing with a scratch read, plan a storyboard and animatic before any animation, and finish with a clean stock-asset pipeline, a balanced mix, a captioned export, and a profitable quote. Fill the templates against a real project, like the running Foldr example or your own product, so that within a few jobs you have a tested script template, a licence-tracked asset log, and a pricing sheet you trust.
What an Explainer Video Actually Has to Do
Lock the brief, the five-beat structure, and your project pipeline so every later decision has a clear reference.
Worksheet: The Four-Line Brief
Fill this before writing a single word of script. Every later decision is checked against these four answers. Keep each answer to one specific sentence, and name a single real person as the audience, not a segment.
- Product or idea being explained (one line)
- Goal: the one understanding the viewer must leave with
- Audience: the single specific person you are talking to
- Length target in seconds (60 to 90)
- Word budget (length in seconds times 2.5)
- Call to action: the one next step you want them to take
Exercise: Write the Five-Beat Sheet
Using your brief, write a one-line intent for each of the five beats and assign a start and end time so the seconds are budgeted before you write the script. Total must equal your length target.
- Hook (0 to about 8s): what frustration do you name to make the viewer feel seen?
- Problem (to about 25s): what is the cost of the status quo you twist on?
- Solution and How it works (to about 75s): what is the product and its two or three concrete steps?
- Call to action (final seconds): what single action ends the video, and do all five beat times add up to your target length?
Checklist: Project Setup Checklist
- Four-line brief written and agreed with the client in writing
- Five-beat sheet drafted with start and end times that sum to the target length
- Word budget calculated and written at the top of the script doc
- Project folders created: 01-brief, 02-script, 03-audio, 04-storyboard, 05-assets, 06-animation, 07-delivery
- Two sign-off gates noted in the plan: one after script, one after animatic
Writing the Script That Carries the Whole Video
Write inside the word budget, structure the problem-solution arc in a conversational voice, and prove the timing with a scratch read before sign-off.
Worksheet: Script Draft and Cut Tracker
Fill this as you draft and revise the script. The point is to make the cut visible: record your draft word counts and read times so you can see the script tightening toward budget.
- Length target in seconds
- Word budget (target seconds times 2.5)
- First draft word count
- First draft read-aloud time (stopwatch)
- Final draft word count
- Final draft read-aloud time (stopwatch)
- Percent of words cut from first to final draft
- Single weakest line still in the script to revisit
Exercise: Rewrite for the Ear
Take three lines from your current draft and rewrite each for spoken delivery. Read both versions aloud and keep the one that sounds like a person, not a brochure.
- Rewrite one line to use you and your instead of users or customers.
- Rewrite one line to start with a concrete verb (send, sign, store, done).
- Find one sentence with jargon or a corporate phrase and rewrite it so a twelve-year-old would understand it.
- Read all three rewrites aloud: which still feels awkward to say, and how will you fix it?
Checklist: Lock-the-Script Checklist
- Final draft is at or under the word budget
- Script leads with the problem, not the solution or a brand intro
- Voice is second person, short sentences, contractions, no jargon
- Scratch voiceover recorded in a quiet room, best take imported
- Scratch read duration is within a few seconds of the target length
- Script plus scratch audio sent to client and written sign-off received
2D Animation Principles for Motion That Reads
Plan the storyboard and animatic, apply the core animation principles, and animate cleanly against the locked plan.
Worksheet: Scene-by-Scene Storyboard Plan
Fill one row per scene (aim for 8 to 12 scenes for a short explainer). This becomes the shot list your animatic and animation are built from. Leave the duration column for after you time it against the scratch audio.
- Scene number
- Script line or narration for this scene
- Key action on screen (one phrase)
- On-screen text, if any
- Stock or custom asset needed
- Scene duration in seconds (fill after timing to scratch audio)
Exercise: Ease It Until It Reads
Pick one motion in your video (for example a card sliding in). Plan its timing and the principles you will apply, then describe the polished version in frames.
- At your frame rate, how many frames will the main move take, and does that match the feeling you want (snappy versus calm)?
- Where will you add anticipation (a small reverse move before the action), and for how many frames?
- Where will you add overshoot or follow-through so the element settles instead of stopping dead?
- After applying easing, does any part still look linear or robotic, and which keyframe is the culprit?
Checklist: Animatic Sign-Off Checklist
- One storyboard frame sketched per scene, however rough
- Frames placed on a timeline under the scratch voiceover
- Each frame holds for the length of its narration line
- Full animatic watched through and holds adjusted until pacing feels right
- Composition set to delivery spec (e.g. 1920x1080 at 30 fps)
- Animatic sent to client and visual flow signed off before animation starts
Stock Assets, Voiceover, and Delivery
Run a licence-clean asset pipeline, finish the voiceover and mix, export a captioned MP4 correctly, and price the project to be profitable.
Worksheet: Voiceover and Mix Setup
Fill this before and during the final audio pass. It captures your recording conditions and your mix decisions so the result is clean and repeatable.
- Voiceover source (self / professional / AI tool)
- Microphone used
- Recording space and how echo was reduced
- Peak record level in dB (target around minus 6, no clipping)
- Room tone recorded for gap filling (Y/N)
- Music ducked below voice by how many dB (target 15 to 20)
- Sound effects placed on key moves (list them)
- Final mix listened through with eyes closed and approved (Y/N)
Exercise: Export and Caption Dry Run
Before final delivery, do one full export and check it critically. Answer these against the file you actually exported, not the timeline.
- What codec, resolution, frame rate, and bitrate did you export at, and do they match the recommended H.264 / 1920x1080 / 30 fps / 10 to 16 Mbps?
- Did you proofread every caption line for typos and timing, and are captions legible with high contrast and safe margins?
- Watching the exported file end to end, is the motion smooth with no stutter or softness?
- Will this be watched on mute (social), and if so are the captions burned in so the message lands without sound?
Worksheet: Project Quote Builder
Fill this to price the project on value and length, not hours. Leave the deposit and total figures for you to calculate from your own fee and terms.
- Video length in seconds
- Base project fee (priced on outcome and length)
- Custom illustration or extra scope add-ons
- Number of revision rounds included (commonly 2)
- Price per additional revision round
- Deposit percentage required up front (commonly 50)
- Deposit amount due (calculate)
- Total project price (calculate)
Checklist: Delivery and Handover Checklist
- Final MP4 exported (H.264, 1920x1080, 30 fps, 10 to 16 Mbps) and watched in full
- Captions proofread and styled for legibility
- Asset log complete with source and licence for every stock item used
- File named clearly and delivered via a shared link
- Full project folder archived for future edits
- Invoice sent matching the written quote and revision terms
Your Action Plan
- Write the four-line brief (goal, audience, length, action) and get the client to agree it in writing
- Build the five-beat sheet with start and end times that sum to your target length
- Draft the script freely, then cut to the word budget and log draft and final word counts
- Record a scratch voiceover, confirm the read time, and get script plus audio signed off
- Storyboard one frame per scene and assemble an animatic timed to the scratch audio
- Get the animatic signed off, then animate against it with easing, anticipation, and overshoot
- Source stock footage, music, icons, and Lottie assets, logging the source and licence for each
- Record or commission the final voiceover and mix it with ducked music and a few sound effects
- Export a captioned MP4 at the correct settings and watch the file end to end before sending
- Quote a fixed fee with defined revision rounds and a deposit, then deliver and archive the project
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