How to create an interactive storyboard for a flip book?

Those of you who are looking to make a career in Instructional Designing, we would like to give you a snapshot of how well you can draft an idea/ brief storyboard for various devices and formats (book, online material, television shows). Below is an example for an interactive storybook.

Background: Danger Mouse is a British children's animated television series which was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Thames Television. The project objective is to create an interactive flip book for the character. What is the big idea?

Research: To create an interactive book, one must include activities. Please do note – Interactivity is a two-way communication process. The best way a book can interact with the reader is by providing activities. However, before constructing an activity, the designer must include an introduction, the body text, images and activities.

Solution: The best solution that one of our colleagues in Solly Labs could come up to build an interactive book is as below. This was presented to the marketing team to understand how best the idea could work. The brief

Objective of the interactive book

An Interactive book for Children

}  Danger Mouse – A plush version of their favorite character (Danger Mouse) who is going to wink, smile and talk to them.

}  Avatar - They can adorn the costume of the Danger Mouse (with the eye patch) and walk through all the crime scenes.

The Big Idea

 

 Chapter 1 – Introduction

}  Colonel K informs Danger Mouse and Penfold that Greenback has conquered the moon and is trying to jam all the communication. So, the heroes pack their weightless boots and jump into the Spacehopper to head for the moon. (Source: The TV Archaeologsit)

   

Chapter 2 – The Story

}  On their journey to the moon,….

Note: The entire story can be narrated. This is the body of the document.

Chapter 3 – Explore the setting

}  This is the avatar setting option.(interactivity).

}  User can upload their picture and explore the setting of the story.

 

     Chapter 4 – Activity

}  Jigsaw Puzzle - Help Danger Mouse and other characters to put them back together

This is a sample of an interactive flip book. While building the idea, one must also place an eye for the controls that each of the chapters/ sections can demonstrate. And, they must also place an emphasis on the various devices that the flip book can be played on – iPAD, mobile phones, PCs and notebooks. An instructional designer must always stay grounded on these basic pre-requisites and build a creative idea (as mentioned above).

Intuitive humorous videos will always remain popular!

It was time to go back to the humor related videos. It is a best therapy to thrive on humor related videos that can add a soothing effect to the weeklong efforts. Solly Labs brings to you two such videos that probably will cheer you up. The learning from humor related videos is to add joy and build a ease around you. As a storyboard writer can you take tips from these short humorous videos – yes you can! Read the article further to know about the key take-away.

  

Charlie bit my finger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnRVheEpJG4

Baby humorous videos:

One of the famous set of videos that have been trending viral is the set of baby videos. When the actor is a baby, everyone wants to find out more. They are curious. One such video is as above. It is extremely funny to watch the big brother voluntarily put his finger into his baby brother’s mouth and shout out – “Charlie bit my finger!” Even funnier is the little baby laughing at his brother’s scream.

Key take-away:

1.       Each of us who are trying to market our video or make money out of it is looking for a creative idea. Among the real-life picture videos, this one is clearly the winner.

2.       The video does not trend for long – it does not spoil the curiosity of the viewer.

 Evolution of dance.

 

Happy and amazing videos!

Another content that viewers would always like to pick, watch or read is – Happy and amazing videos! Every time we come across a video, for example, that talks about a guy making change to this world – most of us have watched the video completely. We have, for the moment, been happy, amazed and drawn inspiration of the video to our lives. Below is one such video that brings a nostalgic moment to all its viewers – the comedian Jud Laipply does a six minute dance of a robot, chicken and Macarena. His moves are smooth and take us to different eras in a seamless way. The video has more than 138 million views which explains the reason why the video is popular.

Key take-away

1.       This is best example of a video that has not been great in terms of clarity but has happy and amazing content. The comedian is talented and hence the job of the video is simple!

2.       The video content as mentioned is a good piece, however the video links were posted on various popular blog sites which could be one of the substitute reason as to why the video went so popular.

Creative ideas are always a clear winner. Videos that are intuitive are the ones that are popular.

Are you doing the biggest mistake in creating explainer videos

When the objective of the ad is precision: There is task for us as video makers to accomplish. The article describes how best we do it.
We at Solly Labs, often face this challenge to deliver ads those talks mostly about precision:

1.       The pictures and motion video must relay the objective. It is easy to express precision with a voice-over but the challenge is to pass the ‘good word’through images.

2.       The storyboard must be outlined in a way that – we do not overdo precision. And, at the same time, we do not under play it.

