Over the years, the demand for animated video content has risen exponentially. Many producers have seen this video production model as an easy way to shoot short footage for marketing, advertisement, kids' shows, etc., without passing through the rigorous stress of selecting casts and locations for your story.
However, the approach to creating a high-end animated clip is quite dicey, especially for newbies in the space. If you struggle to create animated videos, you’ve come to the right page. This post will provide a detailed guide covering the practical ways to create a short animated video with high engagement and conversion without hassles. Continue reading as we delve in!
In this article
Part 1. Things You Need to Know Before Creating A Short Animated Video
Before creating a short animated video, there are a few things you should know to make the process quick and stress-free.
Keep the video short and fun
According to research, animated videos with viewing lengths between 45-90 seconds have been observed to have the highest engagement rate. So as experts in the space, we strongly suggest that you keep this rule in mind when shooting your short animated video. You should be direct with the message you want to pass to your audience to avoid dwindling while viewing your short animated video.
Think of attention-grabbing visuals and incorporate it
Visuals say a lot about your conversion and engagement rate when creating a short animated video. It’s best that you think of an aesthetic visual that is eye-catching to attract your audience to your content. The better the visual quality, the higher your conversion and engagement rate (just have this as a rule).
Include subtitles in your videos
Adding subtitles to your animated videos is crucial since the majority of the audience online loves viewing content without sound. The subtitles you include help you carry your audience along while watching, making it easy for you to share your message without confusion.
Having briefed you on the things you should know before creating a short animated video, let's proceed into the guide to create one. The next section of this post is structured to cover this.
Adobe Animate is the mainstream animation software on the market, the following video tutorial can help you understand the whole process of animated videos.
Part 2. How to Easily Make Short Film (Production Stage)
To the production stage, here is the step-by-step guide to follow:
Select a video animation style for your production
Firstly, you have to choose a video style for the animated video you want to create so you can structure the content of your video properly to help your audience grasp your message without difficulty. Animated videos come in 3 common styles which are; animation infographics videos, 2D animation videos, and typography animation videos. Each of these video styles will be described in the next paragraph. But before we get into that, you must note that the video style you want to use depends on your audience, the story, and the product/service you want to market.
- Animation Infographic Videos
This video style is best for breaking down complex data/information for easy assimilation by your audience. It involves the use of GIFs, charts, and graphs. The animated infographic video style is mostly used by audit firms and more that are looking for an easy way to transform large-volume data into understandable stories.
- 2D Animated Videos
The 2D animation video style is mostly used for educational purposes to help guide or direct viewers through a tedious task. You can also use it to help explain the qualities of a product or service. It involves the creation of images in 2 dimensions (height and width) using free-hand or
- Motion Graphics
Here is an animation video style that focuses on creating engaging and dynamic video content from texts, graphical elements, and symbols. It’s often used in advertising, product demos, marketing, and explainer videos due to its ability to convey information in a visually appealing way.
Get A Script Ready
Once you’ve settled the video style selection phase, it’s time to write your script. This is where you draft the dialogues for each character in each scene of your animated video in case you want to import voiceovers. Ensure the script is brief, flows well, conveys your message effectively, and complements your visuals.
Select an Animation Software
There are numerous animation software you can count on if you want to create a stunning animated video for your audience. But you have to decide on what animation style you want to use as it will play a crucial role in your software selection. For instance, if you are a beginner looking to create 2D animated clips, video animation software like Filmora Video Editor, Animaker, Vyond, and Powtoon are great options. These tools come with ready-made templates which you can select from.
Here, we will focus on the Filmora Video Editor due to its incredible qualities. This software comes with stock animation—a library of ready-made animation assets that you can personalize to suit your project requirements. Alternatively, you can leverage the AI text-to-video generator to make animation videos for advertisement, marketing, etc. As the name implies, the feature creates short animated videos from texts.
Key Features
- Language Selection: You are allowed to select the language in which you want the animated video to be printed. The software supports diverse languages, including Portuguese, Italian, English, and more.
- Versatile editing functions: Filmora supports basic and advanced edition functions which you can use to adjust the video before saving and publishing to the public.
- Multiple Output Format: The software supports popular video output formats like MP4, MO, WAV, AVI, etc, which you can select from to save your animated clip.
- Smart Short Clips: Filmora offers a feature that lets you create animated clips with different themes for different social media content, so you can create content from longer videos. This feature allows you to adjust the video ratio, duration, and more to better suit your different social media needs. You can choose from many pre-made templates to start creating great videos.
- Multi-camera editing: You can edit and adjust the footage from multiple cameras at the same time in video editing to ensure that video transitions remain smooth. Such creations are more likely to attract the attention of viewers.
Steps to Use AI Text-to-Video Generator on Filmora
Step 1: Download Filmora from the official webpage, install it, and launch it for the intended operation. Click on AI Text to Video button from the features displayed on the main dashboard.
Step 2: Next, a new screen with an empty field for you to enter a brief description of how you want the short animated video to look will come up.
Alternatively, you can hit the Generated by AI button at the upper right corner so Filmora AI Text to Video can make one for you.
Here, you have to provide information like the text topic, the type of text, and a brief info on the topic.
Step 3: Hit the Generate Text button at the bottom right corner. Remember, you will be charged 20 AI credits for this operation.
Step 4: Fillmore will commence the Text-to-Video creation without delay, it will proceed to generate the corresponding video text. Proceed to customize Voice Language, Audio Sound, and Video Aspect Ratio (which could be portrait or landscape). Once all of these are settled, click on Text to Video in the lower right corner. Exercise patience until the result is generated.
