Explainer video production
If they don’t get it, they won’t buy it.
A one- or two-minute video that explains what you do, how your product works or why an idea matters, so people get it without you in the room. Animated, in 3D or filmed, depending on what there is to show.
Who we’ve worked with
In short
What is an explainer video?
An explainer video is a short piece, usually one to two minutes long, that shows clearly what a product, service, process or idea is and why it matters to the viewer. It tends to follow a simple order: the problem, the solution, how it works and what to do next. It can be animated, in 3D or live action.
Companies use them on their website and product pages, in sales presentations, at trade fairs and events, for staff training and on social media. Most of the ones we make mix motion graphics and illustration; 3D and filming come in when what needs showing calls for them.
Metals for Humanity · Héroes de la Tierra: la plata
An explainer video, start to finish
Metals for Humanity wanted to take the role metals play in the health of people and the planet into schools, so it turned four minerals into superheroes: Héroes de la Tierra (Earth Heroes). We made silver: its visual world, the character and the animation.
View the projectWhat an explainer video is for
Making something complicated clear first time, and memorable. Three real projects, and what each one had to explain.
01Launching a new product
Energizer was launching EcoAdvanced batteries, made partly from recycled batteries and designed for the devices that drain them fastest. We came up with the idea and the concept and made the 3D animation: the devices break apart and the battery takes centre stage.
EcoAdvancedEnergizer
View the case study
02Explaining how something new works
For Naifactory, a 2D animation showing how Cibico works: display boards made from biomaterials sourced from organic waste, with no inks and 100% biodegradable. From waste to finished sheet, step by step.
CibicoNaifactory
View the case study
03Explaining an initiative to customers and stores
Decathlon was piloting a scheme to recycle diving and swimming fins. We explained it in an animated video that ran in every one of its stores in France and in PADI dive schools.
Fins made from FinsDecathlon · SUBEA
View the case study
Types of explainer video
The technique follows what needs showing, not the other way round. Each one has its own page, with projects and FAQs.
Animated (motion graphics and 2D)
Icons, type, data and illustrated characters. The most common kind: it explains processes and services you can’t see, in your brand’s style.
Motion graphics and 2D animation3D
For showing the inside of a product, a machine or a space that doesn’t exist yet, in full detail and from any angle.
3D animationFilmed, live action
Real people, premises and products, with captions and graphics on top of the footage to structure the explanation.
Corporate videoData-led (animated infographics)
When what you need to get across is figures, comparisons or a process with lots of steps: data people understand at a glance.
Animated infographics
How an explainer video gets made
Five stages, with your sign-off at each one. What shows most in the result is the script: what gets said, in what order and what stays out.
Start with the briefStep 1: Brief
What needs explaining, to whom, where it will be seen and what viewers should do afterwards. If there’s a deadline, that comes first.
You getA proposal with the approach, plan and quote
Step 2: Script
The problem, the solution, how it works and the next step, in as little time as possible. If you already have a script, we start from yours.
You getThe script
Step 3: Style and storyboard
Style frames in your brand’s look and the video drawn scene by scene, or the shooting plan if there’s live action.
You getStyle frames and storyboard
Step 4: Animation or filming
First an animatic with a scratch VO, to get the pacing right. Then the animation, the 3D or the shoot.
You getThe animatic and a cut to review
Step 5: Voice, sound and delivery
Voice-over, music and sound effects, subtitles and a version for every place it will be seen.
You getThe final video in every format
Frequently asked questions
How long should an explainer video be?
One to two minutes is usually enough to explain a product or a service. For the web or social, the shorter the better, and a 15–30 second version helps people actually watch it. A process with lots of steps or a training video can run longer. The length comes out of the script: if a scene doesn’t explain anything, it goes.
How much does an explainer video cost?
It depends on the length, the technique (animating icons and type doesn’t cost the same as illustrated characters, 3D or a shoot) and how many versions you need, in other languages or for social. Voice-over and music count too. Tell us what needs explaining and by when, and we’ll send you a proposal with a quote.
What’s the difference between an explainer video and a corporate video?
An explainer video covers one specific thing (a product, a service, a process) and aims to make it understood. A corporate video tells people who a company or brand is, so they get to know it and trust it. Many companies use both: the corporate video on the homepage and explainers on each product page.
Corporate videoIs animation or live action better?
Animation, if you need to show something you can’t see (an internal process, a service, an idea) or simplify something complex. Live action, if what convinces people is seeing the product, the place or the people. And 3D, if the product is physical and needs to be seen from the inside. They can be combined: filmed footage with graphics on top is very common.
Can you make an explainer video with AI?
There are tools that put a video together from templates, and for something quick and internal they can do the job. What they can’t do is decide what to say, or with what style, so it looks like your brand. We use generative AI within the process, for images and assets that can’t be filmed, with creative direction and review at every stage.
AI video productionDo I need to have a script?
No. We write it from whatever you have: a sales deck, a product sheet, a document or just the idea. An explainer video usually follows this order: the problem, the solution, how it works and what to do next. Fitting your message into that structure is part of the job.
Where are explainer videos used?
On the homepage or the product page, in sales presentations and client meetings, at trade fairs, events and on in-store screens, in staff training and on social media. That’s why we deliver every version you need: landscape, vertical and square, with subtitles so it works with the sound off.
What do you need to explain?
Tell us what needs explaining, to whom and by when. We’ll get back to you and talk it through on a video call or at your office.
info@isla-studio.com
The Isla Studio teamVideo production studio in Madrid