Make an explainer video
An explainer earns attention by making something clear. With your crew you shape a simple through-line — the one idea, start to finish — break it into beats that show rather than tell, and add a voice track that carries the explanation. Keep it tight, cut anything that does not serve the point, and export a video that leaves the idea understood.
An explainer has one job: leave the viewer understanding something they did not before. The crew builds it around a clear through-line, shots that show, and a voice that carries the idea.
Step by step
- 1
Name the one idea
Tell the crew the single thing the viewer should understand by the end. One idea, clearly, beats three half-explained.
- 2
Build a simple through-line
Shape a beat sheet that walks the idea from setup to payoff, cutting anything that does not serve it.
- 3
Show it in the shots
Direct shots that demonstrate the point rather than decorate it, so the picture is doing the explaining.
- 4
Carry it with a voice
Add a voice track paced to the shots, then assemble and export a tight, clear explainer.
Clarity is the whole job
An explainer is not measured by how much it says but by how much the viewer understands. A single through-line, shots that show, and a voice paced to match will teach more than a dense script over stock footage ever could.
Key terms
- Through-line.
- The single idea the explainer follows from start to finish, with nothing that distracts from it.
- Show, do not tell.
- Using shots that demonstrate the point rather than narrating over unrelated footage.
- Voice track.
- The narration that carries the explanation, paced to the shots that illustrate it.
FAQ
How long should an explainer be?
As long as the idea needs and no longer. Keep one through-line and cut anything that does not serve it — tight explainers land better.
Do I need a voice track?
Usually yes — a voice paced to the shots carries the explanation. The crew can add narration and balance it under the cut.