3.       To limit voice-overs. It is easy to say ‘precision’ while doing a voice-over but the challenge is to limit voice-overs in ads that picture precision.

Below is one of the advertisements that increasingly talk about precision. According to some of us at Solly Labs, the ad could have been bettered and here is what we have to tell you:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWysHOjl95E

This is an advertisement of Sony digital. The company is marketing their full HD smartphone. They are increasingly talking of the product’s engineering capabilities. And, the objective is precision.

Firstly, the some of the motion pictures in the ads are portrayed very well, (Like the image above). However, with such great pictures the ad lacks the X factor to hit that ‘spot-on’ button.

Secondly, as mentioned earlier, the voice-overs do most of the talking. There is no chance given to the video to explain all about precision. For example, it takes the voice-over to stress on the HDR (High Definition Resolution) camera to talk about the quality of the picture in low light.

Finally, the ad covers all the features of the product in this spot. While it is good to tell the customers about all the advantages, it is not so good to overload the customer with information.

How Solly Labs would have built this ad differently?

As talked before, the pictures used in this advertisement are of high quality and we would use the same. But, we would have extensively talked about quality of Sony Digital

Firstly, we would limit the voice-overs. The product is of such great quality that it does not need a dominant voice-over.

We would break the ads into the following – real life images with high picture quality and providing value-added features such as connecting the phone to a television, seamless reflective surfaces (design) and dust control. Xpperia is the first phone to have launched HDR video. This would be exclusive 30-40 sec coverage to emphasize the idea.

Finally, we would not have many frames and fast movements (of frames) to describe the features. We would limit it to fewer frames or a gradual movement of frames. It is soothing for the viewers’ eyes.

Below is one other ad that we use as an ideal example to talk about precision. This is the second best example we use. Read our next article on ‘Best Advertisements on Precision’ to know the first best example that we use. It is ad that the companies have rated as ‘precision-best’. 

 

  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktIhuJA_92I

Who killed Microsoft Powerpoint Presentation

Have you ever wondered how to manage your corporate presentation in an interactive way? Have your business customers fallen tired of the regular Microsoft presentations? Most of Solly Labs customers have also fallen off from the regular presentations. Our discussions and presentations are efficiently delivered when the presentation medium that we use is a video.

Video marketing has time and again proved itself in demonstrating business efficiency. As discussed in our previous articles, explainer videos are the newest trend that is being adopted by e-learning companies. Similarly, below is one other video that summarizes the interactivity involved in a whiteboard animation video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BvqvTV_6Sg

Creative design:

These whiteboard animation videos involve a great effort of the creative design team. The challenge faced across each of these videos is to bring in a good storyboard and a flow in which a pencil can talk to the listener. The whiteboard animation is an effective communication tool however the process of creating one such video involves a good team effort.

This hand drawn engaging graphic presentation tool is the new solution for ny  business, conference or a discussion forum. These are highly fun, refreshing and yet simple.

If you are a sole trader and are looking to market your business among several other competitors, then we at Solly Labs will tell you why would a whiteboard animated presentation work for you:

1.       Change is needed: Everyone in the market is looking out for a change. The market demands a change, an innovative solution. Like the wise say, ‘you make a change to the world when you start to look at things differently’. Hence, a presentation could be either made monotonous or by looking at it differently, one can make a presentation engaging.

2.       Easy to communicate: It is not easy to storyboard or design a whiteboard animation but the output makes the video very special. If you have got the idea, storyboard and the objective right, then let the whiteboard animation do the rest of the job for you. Research suggests that a message is best relayed in an whiteboard animation video when compared to the rest of the static or color animated videos.

3.       Viewership rate is high: It is proved that the viewership rate is high among the whiteboard animation videos. The hand-pencil sketch makes the users visit the advertisement/ video atleast once to satiate their curiosity. This is generally not the case in picture motion or photo collage videos.

On its way forward,

It is interesting to notice the drift that this market segment sets. As per the industry trend, it is not very surprising to witness an innovative aspect drawn to this set of interactive videos in the near future. At Solly Labs, we are constantly innovating newer ways to make whiteboard animation videos interactive. We would like to hear from you on this topic. E-mail me at shelly.w.thomas@gmail.com.

Making Super Simple videos that Sell

The Super Bowl is a time for advertising show. Advertisers look to invest every year in the game. The field witnesses advertisements like never before. Each business is keen on ramping up their advertisements for the year’s Super Bowl. 2014 witnessed the same trend. There were celebrities, musical shows and special effects all over the location. The Super Bowl game season is the best time to build strong branding and effectiveness.

