The Logical Blog by IconLogic

WHITEBOARD ANIMATIONS: Plan Your Way to Success

by Karin Rex, COTP

Do you have a story to tell? A lesson to teach? A product to market? In the battle for online engagement, video is KING. By 2019, 80% of ALL web traffic will be video. 64% of customers say they are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video. 59% of decision makers would rather watch a video than read a blog or article.** On top of that – whiteboard animations are FUN and easy to create with VideoScribe!

 

For maximum engagement, PLAN your whiteboard animation videos! (Prepare, Layout, Adorn, Nuance)

 

 

Prepare

 

• What is your ONE GOAL for the video?
• What is the maximum LENGTH of the video?
• Who is your AUDIENCE?
• What is the WIIFM for your audience? (Answers the question “what’s in it for me?”)

 

Layout

 

• Create a storyboard that includes descriptions of onscreen elements, onscreen text, and any voiceover scripting. (This will act as a roadmap for your video.)
• Envision a visual HOOK or THEME for your video. (If you are teaching “The Flower Theory of Persuasion,” you might include images of flowers, for example.)
• Come up with a CALL TO ACTION for your video. What do you want your audience to DO after they watch your video?

 

Adorn (AKA the “fun part”)

 

• Let your imagination run wild! Explore the image bank by searching sideways. (Don’t just search for flowers, for example, also search for garden, seed, sunshine, dirt, shovel, etc.)
• Remember that you can IMPORT graphics into most whiteboard animation programs.
• Do not draw every element. Spice up your video by using the FADE and MOVE IN animations judiciously as well.
• Add voiceover or music – or both!

 

Nuance (AKA the “other fun part”)

 

• Preview your video.
• Modify the animation timings.
• Repeat until perfect! (This can take hours sometimes!)
• Publish & upload.

 

That’s all it takes to PLAN your whiteboard animation video.

 

Want to take VideoScribe out for a ride? Sign up for our new 3-hour quick start class on VideoScribe. Invest just 3 hours and you will come away with the ability to fully create entertaining and engaging whiteboard animations. CLASS IS TOMORROW but there is still time to sign up! (Note: A free trial to VideoScribe is required to actively participate in this course. The free trial lasts for 7 days, so please time your free subscription to coincide with this class.)

 

**Statistics are from Hubspot.

 

 

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Geeky Girl Karin Rex is an online learning pioneer and whiteboard animation evangelist. Since 1989, Karin has owned Geeky Girl, LLC, a boutique learning organization, where she devotes her time to writing, course development (instructor led and eLearning), and teaching.

 

Karin has authored several technology books, including: Office 2010 Demystified (McGraw-Hill) and hundreds of user guides, reference manuals, and tutorials. She’s also developed an extensive number of learning programs for a wide variety of global clients.

 

Karin is a Certified Online Training Professional (COTP), certified synchronous facilitator, designer, and producer, with a master’s degree in professional writing. Additionally, Karin teaches undergraduate writing courses for Penn State University and is the Instructional Design Lead for InSync Training.

 

eLEARNING: The Struggle for Online Attention

by Karin Rex, COTP

Which of the following statements do you think are true?

 

A. By 2019, 80% of ALL web traffic will be video.

 

B. 64% of customers say they are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video. 

 

C. 59% of decision-makers would rather watch a video than read a blog or article.

 

If you said all three, you are correct (Source: Hubspot, 2017). 

 

The impact of video is astounding... and growing! Whiteboard videos have proven to be especially attention-getting as they allow a story to unfold in front of your eyes on a blank canvas.

 

Why Whiteboard Animation Works

 

Whiteboard animation, or scribing, is a novel take on video that has been proven to be three times more likely to be shared than a talking head video. Scribing brings a message to life through visual metaphors, captivating the viewer and holding attention until the last scene plays out. Why?

 

Viewer Completion. One of the secrets of video scribing is the concept known to artists as “viewer completion.” When you see two circles and a curved lined, your mind instantly jumps to the conclusion that you’re seeing a human face. Your brain fills in the details, completing the image.

 

Viewer Anticipation. Scribe videos also kindle viewer anticipation by inviting the brain to speculate about what is being drawn. Anticipation creates surprise which then rewards the brain with dopamine. Viewer anticipation helps explain how mesmerizing whiteboard videos can be–it can be tough to tear your eyes away from them.

 

Scribes are Judged Differently

 

If you’ve ever tried to make your own professional video, you know how difficult it is to produce anything that resembles what a high-price videographer using professional equipment can create. The visual simplicity of whiteboard animations puts them in a category of their own and lets them be judged differently. On top of that, with today’s software, anybody can learn how to make a professional-looking scribe.

 

Watching a scribe is an immersive experience, which gives them great staying power. A scribe reveals information gradually, sparking curiosity and allowing information to be processed one small chunk at a time. When viewer anticipation and viewer completion kick in, the message is processed at a deeper level and the message is more likely to be retained. 

 

The Data

 

Cognitive psychologist Richard E. Mayer established that combining images with a voiceover to be the most effective way of communicating information – 50-75% better, in fact. Three groups were studied:

 

• Group 1 listened to the content. 
• Group 2 watched the content. 
• Group 3 listened and watched the content simultaneously. 

 

The result was kind of a no-brainer: those in the Group 3 had more accurate recall and retained the information longer.

 

Mayer’s research also concluded that people learn best when corresponding words and pictures are presented closely together; people learn better from animation and narration than from animation and onscreen text, and people learn better when extraneous material is not included. (In other words, the simpler the better.) Does that sound familiar? These are pretty much the central principles of video scribing!

 

Scribe vs. Talking Head

 

Sparkol, makers of VideoScribe, sent 1,000 people a whiteboard animation and another 1,000 people a talking head video, both of which used the same audio file and provided the same content (a business coach making a pitch for new clients). After watching, viewers answered a set of questions that tested their comprehension, retention, enjoyment, and inclination to respond positively to the pitch. 

 

The scribe video outperformed the talking head video in all tests.

 

Those who had seen the scribe performed better in four out of five memory tests. The scribe was three times more likely to be shared and more than twice as likely to be recommended. Twice as many scribe viewers said they would buy the service. The scribe video came out on top in all age brackets and for both sexes. 

 

Examples

 

To see scribing in action, check out a few of these examples:

 

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkahn9v81k8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKlgn-yDBQc
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcft5B1c-JE

And here's a sample video that I created with VideoScribe to promote my IconLogic class: Whiteboard Animation with VideoScribe.

Learn to Mesmerize

There’s something mesmerizing about a drawing coming to life. People are drawn to scribe videos like a crowd gathering around a portrait artist at the fair. In my new three-hour intensive course, you will learn to tell your first story using VideoScribe.

 

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Geeky Girl Karin Rex is an online learning pioneer and whiteboard animation evangelist. Since 1989, Karin has owned Geeky Girl, LLC, a boutique learning organization, where she devotes her time to writing, course development (instructor led and eLearning), and teaching.

 

Karin has authored several technology books, including: Office 2010 Demystified (McGraw-Hill) and hundreds of user guides, reference manuals, and tutorials. She’s also developed an extensive number of learning programs for a wide variety of global clients.

 

Karin is a Certified Online Training Professional (COTP), certified synchronous facilitator, designer, and producer, with a master’s degree in professional writing. Additionally, Karin teaches undergraduate writing courses for Penn State University and is the Instructional Design Lead for InSync Training.