Insights

The 20 Best DIY Tools to Make Your Own Animated Videos

If you have time and you’re willing to roll up your sleeves, these 20 tools for making DIY animated videos are the best around.

Most of the tools below won’t give you full creative control like you’d get with a full service company, but they may just do the trick:

1. Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)

Vyond offers templates for different industries, occupations, and concepts. You can build character-driven stories or compelling data visualizations that engage audiences and deliver results. The platform allows for the import of external audio and images. Most basic option starts at $39 USD/month. 

3 Ways to Impact The Buyer’s Journey Using Video

A recent study by Google found that online shoppers often take different purchase journeys when buying products online. Some journeys start and end entirely on smartphones and tablets, while other journeys were done entirely on a desktop computer, for example.

While each journey in the Google study was unique, they found three common themes among the deal-seekers: they all invested in some type of research, they relied heavily on mobile devices, and they don’t just focus on gifts (they shop for themselves too).

3 Deadly Traps to Avoid When Making a Video

More companies are using video to help drive sales, educate their workforce and build brand recognition. Consequently, it’s more important than ever to be incorporate videos in your own sales, marketing & training efforts.

And while there’s a ton of different steps that go into making a great video – from the actual video recording or animation production, to the voiceover and the script itself – it’s crucial to avoid a few hidden traps before beginning. 

The Best Company Story Video...Ever

As the battle for ride-sharing dominance continues to evolve at break-neck speed, so does the marketing behind brands like Uber and Lyft.

With studies pointing to video as being one of the best ways to build brand awareness and drive sales, more businesses are turning to animated brand videos, like this one from Lyft that shares their company story.

In three minutes and nine seconds The Story of Lyft video (below) is one of the best. It’s a brilliant example of a great company story video and here’s why:

Sharp Eye Animation Wins Gold at 2018 MarCom Awards

San Francisco, CA – November 1, 2018

The MarCom Awards, one of the largest and most-respected creative competitions in the world, honored Sharp Eye Animation with a Gold Award for the “What is ShipStation” animated explainer video in their 2018 Digital Video Creation, animation category. 

Gold Winners represent the top 20% from a pool of more than 6,500 international marketing and communication teams, and they represent companies ranging from creative agencies and Fortune 500’s to individual creative professionals.

State of Video Marketing Infographic

Data from Wyzowl's State of Video Marketing Survey was published by Hubspot, and for you visual learners we've turned the findings into an infographic.

About Sharp Eye Animation

San Francisco-based animation studio that specializes in digital video creation, including animated explainer videos, product videos, educational videos and more. We help businesses and organizations by taking ideas and turning them into understandable and memorable stories they can share with the world.

Kickstarter Game Videos’ Secret to Success

It’s no secret that including video in your Kickstarter campaign will increase your chances for success. Kickstarter suggests that when in comes to making your own video, all you need is a computer with a camera. This be true for most projects, but when it comes to games on Kickstarter, this isn’t necessarily the case.

The most successful Kickstarter games – both by amount of financial backing and sheer number of supporters – weren’t taking the suggested DIY approach. Instead they all include a custom animated video to explain what the game is, how it’s played and who the masterminds are behind the experience.  

Why a Product Video Should Be Part of Every Shopping Experience

Remember when you were a teenager, looking to buy new shoes or a pair of jeans?

Trips to the store or ordering from a catalog were likely how you made your purchase. Today we can simply grab a laptop or smartphone to place an order, and video is playing an increasingly important role.

82% of all global internet traffic will come from video by 2020

Videos help shoppers research

People research just about every product they want before buying, and the internet is making research easier than ever.  Product videos have become the go-to resource for people looking for details on a product, since clicking a play button is easier (and more engaging) than reading through a ton of text. In fact, research has shown that 96% of viewers find video helpful when making purchase decisions online.²

10 Best Machine Learning Videos Of All Time

Looking for some video marketing inspiration for your next machine learning or artificial intelligence video? Concepts like machine learning or AI can be tough to explain, but videos help!

To help you get your creative juices flowing for your next video project we’ve gathered the 10 best machine learning videos (and artificial intelligence) of all time. 

