Have you ever heard of the term “whiteboard animation”?
Although it is not yet well-known in Japan, it has received a great response in the United States, with 26 million shares in two weeks, 660,000 imitated videos, and over 2 million views on YouTube. It has become so popular that there is now a profession called whiteboard artist.
However, many Japanese people still don’t know about it, and many may wonder, “What is whiteboard animation? Is it really used?”
Therefore, this time I will explain the following topics.
- What is whiteboard animation?
- 5 benefits of using whiteboard animation
- Notes on whiteboard animation
- 5 steps to create a whiteboard animation
In this article, we will explain what whiteboard animation is, its benefits, precautions, and points to keep in mind when creating it.
If you want to know more about whiteboard animation or want to use it in your own company, please refer to it.
What is whiteboard animation?
A whiteboard animation is an animation that explains the theme of a video by drawing illustrations, diagrams, etc. on the background of a whiteboard. Nowadays, this method is often used on YouTube channels that explain a certain topic, such as introducing book reviews.
It is easy to read because the text is written in black, red, or blue on a white background, and the illustrations are very simple and there is no exaggerated background music, making it very easy to listen to. In addition, because the animation is created with illustrations and audio, it is easy to explain abstract content and complex concepts in an easy-to-understand manner.
5 benefits of using whiteboard animation
Whiteboard animation has five benefits: Let’s understand the specific benefits and see what whiteboard animation can be used for.
Easy to convey information
The biggest advantage of whiteboard animation is that it is easy to convey information. Specifically, because the explanations are made using illustrations and diagrams against a simple background, it is much easier to convey the information to the other person. Additionally, humans have a characteristic that it is easier for them to understand when the information they see and the information they hear matches. In this respect, whiteboard animations are also easier to convey information.
Easy to watch until the end
Due to the law of consistency, humans have a tendency to watch one scene of an animation and then become curious about the next scene. In particular, animation has the characteristic of easily attracting people’s attention because it also provides auditory information. Also, since people tend to follow moving objects with their eyes, whiteboard animations are more likely to attract viewers’ interest than online media using text or still images. In fact, whiteboard animation has a high viewership retention rate of 80%, and data shows that it is watched for about 1.6 times longer than a typical YouTube video. The fact that it makes good use of these human characteristics makes it easy to watch until the end.
sticks in the memory of the viewer
Another great strength is that it is easily remembered by those who see it. In fact, British psychologist Richard Wiseman investigated how much memory retention changes between animation and live-action footage. Specifically, we created two types of self-introduction videos, a whiteboard animation and a live-action video, and showed them to the two teams. The results showed that teams that watched the whiteboard animation had a 15% higher correct answer rate. What we can see from these results is that it is easier for people to remember events if they understand them as a story, rather than just remembering them.
Expected learning effects
Whiteboard animation can also be expected to have a learning effect. The information is easy to convey, and the animation allows viewers to watch until the end, allowing them to deeply understand what the video is trying to convey. Additionally, as the illustrations are added one after another, dopamine, a chemical in the brain that makes viewers unconsciously feel pleasure, is secreted, leaving a strong impression on the viewer. In fact, many YouTube channels now use whiteboard animations because they are the most effective for learning.
Lower cost than live-action shooting
Another big advantage of white animation is that it costs less than live-action filming. Generally speaking, live-action filming costs tens of thousands of yen at low cost, and several million yen for a well-established company’s advertising video. On the other hand, whiteboard animations can be produced for tens of thousands of thousands of dollars, and even a full-fledged company’s PR can cost only a few hundred thousand. The reason for this difference is that live-action videos require a large burden on location, filming equipment, and personnel costs, whereas whiteboard animation only requires hiring a video editor and composer. As you can see, whiteboard animation is clearly cheaper to create than live-action animation.
Notes on whiteboard animation
Although whiteboard animation is very popular, there are some points that you should be careful about. There are two main things to keep in mind, so be sure to understand them and create your whiteboard animation well.
Not suitable for product presentation videos, etc.
Even the versatile whiteboard animation is a little unsuitable for product presentation videos. This is because product presentation videos are easier to understand if they are explained while showing the actual product. You can also incorporate photos of the actual product or effect graphs into your whiteboard animation, but the result will look unnatural. Therefore, it is better to consider other methods when presenting your product.
Difficult to differentiate
The biggest caveat with whiteboard animation is that it is difficult to differentiate. Since I can’t change my basic stance of adding text and illustrations to the white background of a whiteboard, I end up creating similar works. However, there are many things that can be improved, such as the way scenes are changed, the illustrations, the way the story develops, and the arrangement of illustrations, so there are still possibilities.
5 steps to create a whiteboard animation
There are 5 main steps to actually create a whiteboard animation. If you follow these five steps, you can create a whiteboard animation, so let’s take the first step.
Think about scripts and storyboards
The first step is to think about the storyboard, including the script, composition, movement for each cut, and length. It’s an important step to think about what you want to convey and what kind of cuts and developments will help convey it, but move on to the next step when you’re about 30% complete. This is because no matter how carefully you design, there will always be cases where the actual video turns out to be different from what you expected. Also, instead of creating your own from scratch, refer to successful whiteboard animations that have a lot of views. And it would be better to imitate the things that can be imitated. In particular, if you are a beginner, your proficiency with whiteboard animation is still limited, so there is a high possibility that you will be able to create a work of much higher quality than if you were to create it from scratch yourself. Let’s start by trying to imitate it.
Arrangement of characters and letters
The placement of characters and text also has a bearing on the viewer’s level of understanding, so you must think carefully about it. However, whiteboard animation creation tools provide templates and materials. Basically, you will decide on the placement of characters and text for each storyboard. Of course, it is also possible to create your own original characters and logos and incorporate them into the tool. It is a good idea to prepare and come up with ideas in advance to differentiate yourself from others.
Move illustrations and text
Next, let’s turn the illustrations and text designed using still images into actual videos. As mentioned above, there are many times when you realize that the way the illustration looks and conveys the message is different from what you had planned after making it into a video. Your audience will actually see your video as a video rather than a still image, so spend as much time as possible on this step.
Add audio such as BGM
Once you have a good idea of the overall image of your video, it’s time to add some background music that’s appropriate for your video. The purpose of BGM is to keep the audience from getting bored. No matter how high the viewer retention rate of whiteboard animation is, if there is no background music, there is a high possibility that viewers will leave. For this reason, we recommend inserting background music, but be careful not to use background music that disrupts the atmosphere or image of the work, as it may actually distract the viewer.
final check
Once you have created this, let’s do a final check. Adjust the speed of illustrations, text, and story development. Also, it is necessary to check every detail, such as whether the music is cut off halfway or whether there is a lag in the movement of the narration and illustrations.
summary
In this article, we explained what whiteboard animation is, its benefits, precautions, and points to keep in mind when creating one. Whiteboard animation is an explosively popular expression technique in America. In Japan, there is a possibility that it will eventually begin to be used extensively in corporate PR videos, just as it is in the United States.
Therefore, we recommend that you start deepening your knowledge of whiteboard animation and try using it in your own business.