A video may only take a minute to watch, but that one minute is the result of hours’ worth of work. One of the many benefits of using Vyond to create animated explainer videos is that it is quick and easy to use. Custom animation videos look amazing, but they also take a significant amount of time to make. We’re talking weeks of work. With Vyond, you can produce a video in a matter of hours.
Here are three tips to help you save some time when using Vyond Studio to make videos.
1. Plan your Visuals Before you Make the Video
This seems like an obvious step, but it can be easy to overlook. Even though videos are creative work, planning is just as important as it is in any other type of work.
Vyond has a lot resources that you can utilize for your video. A lot. So it helps to have an idea of what you’re looking for, otherwise you will waste hours endlessly scrolling through the asset and template options. Having a plan will reduce the time you spend search for options and you can redirect that time into actually making a video.
Vyond is a bit like a library; you need an efficient approach to find what you’re looking for. You don’t just walk into a library and start looking through the shelves for the book you need. A good way to plan your visuals is to make a storyboard.
I always create a storyboard before I mess about with any visuals. The storyboard doesn’t need to be anything fancy; in fact, I usually just write out a description of the scene. I find this helpful because Vyond includes search features for all sections of their resource library. Whether you’re looking for backgrounds, props, sounds, or templates, just type in your keywords to see everything that matches those keywords for that section. This is a much more efficient way to find your visuals.
You will sometimes need to play around with your keywords to get the results you’re looking for. I was once looking for potato chips as a prop, so I typed in “potato chips”. The options displayed for me were fries instead (different Englishes!). To get the “chips” I wanted, I dropped “potato” from my search terms and found the bag of chips I needed.
2. Use the Templates
Vyond has a lot of templates that you can use in your video. The templates differ slightly between the three video styles; however, you can generally find what you need in a template. There are templates for locations, activities, charts and even text layouts that you can make use of. And if the template doesn’t quite fit you needs, you can still adjust them to fit your visuals.
Vyond has a function called “Replace” that allows you to change out a character or prop. This function also saves time, particularly with replacing characters, because any action assigned to your first character will be applied to the new one.
What if you can’t find what you need at all from a template? You might need to spend time building a scene, but you can then save your scene as a template for future use. This feature is incredibly useful if you’ll be making multiple videos with similar visuals.
3. Keep the Visuals Simple
Minimalism has grown in popularity for a reason. Less really is more in a video, especially short videos. Details can certainly help your video stand out, but your viewer isn’t going to process your message if they are overwhelmed with scenes that are jam-packed with “stuff” for the entire duration of your video.
Imagine going to see a move that had amazing visuals, but you had no idea what the movie was actually about by the end. An artistic movie can get away with this to some extent, but you’re likely using Vyond to create a video for education or business needs. You do not want your audience to finish your video and wonder what the message was.
The star of your video is not the visual component, it is the script. Your script is the foundation for everything, and the visuals should enhance the message your script is trying to convey, not distract from it.
Conclusion
Making your first few videos may come with a learning curve; however, these 3 tips can reduce wasted time. Planning out the visuals should come before any attempt to create your final product. Having direction from a storyboard can help you locate the templates and assets that will support your message. It can be easy to get carried away in the visuals because there are so many options, but less is more and the visuals should be kept as simple as possible in order to be effective.
If you’re looking for a comprehensive guide, check out my post on how to make a Vyond Studio video.
