There are so many different ways to tell a story, several ways to script your idea, and multiple angles you can approach. So what’s the right way to tell it? It depends on your brand, your style, your product, your idea and your purpose. While there is no scarcity of options when it comes to storytelling, there are a handful of right ways to do it. So we’ve clubbed some popular styles of video and the best ways you can make use of them.
Contents
- Kinetic Typography Video
- Animation Video Style
- Live-Action Video
- Whiteboard Video Styles
- Live Videos
- Screencast Videos
- Transition Videos
Kinetic Typography Video
It’s the type of video that calls for an animation expert to work on them. They make complete use of the power of text, its meaning and the way it can be expressed. When you want to make your message the focus of the video, Kinetic Typography is a good bet.
When to use this video style
When you have a lot of information to mediate to explain a concept or a feeling, or even a product you can place all your eggs in this basket.
Typography is something that allows you to use video to explain your product and design effectively. This allows your audience and customer to understand and get to learn more about your brand and product.
Apple’s famous Don’t Blink ad is a great example of this style of video. Burger King’s rebrand video also uses typography to send across its message.
Animation Video Style
Animation is a style of video that gives movement and motion to still images. It’s often used with typography videos to give them a more visual element. Disney’s Pixar is all animated.
When to use this style of video
Brands tend to use this animated style of video for marketing purposes or explainer videos.
They’re especially used for the latter when you need to explain a complex concept in easier, understandable terms with animated graphics. These explainer videos make it easier for the audience to learn tough concepts.
It’s also convenient when you don’t have a film crew, actors or a low budget. Ted-Ed videos are a great example of this category.
Live-Action Video
Live-action video is where you use a real person instead of animated characters. It’s a video type you would see on the big screen, Disney also remakes a lot of animated videos into live-action ones such as Mulan. It’s real people, real footage, executed to perfection. Although, don’t mistake them for live streaming videos which have to be broadcasted in real-time.
When to use this style of video
Live-action videos can be funny, informative or even explainer. Action videos make great tutorial and demo videos. Action videos are one of those styles that help make amazing brand welcome videos and allow your audience to feel like your brand is talking to them.
They are great for sales videos as well. You can use any camera, even your phone so the recording part becomes somewhat free.
Examples could be movies, interviews, tutorials, product demo, partners directory video, team comms video, vlogs etc.
Whiteboard Video Styles
Whiteboard is like animation videos except in Whiteboard videos, you can show the process and progress of your concept. Whiteboard animation comes off as more relatable, starting with a blank white space and slowly telling a story one image at a time to the viewer.
When do you use this style of video
Whiteboard animation style video can be used by companies to create videos for information-heavy ideas that need explaining. Whiteboard is also an explainer video style that brands can choose to use to advertise their products and services to their audience on social media and increase sales.
Here’s a great instance where the concept of life insurance, which is generally a heavy topic, is dumbed down. It uses different kinds of graphics and elements like shapes, characters, text, charts etc to make content easy to see and understand by the customer.
Live Videos
These are the simplest kind of videos to shoot, but not the easiest to prepare for. Live videos happen in real-time. There’s no editing, cutting or stitching here. What’s happening, in reality, is streaming on the screen. This streaming live style of video has been popularised since social media adopted the ‘Live’ feature.
When to use this style of video
A marketing agency, brand, and even social media influencers can use it to conduct live interviews, take their followers through their day by live streaming, streaming webinars or also live streaming to unbox an exciting package.
Live videos are also of course used in sports broadcasting, news and other sectors that demand real-time footage of an event.
Screencast Videos
More often used to create tutorials, screencast videos are where you digitally record your screen and edit them in a sophisticated manner with an added voice narration and some graphic elements.
When to use this style of video
Screencasts are the most efficient kind of explainer videos to explain a certain application or production works. Screencasts take the audience through the exact procedure, so all they need to do is follow the demo along and then do what they see.
A popular example would be Adobe Premiere Pro tutorial videos or ‘How to set up a YouTube channel’ or something along those lines. It’s super helpful seeing exactly what you’re supposed to and hence, Screencast videos are the go-to for How To concepts.
Transition Videos
A big hit among Gen Z, especially since Instagram Reels and TikToks. Fades and wipes just don’t do it anymore. The TikTok generation prefers more innovative, fluid and quick transitions.
How to use this style of video
They’re used in before-after videos or videos that require quick location changes or outfit changes etc. Examples of these video styles are in abundance! Just open up your app and chances are you’ll find them in your first three scrolls.