Below are two among the other best ads that are a great inspiration:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABxP3t7XP3g

The yogurt brand – Chobani, at Super Bowl featured a game day commercial that had a large enraged bear who ransacks a supermarket for his favorite yogurt bowl. The ad gathered a lot of positive responses. The key message of the ad – all-natural was transcribed very well. 

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKuQrKeGe6g

General Mills’s Cheerios advertisement is another that grabbed positive reviews this year when compared to the company’s prequel spot as of last year. The advertisement features an inter-racial couple who breaks the news of the arrival of their new baby boy to the child, with the help of Cheerios loops. The advertisement does not talk about the ad directly. The message brings the simplicity of the family and their common meal at the breakfast table.

The advertisements are a success because it is intense, inspirational and passes a simple message. It is necessary to showcase such stimulating ads during the Super Bowl season. Any marketing collateral that plays at the mid-time of a favorite show is always perceived as interrupting. Hence, it becomes imperative on the companies to storyboard, design, produce, test and publish a video that does not bring a frown in the audiences’ faces.

It is the job of the expert to design ads for every season. At Solly Labs, we build similar marketing collaterals as simple online messages  that can boost the mileage of your company’s brand, during seasons. Example, we would suggest a retail customer to have a line-up of creative videos that can be played during the Super Bowl season that can address their messages and their products. To ensure that the audiences’ attention is not interrupted, the spots must be launched at various days, thereby not boring the spectator’s game.

Engaging the audiences

It is also a good idea to engage the audiences during the game. A mix of live review comments, talk shows and picture shoot of the users can turn out to be a fine video and bring in a new and innovative experience.

While audiences love to watch their favorite celebrities on the television, they  like simple stories even more.

Solly Labs is constantly innovating newer methods of building innovative videos. If you have a great idea and would like to share it with us, mail us at _______@___.com

Post your favorite ad in the comments section and tell us what you think.

Why do you need a Voice Over

As small as it seems, but voice-over is the core business across the new age media. Businesses provide specialized audio production and voice-over services for corporate presentation, websites, IVR (Interactive Voice Response), multimedia (*Macromedia® Director®, Flash™, etc.) and traditional broadcast productions.  The voice-over services are available in multiple languages, language accents and various file formats. Different industry verticals prefer the audio-video medium of marketing to reach out to their audiences. As mentioned in our last blog on the explainer videos, a picture speaks a thousand words but a video speaks indefinitely. The article further explores the reason why audio-video is a great medium—especially for specific industry verticals—e-learning is one among the largest.

 Why audio and video narration is a great hit in the e-learning industry?

Voice-over is in great demand across technology related industry. With the advent of the NCLB (no child left behind) act, it was imperative for e-learning providers to introduce newer technologies. There has been immense work involved in researching and analyzing different mediums to impart education. In the last four years, the industry has evolved from being a basic textbook provider to a smart gadget e-learning provider. E-learning videos are a big hit among schools and colleges.

Imagine a video without audio-narration? The e-learning videos are not self-explanatory. They need to be supported with multiple language accents and narration style to suit various geographies. The audio narration is not a visible incentive however they add massive value to every e-learning collateral. Take a look at the video below:

Educomp

The video is for the lower primary grade. This video helps students grab a grip on the basics of “The sun”, and other heavenly bodies. The video without a voice-over narration is as good as giving a colorful textbook to the student but may still not get an average student’s attention.

The video’s voice-over narration - While the video is played in the class, the video will definitely keep a student’s interest alive but it is the audio that will get the class intensely. However, a stand-alone audio is as good as nothing. Video is certainly the collateral that compliments learning. An audio/ voice over narration adds value to an effective video. At the same time, the quality of the audio is definitely the elevator pitch for an operative class. Different voice accents add value, for example: a confident female voice would ideally make the above video most interesting when compared to any others in the industry.

About Solly Labs: Solly Labs  is best known for inventive video-marketing. We provide various styles of voice-over narration that we analyze and help you identify as the best fir for the market. We utilize talents from around the world to work with us thereby to add quality to our solutions. We believe in providing a difference and that is our guarantee!

Promoting your Video for Free or on a Low Budget:

2 fresh Ideas just for you, and links to the best free distribution video sites

Solly Labs work with businesses.

Some are multinational, some are national leaders in their market, and some are crossing the starting line in developing the video element of their marketing mix.

We at Solly Labs want with this feature article to give smaller businesses something different, ideas they won’t read anywhere else. The web is a big place, and it’s difficult to come up with novel and different ideas (let alone effective ones,) but thankfully creativity and business is in our bones.

