Think Ink Productions is a video marketing company that creates custom whiteboard animations to help people grow their businesses. We talked with Tyler, the winner of VideoScribe’s last Facebook competition to find out how he uses VideoScribe and his tips for creating a winning scribe.
How long have you been using VideoScribe?
I’ve been using VideoScribe for about 6 months.
What do you like most about the application?
I love how simple it is to use. You basically just insert a picture, pick your camera angle, and let the application do the rest.
Do you use many other applications alongside VideoScribe to create videos for your customers?
The only other applications I really use are Adobe’s software - Illustrator and After Effects. I use Illustrator to create all my images so that each video uses my own style of artwork, and then I use After Effects for final touches before I publish my video. Everything else is done in VideoScribe.
Once you get the brief from your customer, what actions do you take to get started on your video?
First of all, I do my research. I try to become an expert on whatever subject I am working on until I feel confident that I can explain to anyone what it is, what it does, or how it works.
After that, I write a script and start drawing. I've found that it is important to keep your script simple. It's easy to try to say too much, but often I think the fewer words you speak the better. Everyone has heard, "a picture is worth 1,000 words" so I try to let the pictures do all of the talking. That is one of the main reasons why I think Scribes are so awesome.
With that in mind, I think every individual picture can and should have its own story. Whether the goal with the story you tell is to surprise someone, make them laugh, cry, or relate to something on a deeper level, there are so many ways you can do that.
I try to do that with each picture in some way because I think it leaves a lasting impression on the people who see it.
Once I have my images and voiceover I lay it out in VideoScribe. I try to think about what it is going to look like as a whole when all of the images are there so that I can map out how the camera will move across the canvas. Once I have a basic idea of what I want it to look like, I start from the beginning and place my images where they belong. I adjust the timing and camera angles and effects so that it lines up with the audio, but sometimes if it seems too rushed or jumbled I'll either take out a scene entirely or redo some of the audio to make it fit better. After that is all done I pick a song that seems to fit, and then render the video and voilà! All done.
Occasionally if I need to add other video clips or do some additional animation I will pull the rendered video into Adobe After Effects and make some small adjustments before I publish my video.
What tips would you give to new scribers wanting to create something similar?
I would say have a plan in your mind before you start. Think about the big picture and how you are going to lay everything out. Some of my biggest mistakes early on happened when I just threw pictures and words onto this infinitely large canvas without putting thought into it, and it just ends up looking like a big mess.
A little thought and planning goes a long way.
I would also say let your personality show. Whether that is through your style of art, the stories that you tell in your pictures, your sense of humor, or anything else that you can do to make it yours, it is important that it represents you.
Thanks so much Tyler and Think Ink Productions for an insightful Q&A!
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