A good explanation is not a summary. It is a sequence.
An explainer animation stands or falls on its sequence. Not on the style, not on the voice, not on the number of seconds.
If you show step three before someone has accepted step two, they drop out and don't even know why. All they remember is that it was complicated. That is why, for Kalpana Systems, we started at atomic level, showed what Atomic Layer Deposition is, then what their variant does differently, and only at the end the machine. In reverse order, nobody would have understood the machine.
For Energiesprong the principle was the same, on a different scale. First an ordinary, outdated house that everyone can picture. Then, part by part, the facade elements, the solar panels and the installations. And only then the outcome: a home that generates as much energy as it uses. The viewer builds up the understanding along the way, instead of having to swallow it in one go.
Deciding that sequence is where we spend most of our time. It is also the part nobody sees in the end result, and that is exactly why it works.
Before we design anything, there has to be one sentence that is right. What should the viewer understand afterwards that they don't understand now?
If that sentence can't be written, the problem is not visual but one of content. And then animation won't solve it either. It regularly happens that we only nail that sentence after two sessions. That feels slow. It is the difference between a film that explains something and a film that shows something.
So the scenario is not an intermediate step. It is the product. The animation is the way it is delivered.
Almost every explainer animation that goes wrong makes two mistakes at once. It explains what the audience already knows, and it uses words the audience doesn't know.
That second one is usually called jargon, but jargon is not the problem. For a room full of shipbuilders, "zero-emission propulsion" is plain language. For a policymaker it is already a hurdle, and for the general public a wall. The problem is jargon that doesn't fit the audience, and that you no longer hear yourself because you work with it every day.
MARIN had exactly that challenge: the Zero Emission Lab had to be explained to the maritime sector and to politicians and the public. Two audiences with completely different prior knowledge. That is why in the first conversation we don't just decide what needs explaining, but above all to whom, and what that person already knows.
The moment an explainer animation starts selling, nobody believes the explanation any more. A shame, because trust was exactly what you wanted to build.
The strongest explainer animations also name the limits: what something doesn't do, who it isn't suitable for, what is still being researched. That costs one sentence and gives the rest of the film credibility. If you also want to sell, we prefer to make a separate, shorter version for that from the same production.
Kalpana Systems
3D ANIMATION & WEBSITE CONTENT
Kalpana Systems had to explain something that starts at atomic level. This high-tech start-up from Delft makes a thin-film machine that makes Atomic Layer Deposition feasible for large, flexible surfaces. The animation builds understanding from atom to machine, and ends with the applications: fast-charging batteries, rollable screens, flexible solar panels. We also delivered 4K stills and website content.
Energiesprong
EXPLAINER ANIMATION
Energiesprong had to sell an entire concept to an entire sector. Net-zero energy homes require housing associations, builders and suppliers to come on board at the same time. The 3D animation follows one home from outdated to energy-neutral, in several language versions for different countries. It was broadcast in a PBS NewsHour report.
MARIN
EXPLAINER ANIMATION
MARIN had two audiences with completely different prior knowledge. The Zero Emission Lab and the "engine room of the future" had to be explained to the maritime sector and to politicians and the public. We placed the ship models in realistic sailing conditions, combined 3D with infographic elements, and delivered a Dutch and an English version plus short social versions.
Westfalia Fruit
WEBSITE CONTENT & ANIMATION
Westfalia Fruit wanted to tell a story you can't tell in one go. Their sustainability approach runs from seed to plate. Instead of one video, together with Plusdrie, Pressplay and SonicPicnic we built a page on which the animation unfolds as you scroll. There, the sequence literally is the design. Plus a standalone 4K animation, stills and social versions. The project won a Gold Lovie Award and a People's Lovie Award.
D.O.R.C. International
OPHTHALMIC ANIMATIONS
D.O.R.C. had to explain a new system to people who know their field inside out. Eye surgeons in more than eighty countries don't need to learn what a procedure is. They want to know what is different with the EVA NEXUS system compared with what they are used to. The animations show exactly that difference and leave out the rest. The same production delivered training videos, stills for print, short versions for social and presentation material.
"Your fantastic artwork helped make our vision understandable! This was extremely valuable in our development process and greatly contributed to securing multiple investment rounds."
“We always enjoy working with you! From start to finish, there's excellent communication, clear agreements, and high-quality production. You're constantly contributing ideas to achieve the best possible result, both creatively and technically."
“By combining your animation skills with our audiovisual expertise, we'll elevate the creative concept to the next level. You'll also deliver the right assets and files on time, and we'll work together to meet the deadline!"
"Working with Studio Analoog was impressive! They are true experts in their field. The final product made a huge impact, which we were able to showcase to state officials and important customers."
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Website. Helping visitors understand what you do in one go, before they drop off.
Sales conversations. A short promo variant from the same production sparks interest. In the conversation itself you use the explainer animation to explain in more depth how something works.
Policy and public information. Energiesprong was explained to housing associations, builders and suppliers in several countries, and ended up in a PBS NewsHour report.
Internal support. Bringing colleagues and stakeholders along with a change, without everyone having to sit through the same presentation three times.
Investors and partners. Explaining an innovation to the people who need to believe in it before the product exists.
Events. On a trade show stand or during a presentation, often as a loop without sound.
Social media, but differently than you think. We don't post the full video on social. A short cut with one key question works better there, designed to bring the right viewer to your website, where the full explanation lives. For MARIN we made short versions like that with adapted text. The explainer animation itself sits where someone takes the time to watch it.
That mainly depends on the choice between 2D and 3D. A process, service or idea usually lends itself to 2D, a product or technology usually to 3D.
2D explainer animation: from €10,000, 4 to 6 weeks
3D explainer animation: from €10,000, 6 to 10 weeks
Explainer animation with social cuts and language versions: €10,000 to €20,000 or more, 6 to 10 weeks
All prices exclude VAT. The concept and scenario are always included, because that is where most of the work lies.
Want to see the prices of all types of animation side by side? Take a look at animation production.
You will hear from us within one working day. Usually with a few questions, because a budget that makes sense doesn't come from a single email.
After that there are two routes. If you need a number now, we give a rough estimate based on what you have sent us. If you have half an hour, we discuss the project and you then receive a well-founded scope with a matching budget. The second route gives a better answer, and often a different project than you had in mind.
In a hurry? Feel free to call. We do the same the other way round.
Wanting to explain everything. The whole story in one film, with every nuance included. The result is that nothing sticks. An explainer animation explains one thing well, and refers elsewhere for the rest.
No clear audience. Made for everyone, and therefore for no one. See above.
Jargon that doesn't fit the audience. Not the technical term itself, but the technical term for the wrong audience.
A voice-over that says what you can already see. Or an animation that leans entirely on the voice-over. Image and voice should complement each other: the voice tells what the image cannot show, and the image shows what the voice doesn't need to say.
All four have the same cause: production started before the story was in place. A good explainer animation starts with storytelling based on research into the audience, the client and the product. The rest follows from that.
