Professional Documents
Culture Documents
VIDEO DESIGN
IN POWERPOINT
As much as PowerPoint is a powerful tool for
creating presentations, it is also a viable option
for producing professional videos. Whether you
want to add engaging effects to existing video or
easily create animations, read our ultimate guide
to video design in PowerPoint.
WHY VIDEO?
Video design in PowerPoint is one of the easiest,
most effective ways to convey your organisation’s
ideas. The videos you create can be anything as
simple as slide transitions or as intricate as
animations. Our guide explains exactly how to
master video design in PowerPoint. Before we get
to that, these are the four reasons why you should
want to master moving content:
VIDEO IS
WHERE THE
MONEY IS
In 2014, Mark Zuckerberg said “Most [of With our social media feeds full of motion
Facebook] will be video in five years time”. Look content, we expect the same content from our
at your Newsfeed and tell us his prediction isn’t business lives too. This consumer craving for
coming true. It’s not just video either. Modern moving content is changing every part of every
marketers make all kinds of moving content: industry. HTML5 was designed specifically to
Gifs, boomerangs, animations and more. support moving content in everything from
banner ads to mobile webpages. Enormous out of
It’s easy to see why they’re investing more in home advertisers are investing millions in moving
moving content. People watch and share it more displays, like the incredibly successful Adshel
than anything else. Here are the facts: Live Platform.
• Social video generates 1200% more shares With so much moving content to consume,
than text and images combined. consumers care much less about static media.
Today, your media moves or your company dies.
• Viewers retain 95% of a message when they But why has moving content become critical to
watch it in a video compared to 10% when moving sales?
reading it in text.
• 46% of users act after viewing a moving ad.
WE PAY MORE
ATTENTION
TO MOVING
CONTENT
We’re naturally drawn to moving objects. They Look at these two lists:
excite us! But why do we find car races more
exciting than car shows? Well, since caveman
times, the middle temporal regions of our visual
cortexes have lit up whenever we see moving
objects. The same neurons which fired when
we were tracking prey are the same ones which
fire when we watch moving content today.
Good motion design takes advantage of this
fact. It uses movement to make us pay
attention to important information.
1 2
The average corporate video from a production Imagine your company pays some motion
house costs between $5000-$7500. They can designer a fortune to make a terrific tradeshow
justify this expense because of their expertise in video. After charging thousands in fees, they
advanced editing programs. That’s alright if you knock it out of the park. It’s wowed every test
want special effects and animation, but what if audience you’ve shown it to, now you’re ready to
you just want something simple? You’d be take it on the road. Suddenly, a scandal rocks
surprised by how much moving content you can your company! The person who was set to
make in PowerPoint, and the results speak for present this video has resigned in disgrace. You
themselves. quickly assign a new presenter, but your video
uses the disgraced presenter’s name. Despite
begging them on your knees, the motion
designer insists they have no time to change the
video.
EXPORTING YOUR
POWERPOINT INTO VIDEO
To achieve this, you must first ensure that no part
of your PowerPoint is activated by a click. Once
you have automated all of your animations and
transitions, click File -> Export -> Create Video.
Don’t worry about the “Time Spent on Each Slide”
option, as that only applies to static,
unautomated slides.
CREATING
AMAZING
ANIMATIONS
Animation is one of the easiest ways aspects of
video design in PowerPoint. It’s incredibly easy to
achieve this with PowerPoint’s 45 animations and
six motion paths for 2D objects. As well as these,
there are also five engaging animations for 3D
objects.
That sounds like a lot, so let’s start with Select the path you’d like your image to travel
something simple. Say you want an image to fade along, or create a custom path. Adjust the start
onto the screen. Simply select the image, click and end points to your preference, and there you
the “Animations” tab at the top of the screen and have it!
select the “Appear” option. Perhaps you want
another image to move from off screen to the Now that you have multiple elements of motion
centre of the slide. Simply select that image, click to manage, you must consider their sequence.
the “Animations” tab again, activate the drop- This can be done in the animation pane, which is
down menu, and go to “Motion Paths”. the secret to superb video design in PowerPoint.
