Marketing Video – Instructions

Overview

Marketing, educational, and how-to/explainer videos are excellent ways to share knowledge, information, and your story with your customers or audience. These videos grab your viewer’s attention, hold it, and deliver a message.

You’ll create your video in After Effects and then export it in Adobe Media Encoder.

Video Grading Checklist

  • Choose your own topic. Focus your video on a product, service, educational topic, how-to, self-help, or value.
  • Simplify your message’s text so you have 3–5 facts that you can use as headlines.
  • Size: (1080 x 1080) or (1920 x 1080) pixels
  • 30 frames per second
  • Use the storyboard sheet below to layout your ideas (optional)
  • Comp in Illustrator or Photoshop as needed (optional)
  • Animate in After Effects and render in Adobe Media Encoder
  • Find photos and illustrations from unsplash.com, pexels.com, or pixabay.com
  • Find stock videos from pexels.com or pixabay.com
  • Find stock sounds and music from bensound.com
  • You may also use AI to generate photos or illustrations
  • Find new typefaces on fontsquirrel.com
  • Participate in class critiques
  • Present your final .mp4 video to the class
  • Upload your final .mp4 video to the OneDrive link in Blackboard > Assignments

Template for Square Video with Photos (1080×1080)

Here’s my After Effects file for you to use (optional) to begin your marketing video. You can swap out the content as needed to customize it and make it fit your client.

Download here: Apple Orchard Template – After Effects.zip

Template for Square Video with Videos (1080×1080)

Download here: Apple Orchard Template – After Effects.zip

Here’s an After Effects template for the same video, but the last three photos have been replaced with video clips. The videos are optional, but they make the video look a little more engaging and developed.

How to swap the images, photos, logos, etc., in After Effects

Your animated video can promote your message in many places

This is how it looks when posted to Facebook. Notice how Facebook enlarges the video to fit the width of the status column.

Marketing Videos – Best Practices

  • Use a 1080×1080 or 1920×1080 size ratio for your video
  • 30-seconds or less
  • Always tell a story
  • Highlight one topic or subject only
  • Use large headlines to grab attention
  • One large photo or graphic per scene to grab attention
  • Brand your design with your client’s logo, typography, colors, layout, and repeatable design elements
  • Don’t overdo the zooming and flying. Keep your message legible, professional, and calming

Use a 1:1 Video aspect ratio

Storyboard your 30-second animated video

Download and print the storyboard template below to sketch your ideas.

Concepting-and-Storyboard-Sheet.pdfDownload