Check out the 10 best machine learning videos below:

15 Reasons Why You Need a Crowdfunding Video

Crowdfunding has emerged as an effective way to test a market while gaining the financial support needed to turn your idea into reality. With tens of thousands of campaigns on platforms like Kickstarter, Patreon and IndieGogo, you may have wondered what you can do to make your campaign stand out. For most the answer is video, which has exploded in popularity over the last few years, and is expected to continue its reign as the king of content.

Holiday Emails and Animated Videos

Ah the holidays. A time for Cyber Monday specials and Black Friday offers. Also a time to send your holiday emails, thanking customers and wishing them a happy new year.

In a sea of season’s greetings emails, animated videos help you stand out while engaging, informing and delighting your audience.

Here are 3 reasons why animation is the perfect tool for your upcoming holiday email campaigns:

1. They make you stand out

Times have changed and email has evolved to support not just text and images, but video as well. While many companies continue sending their basic text + image-based emails like they have for years, you can stand out by adding custom animated video to your holiday emails.

What is Bitcoin?

Before 2011, few people had any idea what Bitcoin was. Not only that, but the concept of blockchain and cryptocurrency (distributed ledgers?!) is complicated.

But with an animated explainer video placed front and center on bitcoin.org’s homepage, they were able to easily and efficiently explain how the technology could change the finance industry forever.

Since launching their original video in 2011 – and updating it in April 2014 – the explainer videos have become the most watched cryptocurrency introduction videos ever, with more than 16 million views combined.

Corporate Training Videos

“Employees are a company’s greatest asset – they’re your competitive advantage. You want to attract and retain the best; provide them with encouragement, stimulus, and make them feel that they are an integral part of the company’s mission”

– Anne M. Mulcahy, Chief Executive CEO of the Year 2008

Videos have changed the way corporate teams learn. They eliminate the need for your team to travel to trainings, provide consistent instruction quality, and are typically more engaging than in person classes.

Crowdfunding Explainer Video: The Ultimate Guide

The Ultimate Guide to Crowdfunding Explainer Videos

Welcome!

Here you’ll find everything you need to know when looking to make a video for your crowdfunding project. Looking for something specific? Jump to a section using the links below:

• Explainer Video Overview – is one right for you?
• Why They’re Effective: The Science – Dr Allan Paivio’s Dual-Coding Theory
• Case Studies
• Inspiration (get your creative juices flowing!)
• Use Cases
• Finding a Team
• Production Process
• DIY options
• The Sharp Eye Animation difference

20% higher crowdfunding campaign success rate when video is included¹

As more people around the world come online each day, video continues to explode in popularity. Video entertains, teaches, documents and informs us unlike any other medium. It’s a powerful storytelling tool that’s still in its early stages.

Enhanced Content for Ecommerce and Retail

With Amazon, eBay, Walmart and other large Ecommerce giants battling for online dollars, brands selling products on these sites look to outrank the competition by securing a coveted page one search engine ranking. To get there, some brands focus on optimizing keywords and getting more five-star reviews.

Forward-thinking brands take a holistic approach, adding product videos to educate potential customers, gain trust and make more sales.

Item pages with video were 200% more likely to appear on page one.

Content Analytics, the leading Ecommerce optimization platform, conducted their own research to see how item pages perform with and without video, the findings were astonishing: item pages with video were 200% more likely to appear on page one.

Crowdfunding Video Production

Attention spans getting shorter everyday. They’re currently at 8 seconds and tied with a goldfish’s. Having a video that can capture attention while giving the perfect pitch is crucial to success. This is especially true for crowdfunding campaigns, where new campaigns emerge everyday. Video is a powerful tool that quickly gets across important and sometimes complex messages to your audiences.

For many crowdfunding campaigns user-generated videos (think laptop camera recording a founder in his/her living room) are good enough. For those looking for more impact, custom animation is a great option that can drive thrilling results. Exploding Kittens’ explainer video, for example, helped to launch their campaign into crowdfunding history.

Cryptocurrency Videos and Animation

Cryptocurrency, the digital currency using cryptography to secure and verify transactions, has become one the 21st century’s most complex technologies. With nearly 2,000 different currencies out there the need to stand out is critical, so many are turning to animated video to get their most important messages across to audiences.

Binance, for example, one of the world’s top cryptocurrency exchanges, uses animated videos as a primary tool to educate students at their online academy. Ethereum’s YouTube channel has 130+ videos. And bitcoin.org’s explainer videos have over 11 million views to date.

