Explainer Video Production Studio

What Goes Into an Explainer Video

An explainer video does one job: take something your audience does not yet understand — a product, a process, a policy, a piece of software — and make it clear enough to act on. Everything else in production serves that. It is why we write the script before we design a single frame, and why the script is the first thing we ask you to sign off. A beautiful explainer built on a vague script is still a vague explainer.

Types of explainer video we produce

2D animated explainers — the workhorse of the format: illustrated characters, icons, and scenes, fast to revise and ideal for abstract ideas like process, policy, and data. 3D animated explainers — for products, hardware, and environments that need to be seen from every angle or do not physically exist yet. Motion graphics and kinetic type — statistics, timelines, and messaging brought to life without characters. Product demo and screencast explainers — real software, shot and annotated, for SaaS and technical audiences (see product video production). Hybrid live-action and animation — a filmed interview or presenter with animated overlays, where the human element matters as much as the diagram. All of it is produced by our in-house team — our animation studio handles design, illustration, and animation under one roof.

Technical explainer videos are where we do our best work

Most of our explainer work is for organisations whose subject matter is genuinely difficult: supply-chain planning software for Kinaxis, managed detection and response for eSentire, data security for Code42, automotive operating systems for BlackBerry QNX, and what a cryptocurrency actually is for the Bank of Canada. CIRA came to us to explain DNS security to the general public with Canadian Shield, and Recollective to explain qualitative research to people who had never commissioned it. The pattern is the same each time: we learn the subject properly, find the one idea the audience must leave with, and build the visual language around that idea rather than around a template.

How long should an explainer video be?

Most explainer videos run 60 to 120 seconds. That is long enough to set up a problem, show the mechanism, and land the resolution, and short enough that people finish it. Below a minute, you are making an ad rather than an explainer; past two minutes, completion rates fall off quickly unless the audience is already committed — onboarding and training explainers can run longer for exactly that reason. We plan the cutdowns at the script stage, so the same production yields a full explainer for your website, a 30-second version for paid social, and a 15-second hook for pre-roll, without a second round of animation.

Explainer video production in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver

Because animation is not tied to a shoot location, we produce explainer videos for clients across Canada from our studios in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver, with Atlantic coverage from Halifax and New Brunswick. When a hybrid piece needs live action, the crew comes from the nearest studio; the animation is the same team regardless of where you are. Clutch named us a Top Animation Company in Canada in 2024.

Working with our explainer video studio

Three fixed approval points — script, storyboard, and final animation — each with a named approver agreed up front, so review never becomes the thing that delays launch. We deliver in English and in French, with script, voice-over, on-screen text, and captions produced as native versions rather than translations bolted on afterwards. Much of our client work is under embargo before launch, so NDAs, secure review links, and controlled distribution are standard practice rather than an exception. Every project ships with the source files and the aspect ratios you actually need.