10 Great Live Action Explainer Videos + Why They’re So Good

If you’re thinking of making a live action explainer video then I have some bad news; there are some really good ones out there and it may take more than a spare afternoon to make something that stands out. I also have some good news, many of their methods can be easily emulated and, in many cases, don’t need to cost the earth.   

If you’re not sure whether you should choose a live action explainer video or an animated one, then click here for a complete rundown of the pros and cons. Otherwise, read on to discover what the best live action explainer videos look like and what makes them so darn good.

Dollar Shave Club

Ah yes, this old classic. It went viral and entered many a best explainer videos list for many reasons. For starters, they managed to make it with a small investment of just $4500. It also made the most of its budget by generating many thousands more in sales. Here are a few ways it did this.

The video’s hook does everything you want it to. It tells you what the product is – which is in itself, very enticing – before earning more of your attention with a little humor and profanity.

But behind all this playfulness is a very refreshing no BS approach. Far too many marketing videos are making claims that feel only partly credible and are wrapped up in a corny delivery. Dollar Shave Club has really embraced its honesty and challenger status to big brands by being brutally straightforward about what it does. So brutally straightforward that it’s hilarious.

FiberFix

Another classic, brought to you by the explainer video creators that can do no wrong. This video incorporates the same magic present in Dollar Shave Club – humor and brutal honesty. However, this time, they’re playing with a much bigger budget and they certainly know how to use it.

The many many dollars thrown at this video were well spent on the intro hook. Not only is it impossible to ignore – as any good hook should be – but it’s the perfect product demo. As soon as you experience it, you believe in it and you want to know more about the product. 

The video then spends the rest of its near five minutes giving you more reasons why the FiberFix is so good and numerous counterarguments you might have against purchasing. Granted, this video is made more watchable thanks to its big-budget and over-the-top visuals. But as we saw with Dollar Shave Club, it’s not a crazy assumption that a lower budget equivalent could be equally engaging.

Grammarly

A very unexplainery live action explainer video. Arguably not really an explainer video since it doesn’t do much explaining. Still, I thought I’d include it as it’s a brilliant example of how to blend storytelling with a product demo. 

Unlike so many marketing videos, this has a central character that incites actual empathy. She reminds us that we’ve all been there. New job and/or stressful day. The classic hero/heroine’s journey is then warmly embraced and we see our protagonist win, all thanks to Grammarly.

Expandopedia

I thought I’d throw this in straight after the Grammarly video since in many ways it’s the same idea, only with a more complex product. The video is about a girl, new to her role who uses the product to overcome a challenge. 

Unlike the Grammarly video though, we get a benefit by benefit, feature by feature, breakdown of what Expandopedia can do. And we’re informed of its magic in relation to its biggest competitor: Google.

Click

Another great lesson in the art of a good product demo. Instead of just showing a disembodied hand using the app, a technique that far too many explainer videos resort to, this demo sets the video within all the various scenarios it's likely to be used in. Shoving it into these scenarios is the ideal way of promoting what’s known as an ‘aha’ moment and getting the buy-in you need from prospects. 

ICBF

I think it’s safe to assume that somewhere in the brief was the direction to use some seriously big, “look at me energy”. Whilst in so many ways this video is the complete opposite of the Dollar Shave Club video, it’s actually quite similar in others.

Just like the Dollar Shave Club video, it grabs your attention by being unapologetically blunt. Its claim of “we have everything to make you richer” and asking “what the f**k is a blockchain?” doesn’t hold anything back from the viewer. Plus, just like Dollar Shave Club, the profanity makes the video memorable, half the battle with any piece of marketing.

Riverside

If there’s anything that builds trust and empathy with your audience, it’s an intimate portrayal of the problems they’re facing. From the subtle details like the late night tub of ice cream, to imagining the online response that every media creator fears, this video sets things up perfectly for Riverside to be the ultimate solution.

This intimate detailing of the problem is then brilliantly juxtaposed by detailing the solution with the same level of intimacy. Questions like how to use it, how long processes take, how it manages to ensure quality, and more, are all covered in the most enticing manner possible.

Unroll.Me

Like the riverside video the intro does a great job of building empathy and illustrating what the problem feels like to the user. The difference here is that it achieves this in a fraction of the time. A few seconds and then bang, there it is, “EMAIL DOESN’T HAVE TO SUCK.” A nice, memorable, clear proposition. 

What’s also very neat about this video is how its short, to-the-point nature reflects the equally neat and simple nature of the app. The makers have skipped a detailed product demo and instead they just have a montage of people using the app with great satisfaction. The final line from one of the characters says it all.

Sermonary

I’m a huge fan of this video’s visual approach. It isn’t often the case that the camera angle choice of a live action explainer video is integral to the video’s communication. But here it’s everything. The static, bird’s eye view isn’t just a neat piece of visual continuity. It also implies that it’s God’s view. Plus, like with a lot of the other videos mentioned in this blog, it’s a great way of showing intimate details and building trust with an audience.

Mous

This isn’t your typical explainer video. It’s a Kickstarter video. So instead of asking people to sign up for a free demo or buy now, it’s asking for funding. 

Yes, its broad goal is still basically the same as any other explainer video: it’s trying to convince you that the product is useful and valuable. However, the big difference is that this video is punching a little harder to prove said value. Here Mous is an unfunded, somewhat unproven commodity, it needs to show off all the value it can. 

This video is an onslaught of proof. From the rigorous testing and product demos to the detailed outlining of the science behind it, the makers clearly want to demonstrate that this phone case is unbreakable and unstoppable. This video doesn’t need a fancy budget, it just needs bucketloads of cold hard evidence. Thankfully, it has it.

Final thoughts

As you can see, the best live action explainer videos don’t necessarily need big budgets. But they do need a bit of creativity if they’re going to be effective. More media is fighting for our attention than at any point in history. And whilst fancy visuals will certainly help, it’s the quality of the script that really makes viewers sit up and pay attention.

This is why we put so much emphasis on a good script at Bullseye Motion. Wherever possible, we like to base our video scripts on voice of customer research data and use conversion copywriting principles to maximize the likelihood of a click.

If this sounds like the script you want for your product then click below to get in contact with me, Bullseye’s creative director, and we can start talking about the ideal approach for your business.

P.S. all comments and feedback on this blog are appreciated! If there’s any way you think it could be improved, then feel free to shout and I’ll see if I can work them into a redraft. xx