Why can I hear an audio watermark on my explainer video?
Imagine that you’ve finally found the perfect specialists to work with on developing an animated explainer video.
Perhaps you’ve spent months persuading your team that you need to create more video content to attract those leads and explain your product or service in a more digestible way.
You’ve had the budget agreed and the process is going smoothly.
You’ve worked with your specialist animation agency closely through the scripting, concept art and storyboarding stages.
Everything is on track for delivery by the final deadline and you receive the first draft in your inbox.
The excitement is building and you can’t wait to watch the first draft of your video for the first time before you go ahead and show it to your team or your manager.
But then, you hear some guy repeating some generic phrase throughout your video.
‘What the dickens is this?’ You ask.
One question we get asked a lot, from marketing managers and CEOs is…
‘Why can I hear an audio watermark on my explainer video?’
Fair question.
So, what’s the deal?
How animated explainer videos are created
When animated videos are produced for brands, there should be a robust process.
But for the purpose of this post, let’s skip a few steps.
Once the script, artwork and storyboards are completed and heading into production, your experts will deliver some samples for super duper talented voiceover artists, who they think will fit the bill for your video.
But, while they’re pondering over pronunciations and dialects, they’ll also be thinking about sound design, which will include sound effects AND music.
Music is a really important consideration for animated video content.
Why?
Well, have you ever watched a trailer for a film on mute? It’s just not as emotive or exciting, is it?
Imagine Jaws without that iconic soundtrack. Scary, but mostly meh.
Music is an important supporting element to your brand.
It can’t be an ill-considered add-on at the end.
Why is choosing the right music important?
The music you choose to showcase in your video content can influence your audiences’ emotions. Do you want them to feel energised, calm, emotional, joyful or anywhere in between?
Using personalised, tailored brand background music can help boost your production value and increase brand awareness.
If you’re an established organisation with marketing budgets to die for, you may have the budget to commission custom soundtracks that align with your brand’s tone of voice, mission and values.
And an agency can definitely support you with seeking out that perfect composing partner if that’s an option. There are so many talented composers out there.
But let’s be honest, most of us don’t have that sort of cash to splash.
Perhaps your focus is on budgeting for that next PPC campaign, so an extra £2k (often more) for custom music just isn’t viable right now.
Lucky for us, there are hundreds of tools online to find, download and licence existing music tracks and really help us to find the right music for our videos.
Here are a couple of examples.
Premium Beat offers a database of high-quality music from different genres. You will find both finished songs and shorter loops.
Audio Jungle offers ready-made music. Prices can vary depending on the artist. At AudioJungle you will find both audio tracks and sound effects (SFX).
But, you still haven’t answered the question…
Right, let’s get back to it.
Here’s where the audio watermark comes in.
If you and your agency are utilising these awesome tools, they should always add an audio track that they believe is a perfect fit for the first draft of your production. ‘First draft’ is the important phrase here. This isn’t the finished product, yet.
Just like the voiceover artists, they’ll research, source and curate the most appropriate music for your video.
They’ll want you to see and hear all the elements together.
Why? Because as mentioned, watching a video without sound just isn’t as effective.
Your experts will want you to have the whole epic experience, straight away.
That’s even more important if you need to share it with a wider team.
They’ll understand how persuasive you need to be and that this is going to be an effective marketing tool for the brand. And your agency is here to help with that.
But, they should never buy the full licenced track until YOU have approved it.
They don’t want to waste your budget or take a hit on theirs.
So, the first animation will likely contain an audio watermark on the track.
A cheerful dude might be chanting ‘PREMIUM BEAT DOT COME’ throughout the video.
But don’t worry, once you’ve approved (and you don’t have to go with the first option) your partners will purchase and apply the licenced track WITHOUT the watermark to your final video.
Then, you’re ready to showcase it to the world and implement it into your marketing strategy.
That’s why you can hear an audio watermark on the track on your video.
Because they want to be thorough, they should want to give you ownership over every stage of the production process.
They want you to feel in control and have the final say.
Music is important, but don’t stress if your budget doesn’t stretch to custom tracks just yet.
There are tonnes of options and your specialist animation team will know just where to find the track that will be the best fit for your brand message.
With expert advice, your audience will not just watch your video, they will a connection to your brand as they’ve never felt before.
Leaving you to concentrate on fielding those enquires that come flooding in.
And that’s magic!
For more info on animated explainer videos, have a nosy at some of the projects we’ve worked on, over ‘ere. We’re a chatty bunch so if you’ve got any questions or just want to word-vomit some ideas at us, we’re always ready to lend a friendly ear. Summon a wizard here.
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