Producing animated videos for a social cause is a bit different than creating a video for a product or service. First and foremost, a video for a social cause is often designed to trigger an emotional response that is typically addressed as an element in Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs.
For example, the recent outbreak of Ebola as triggered a worldwide fear of catching the deadly virus, which is a part of Maslow’s second tier of “safety”. When something is so serious that falls within our fundamental “Physiological” or “Safety” needs, we want information that is packed with relatable information that addresses the current issue, reassures our concerns and provides a future outlook.
Moovly created a simple motion graphic video that explains the virus in a way that has direct and honest information and is easy to understand, yet isn’t too scary.
Interested in Making Animated Videos for a Social Cause? Here’s How:
Social causes by their very nature already capture audiences. By producing an online video with heart you will increase support exponentially. With appropriate images, an inspiring voice over, and a soulful soundtrack, your social cause video will affect the emotions of your viewers, helping them to easily connect with your message.
1. Research & Plan Your Approach
When your message stands for a cause, getting others to share or understand your values is the objective of a successful online awareness video. Through the creation of a marketing strategy designed to motivate your audience to take action, you will inspire them to take precaution, make a donation, participate in an event, or offer support.
2. Draft a Script
When it comes to videos for a social cause, you want people to get caught up in your story, empathize with the situation, and then imagine that they can truly be a part of the solution. Seek out a professional scriptwriter who has experience with crafting strong messages for social causes. In our experience, a storytelling method works extremely well as you can easily show the beginning of the problem, the current landscape, and the potential future.
3. Create a Storyboard
The storyboarding process is where the look and feel of your video is born. During this phase, it is important to work with a team who understands how to incorporate emotion into your design concept with the appropriate stimuli such as facial expressions, movements and colors. At Revolution, we typically provide our clients with three different design concepts so they can see the different directions they could pursue as well as to discuss which one may be best for their message.
4. Animate & Produce
Now that you have chosen a strong design concept, you need to find a professional team of animators, designers and illustrators who can bring those images to life. Be diligent in finding the right team of animators; a good animator can create an entertaining product, but without the proper experience, they may not be able to educate or engage in the same way that an industry professional could.
5. Add Voice-overs & Background Music
The video must include an inspiring voiceover and music. The sound is important, as it affects the emotion of your user, so make sure to choose wisely when uploading music to the video. You want the viewer to strongly connect with the message. Also consider who your audience is: Do they better identify with a male or female voice? Perhaps a child’s voice will have more impact? Should they have a specific accent?
6. Host & Share
Once you are happy with your final explainer video, we encourage you to find a video hosting service that provides you with detailed viewer trends, engagement graphs and heat maps so you can really see how viewers are reacting to your video. Once you have a host start sharing!
Have questions? Leave us a comment or contact us!