We focus here on smaller businesses as we know how hard it is to gather impressions, and to engage customers when the Internet is abuzz with the noise of bigger well established brands.

They squeeze smaller players to the margins.

Whilst a Solly Labs socially shared video creation can be acquired for the same cost as just seconds of the TV ad-space big players buy up by the hour; how the video is delivered (and the cost of that delivery) to the eye of the target is a huge consideration.

It is as worthwhile a consideration as the development of the video itself.

The big brands can follow the consumer to each and every platform a consumer uses.

For example Disney on learning kids liked to watch video in cars, created mobile video solutions.

As a small player you may not be able to afford using pay per impression and for promoting the video on a variety of platforms.

You may need to choose just one means, “the best one for you,” either that, or get very creative.

Get the traction you deserve with Solly Labs

Here are some creative and cost effective options:

A)   Merging your Video with a Content Production

There are a multitude of amateur and professional directors creating low budget films and documentaries in need of hard cash (but very small amounts of it,) to get their projects off the ground. These individuals are easily found, and you’ll find in communicating with them, they are open to sponsorship of their production.

Starting to get the picture?

Find a project that has a targeted viewer base consistent with your target market, and you are looking at the optimum space to have your video displayed. Not only will the director and all persons associated with the production be a sales force in themselves, promoting their production for the attainment of views, but when your video is spliced into the content (as the ad break, or as a forerunner to the content itself, you will be netting a plethora of benefits.

-       Your video will be delivered on target each time the content is viewed.

-       Your firm will be recognised as a supporter of the arts, giving your brand added credibility.

-       If you choose the right production there will be showcases on the big screen, netting you scores if not hundreds of impressions all at once.

B)   Taking your Video to the airwaves

If you want the stature that comes with being on radio, but don’t want to expend additional sums in radio ad development, you’ll find the audio element of Solly Lab creations can be split from the video with ease. The professional voice-over will carry your message with precision. Given that Solly Lab’s offer range includes creating videos of commensurate length with radio standard, your professional script and audio enhancements can be used as an added value bonus to our offering.

C)   Go with Free Online Video Sites for the Distribution of your Video

New video distribution sites are emerging every week. Many will fail to get enough traction to allow you springboard off their success. Whilst of course YouTube, being the second largest search engine in the world will be your first post of call, it should not be your only one.

If even one in every twenty people who see your video become inspired to Pinterest, Facebook or share it by another social networking tool, your video will be well on its way to netting the same viewer numbers the big players have expending five figure sums to net. 

Attain valuable free views of the creation that Solly Labs develops for you, by uploading your content to the following free video distribution sites:

1. http://on.aol.com/
2. http://www.screenjunkies.com/
3. http://vimeo.com/
4. http://www.saymedia.com
5. http://www.veoh.com/
6. http://digg.com/
7. http://www.metacafe.com/
8. http://www.clipsid.com/
9. http://videosift.com/
10. http://www.clipshack.com/
11. http://www.myspace.com/video
12. http://www.bebo.com/

Facebook, Bebo, Myspace, and indeed all of the free distribution video sites listed here allow you to upload your video. However there is an issue video promoters need to take into account when going down the social networking route to video promotion.

That factor is time

When promoting your video via this avenue you need to remember:

There are hundreds of thousands of individuals using these sites promoting their videos for a living. These people are sharp, well versed in best practice video promotion. They are well practiced in the use of the varied mix of techniques it takes to mass market video.

You will be up against them, and perhaps screaming in the wind to attract viewer attention.

Trawling through YouTube and seeing how the pros do it is a useful tactic. What will leap out at you is the sheer number of subscribers they have for their video channels. This is no accident, each subscriber has been carefully cultivated, and one of the prime means of doing so is “networking” / responding to commenters etc.

The promotional video creations of Solly Labs are designed as a time saving tool. Instead of having to individually deliver your pitch to every target, the perfect pitch process is automated.

If you choose to outsource us to deliver this video entity for your business, you may also consider outsourcing the social media engagement process for your video. Your time is the most precious time in the World, an experienced professional can take on this function for you, and dare we say it they may be able to do it better and more cheaply than you can do it in-house.

However; whilst this is an important business function, it can also be a fun one, and the experience gained in doing so is a commercial skill. Beyond the outsourcing option, taking on an intern and letting them play a real role in your business development with the maintenance of your multiple video channels will rock their World, as you rock The World with your video creation.