Step 5: Now, proceed to add effects to the video, change the subtitle to suit your preference, and also add background music if needed.
Step 6: Save your work by clicking on the Export button at the top right corner. Select the destination path to store the video and click on the appropriate icon again to save it.
Animate Your Scenes
Once you’ve selected the right animation software for your production, animating your scenes is the next thing. At this stage, you customize your video background, add characters, and animate their movements.
Add Voiceover, sound, and music
What's an animated video without these audio elements- voiceover, music, and sound effects? The addition of voiceover, sound, and music effects enhances your storytelling and creates emotional engagement, making it easy for your audience to understand the message you are passing and flow accordingly. To add all of these audio elements to your animated video, you can leverage Filmora Video Editor. The software powers the Smart BGM generator, an advanced feature that analyzes a video and suggests the most suitable background sound. Also, you have the voice cloning feature which you can use to create voiceover for each character in your animated video.
Use Smart Scene Cut Highlight Animated Video
Editing your animated video after production is another important phase you must complete if you want to create standout content. Previewing your animated video multiple times helps you figure out where there is a mistake in your animated video, so you can adjust as needed.
Filmora supports basic editing features such as trimmer, merger, and more that you can use to transform your videos. It doesn’t end there as it also supports advanced functions like motion tracking and color grading to import extra qualities to your clips. If you already have an animated video ready and want to create a teaser for promotion, you definitely need to make an attractive highlight reel. At this point, you might want to learn about Filmora's Smart Scene Cut feature. This feature can help you automatically edit the highlights of your video, making it easy to edit in portions. These short clips come in handy for creating trailers and highlights to establish suspense for viewers.
Perhaps you need a guide on how to use Smart Scene Cut to split your long animated videos into short clips, follow the simple guide given below:
Step 1: Install and run Filmora on your computer. Click the New Project icon when the main dashboard pops up.
Step 2: Import the long animated video you want to work on from your local drive. To do this, tap on Import, select the file, and click on Open afterward.
Step 3: Right-click on the newly imported animated video and select Smart Scene Cut to continue.
A screen describing how Smart Scene Cut works will appear. Click on the Start button at the lower right. Ensure that you have at least 2 Filmora credits on your profile to cover this operation.
Step 4: The video will be uploaded to Smart Scene Cut.
Once uploading is completed, video slicing will commence. Be patient it is finished and the following interface will be displayed.
Step 5: Smart Scene Cut will provide you with three scene categories- highlight scene, custom scene, and character scene. Select any one of them, and hit the Add All button.
Step 6: Navigate to the lower right corner and hit the Edit in the Main Timeline
After finishing the editing phase, proceed to export the video in your desired format, such as MOV, MP4, or MKV. Adjust the resolution quality, and choose the destination path where the clip will be stored.
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Generate Trailer for Animated Video
Want to build excitement and attract your audience before viewing your animated video? Creating a trailer would be helpful. With a compelling trailer, you get the chance to grab the full attention of your viewers and leave them eager to watch your entire animated video. If you wish to make an attention-grabbing trailer that piques your audience’s curiosity, the Smart Scene Cut feature in Filmora Video Editor is what you need. This feature is designed to specifically analyze a video for changes in scenes and cut out the best moment for you to use as a highlight or trailer.
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Send Video Out for Feedback
Before finalizing your animation video production, kindly send it to your colleagues, friends, and other professionals (if you know any) for review. You can’t tell if there are areas that need improvement. After gathering the feedback, ensure that you make the necessary adjustments.
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Publish the Video
Now that your animated video is ready, publish and promote it to start earning. Some popular channels where you can publish your animated clips include YouTube and Vimeo. For promotion, we suggest using social media or collaborating with influencers in the space.
Part 3. Powerful Tips To Make Short Animated Videos More Engaging
Creating a short animated video that wows your audience and grabs their attention from the start to the end, here are some handy tips you can implement.
Conduct Market Research
Market research is important in every video production process and you cannot neglect it if you want to create a short animated video with high engagement and conversion. Try as much as possible to know your audience, their demography, the platform they mostly use, and whether or not they would be interested in your content.
Create a Compelling Story
According to research, too many messages or information often overwhelm the audience of a short video. So making your storyline short and direct is one tip you should never fade when creating a short animated video. Your clip shouldn’t go beyond 30 seconds to 12 minutes.
Add Voiceover and Subtitle
Adding voiceovers and subtitles to your animated video ensures that your audience can fully grasp the content. Voiceovers provide clarity and engagement, while subtitles make the video accessible to a wider audience, including those who are hearing impaired or speak different languages. This combination enhances the overall viewing experience and ensures your message reaches everyone effectively.
Bonus: How to Translate Animated Video
Translating your animated video comes with several benefits, from expanding your reach globally to increasing engagement and accessibility. This also helps you build trust with your audience plus boost your SEO discoverability. One easy way to effectively translate your animated video is to employ the services of an AI video translator like Filmora. The software comes with a built-in AI translator that is very flexible to operate. Using this feature, you can select the source and target language you want to translate the audio from your video.
Conclusion
From this article, we learn about the preparation and production process of animated short films. To stand out with high-quality content, thorough preparation is essential, and post-production editing should not be overlooked. This article introduces Wondershare Filmora, a comprehensive video editing software. It can help you create videos from text and assist with post-production editing. Notably, its smart scene cuts feature automatically cuts to the highlights, greatly enhancing your animated short film promotion.
