How to Make Animated Training Videos for Your Business

The production of top quality animated training videos for your business was once a task that only major organizations with a lofty budget could consider, but today’s organizations have more opportunity with video than ever before. In fact, learning how to make animated training videos for your business is now simply a matter of learning a bit of background on video production and having some understanding of animation. Advances in software and digital programs that make the creation of animated training videos easier than ever have opened new doors to business owners, but knowing how to make animated training videos and knowing how to make professional animations are still two very different processes.

Not All Animated Training Videos are Equal

Before we show you what it takes to learn how to make animated training videos that you can use for your business, it’s important for you to understand that not all animated training videos are created equal. What we mean is, you might be able to use software at home to produce an animated training video that is “okay,” but it most likely won’t be top quality. It’s nothing against you, your animated video production skills, or the software, it’s just that professionally animated training videos require advanced knowledge and training to produce.

Top Considerations for Animated Training Videos

Learning how to produce an animated training video requires you to consider some important points of focus first. To help you understand, here’s a checklist of what you need to plan for ahead of production:

• Plan the type of video you want to produce. Many types of animation exist including whiteboard animations, motion graphics, stop motion, 2D and 3D animation and a few others.
• Plan the story that you will tell and the characters that will be included. Every great training video is backed by a story and at least one character that your audience can relate to.
• Plan the learning goal and objectives that will be involved. Your video should have a single learning goal and several objectives that will be covered to reach that learning goal. Keep it simple. You don’t want training videos to be overly long.
• Expect the script to be about 120 to 150 words per minute. 
• Think visually first and then use words or narration as complimentary content to hammer home the important topics.
• It’s important to humanize your topic. You want your audience to relate to what you’re teaching and to understand where you’re going.
• Avoid industry jargon, complex terminology, or difficult to understand wording. A conversational tone for voiceover or narration is best.

Most of these important concepts are covered during pre-production as you’re planning the animated training video for your team. Learning how to make animated training videos that your team will benefit from is going to require pre-production, production, and post production.

Considerations During Animated Training Video Production

During production, the animation process generally begins. This is where characters are created, drawings or other animated backgrounds are produced, and the video begins to come together. You’ll produce animations for each scene of your video beginning with the first and working through until you’ve created the animated works for all of your story.

Depending on the animation style that was chosen, the actual production process will vary. For instance, whiteboard animation is generally produced using specialized software that makes the process relatively simple whereas 3D animation requires that each character is complexly constructed first, as well as each scene and then all of the parts are strung together using incredibly complex and expensive animation software. Generally, only top end production companies have access to the 3D animation software required for this type of production.

During production, it’s very important to be sure that the training concept is fully covered and that the content created is going to resonate with your workers. You want your audience to feel connected to the animation, and to feel like they understand what you’re teaching. Many different animated features can be incorporated into the animated training video that you produce in order to help break down concepts and provide your audience with stronger understanding of key knowledge points.

Considerations in Post-Production of Animated Training Videos

During post-production the focus on animated training videos is all about editing to refine the content for a finished piece. Most of the time, the entire production process is something that you’ll work with a professional animated video production team on simply because there are so many different needs and important considerations to make as well as technical skills required for the production of top quality animated training videos.

At Beverly Boy Productions, we’ll work with you and your team on the production of top quality animated training videos from start to finish. Learning how to make animated training videos for your business is really an incredibly complex process that most filmmakers even spend years perfecting. If you don’t have the time or the desire to learn the process from start to finish, you’re not alone! Beverly Boy Productions will help you produce animated training videos that are exactly what your team needs. Give us a call to learn more!