Exploding Kittens Video

Since its birth, animation has evolved to become a tool used by everyone from Fortune 500’s to startups. Its flexibility can take viewers to space, the bottom of the sea and anywhere in between. For crowdfunding projects on platforms like Kickstarter and Patreon, animation help campaigns stand out and can lead to great results.

The most-backed Kickstarter campaign of all time – and 3rd most funded game on Kickstarter ever – Exploding Kittens – used a hilarious explainer video to tell the story of their unconventional card game. The video helped them raise nearly 9 million dollars and was so effective that it’s still featured on their homepage. Here’s why the Exploding Kittens video is so powerful:

Animated Law Videos

As an attorney, chances are you’re always on the hunt for new clients. Traditionally referrals have been your main source for winning new clients, but over the last few years law videos have been gaining traction due to their ability to capture and retain viewer attention.

In today’s always-connected world, eyes are shifting online and new opportunities to win clients from places like YouTube have emerged. It’s estimated that by 2021 video will account for more than 80% of all IP traffic.

Crowdfunding Videos and SEO

Everyone at some point has thought about starting a business and bringing a great idea to life in the marketplace. Starting a business these days is getting easier thanks to the power of crowdfunding – or raising money from many people, typically via the Internet.

Crowdfunding is a powerful way to get exposure, market validation, and most importantly, funds needed to get started. While crowdfunding can be a great way to get an idea or business off the ground, getting exposure in a sea of awesome projects can be challenging.

Integrated Marketing Extends the Life of Your Custom Animated Video

Many businesses use video to help get their important messages across to audiences in a fun, engaging and memorable way. They’ll add them to their website, social channels and email campaigns, where they act as a super-efficient salesperson, delivering the perfect pitch every time.

It’s no secret that they’re one of the most powerful tools in a company’s marketing arsenal, and when they’re done well they provide exciting results.

Animated explainer videos – like the ones we produce here at Sharp Eye Animation – are full of fun visuals, so we decided to help our clients get more from them by offering an integrated marketing service where in addition to producing a video, we’ll also provide high-resolution artwork from the animation.

Customer Success: Athena Software

Video’s popularity has seen some serious growth over the last several years, and this trend continues to rise. Cisco, for example, estimates that by 2021, 80% of all internet traffic will be video.¹ That means a lot more cat, how-to’s and prank videos have yet to be uploaded to YouTube. 

Explainer videos are also surging in popularity, with more businesses turning to them to replace text-heavy web pages. For many, explainers have become a must-have and some have returned healthy ROIs.

Making the animated video

We’re thrilled to learn that our friends at RepairShopr loved working with us so much that they decided to write a blog post about it! The video is featured on their homepage and has so far has results in 16k views and 3000+ paying customers, according to RepairShopr CEO Robert Reichner. Read the case study here.

In their blog post they share the end-to-end process we went through with them while making the video – from the initial discovery call, to the storyboard and character design (shared below), to the voiceover recording and ultimately to the final cuts we provided them that included different calls-to-action and music options.

Custom Products and Animation Together in Harmony

If you sell customized products where customers go through a potentially frustrating checkout process, you’re likely aware that videos are great tools that efficiently educate while improving conversion rates.

And it makes sense that videos are ideal, after all would you prefer to read over a text-heavy webpage or watch a 60-second video on the same topic?

Many are missing out on the opportunity get their important messages across by still relying on text over video.

Unlike Other Custom Animated Video Studios

While to us these seem like no-brainers, we have a variety of differentiators that separate us from 90% of other animation production studios out there:

1. Leadership

Every one of our clients works directly with Sharp Eye Animation’s founder, who has nearly a decade of video experience and has led the video production for companies ranging from small start-ups to large organizations like Google and Walmart. Our team only takes on a few projects at a time which ensures that each video we create is completely unique and original, and stays in line with each client’s goals.

What To Look For In A Video Production Company

If you were to Google some variation of the question “Who are the top animated video production companies?” the response compiled for you would list nearly 100 explainer video companies.

Which means that, if you wanted to make an explainer video for your company, you would have at least 100 companies to choose from.

So how do you choose one?

Sifting through the overwhelming mass of animated video production companies might seem daunting; however, if you know what you’re looking for, you can easily and confidently separate the proverbial wheat from the chaff. The following are a few criteria to keep in mind in order to help you find the best explainer video production company for you.