MASTERING
THE
ANIMATION
PANE
When it comes to video design in PowerPoint, the
animation pane is your best friend. To access it,
go to the “Animations” tab at the top of the screen
and click “Animation Pane” next to “Add
animation”. This pane makes it much easier to edit
the elements in your video. You can sequence
your animations, set when each video starts, and
order every element that moves onto your
screen.
STAGING
Staging involves presenting important objects
clearly. For video design in PowerPoint, this
involves keeping backgrounds minimal and
important objects centred. Makes sense
doesn’t it? After all, your audience has to be
able to see your message to remember it.
APPEAL STRAIGHT
Everything in your animation should be
interesting to look at. This is tricky to pull
AHEAD & POSE
off, since we all find different things
interesting. One trick is to use a variety of
TO POSE
shapes when designing an object. Another These techniques help you understand
is to change proportions to enhance how to make your objects move normally.
interesting features. These are some of the Animating “Straight ahead” involves
easiest parts of video design in PowerPoint drawing each frame in an object’s
movement one after the other. For video
design in PowerPoint, this could involve
posing your object between each stage of
its animation.
EASE IN AND Animating “Pose to pose” involves placing
a few important movement frames, then
EASE OUT placing frames between these. For video
design in PowerPoint, this could involve
The motion of an object looks more placing your object at a few key stages of
realistic if it starts slow, gets faster, then movement and using the “Morph” tool to
slows down. This is important, because get it there.
audiences pay attention to realism. Aim to
add it to all your video design in
PowerPoint.
FOLLOW SECONDARY
THROUGH AND ACTION
OVERLAPPING Adding motion to the secondary elements
of an object gives more life to that object.
TIMING
The timing of objects moving and
appearing on screen can communicate the
emotion of your message. This is one of
the most important elements of animated
video design in PowerPoint.
EXAGGERATION
Exaggeration emphasises motion to
emphasise its meaning. Depending on the
tone of your media, this can be excellent at
getting your point across.
SOLID DRAWING
Solid drawing uses perspective to draw
objects in a three dimensional space. This
gives weight to your object, which gives
weight to what you’re saying. With
PowerPoint’s 3D objects and animation, it’s
easy to add weight to your video design in
PowerPoint.
Under the “Video” option, you’ll find options for As you can see, this tool has options allowing you
inserting videos from online or your own PC. to record a narration, your pointer, or a particular
area of the screen.
3
1
FRAMING
YOUR VIDEO
When working with live-action video in
PowerPoint, it is essential that the content you
upload is engaging without editing. The
foundation of this is framing your shot. First,
position your subject in a well-lit space. Fill the
space behind your subject with material relevant
to your company, such as your logo or notable
products. Now, position your camera on a tripod
or steady surface. Once you have done this,
adjust the camera so
the content within its frame aligns with
the “rule of thirds”.
Without words or movement, this one shot says This shot also uses perspective to a powerful
a lot through what the French call “Mise en effect. See how the young man in the middle of
scène”. Mise en scène simply means staging. It’s the frame is (sky)walking away from the hut
the sum of what you put in your scene, where towards the suns? That tells us he is yearning
you put it, and why. In this shot, we see futuristic for something greater than this lonely place;
equipment rusting next to a small stone hut. that he is yearning for the stars. The challenge
That equipment places the story in a science- of reaching them is reinforced by their height
fiction setting, reinforced by the two suns. The above him and the desert between them.
fact that this advanced equipment is rusting
next to a primitive hut puts this place in a
neglected part of this universe.
APPLYING MISE
EN SCÈNE AND
PERSPECTIVE
So what does Star Wars have to do with video
design in PowerPoint? Well, that depends on
what impression you want to give your audience.
Let’s say you’ve been hired by a construction
equipment manufacturer to animate a pitch for
their new machine: A rugged, solar-powered
truck. The company want to emphasise its power
and environmental friendliness.
APPLYING
EFFECTS
In PowerPoint, there are a number of style effects
you can apply to any video files you import. Simply
right click on the video you import and select the
“Style” option.
2 3
ADDING TEXT
AND TITLE CARDS
Start by turning your first “Slide” into your This will ensure a smooth transition when
video’s title card. First, select an appropriate exporting your PowerPoint to video.
background by clicking on the “Design” tab.
You can either pick from a number of pre- Now, insert your video in your second slide.
made themes, or format your own Right-click on the video in the animation pane
background. and select “Start with previous”. This will
ensure it starts smoothly with the end of the
From there, you can place introductory text title card’s transition once you have exported
on your title card by clicking on the “Insert” tab your PowerPoint to video. If you want an
and inserting a text box. Click on the text, then overlay including the name and title of the
click on “Animations” to find a suitable reveal video’s subject to appear on-screen, simply
animation for the text. Once you have done insert an appropriate shape (through the
this, insert a new slide and apply a transition “Insert” tab) then insert text over the top of it.
to your title card slide. In the “Timing” section As you did with the text on your title card, you
of the “Transitions” tab, click on the “Advance can make these appear on screen with an
slide after” option and set it to your preferred animation. Simply adjust their timing in the
time. animation pane so it doesn’t appear
prematurely.
CREDITS
To add credits to your video, insert a new slide
and repeat what you did with your title card.
2 1 3
3
1
AUDIOVISUAL
TONE OF
VOICE
Now that you know how to make videos,
you need to know how to make them
yours. After all, every organisation has a
unique identity they can translate to video.
Of course, it’s not always easy to make that
translation. Let’s look at a few ways you
can do that:
EXPLORING VISUALISING
YOUR IDENTITY YOUR IDENTITY
Your organisation may have an identity, but While audio is an important element of
it might not be obvious which elements of your internal videos, you should put visuals
it would work well in video. In order to find first. After all, your viewers may have to
them, you must explore your identity. Here watch them without sound.
are a few exercises to help you find your
As well as keeping visuals at the forefront,
audiovisual tone of voice:
you must also keep them consistent. Here
• If you’ve produced videos in the past, are a few considerations for building a
look at the most popular ones you’ve consistent visual identity in your internal
produced. Try to replicate their tone. videos:
• Imagine your brand as a person. Are • Brand colours – While you must use
they fun and old-fashioned? brand colours in external videos, they
Professional and innovative? Flesh out are often ignored for internal videos. By
their identity, then imagine how they incorporating them for internal video
speak. How they look. What music they design in PowerPoint, you will align
like. employees with your identity.
• Write down everything that your • Consistent imagery – What products
audiovisual tone of voice isn’t, just to get and services do you provide? Make sure
your creativity flowing. they appear in the video, even if they’re
only background decoration.
• Look at the internal HR videos for
organisations like Starbucks and Coca • Adjectives – Does your brand look fast?
Cola. Note how they translate their Simple? Industrial? Write a few
identity through colour, music, text, and adjectives down, and make sure your
mise en scène. videos capture this look.
MUSIC
Music is one of the most effective ways to enhance
your video’s message. It’s so effective that it’s
almost impossible to perceive the effect it has on
us. Here are 5 ways to put music to its best use on
your video:
TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF ROYALTY-FREE
MUSIC LIBRARIES
More important than editing your audio is
picking effective music. Personally we pick
our perfect tracks from the following
places:
Shutterstock
1 Generally the most high quality,
professionally produced royalty-free
tracks.
Audio Jungle
2 We can recommend AJ for having
greater variety and lower prices.
FADE IN
AND OUT
After inserting your audio in PowerPoint,
you’ll find this incredibly useful feature
under the Playback tab:
The first step to making professional kinetic Another trick to making top kinetic typography is the
typography is by inserting a shape which blends morph tool. By simply duplicating a slide, changing
into the background. Now set your text over the the contents of the second slide, and applying a
shape, and send it to the back. Apply your motion morph transition, you can create all kinds of
path, and voila! interesting effects. One of the most interesting
effects you can create through morph transitions is
rotation, which can be a powerful tool for
engagement:
DESIGNING A
LOWER THIRD
Begin by placing one slightly transparent white
bar on screen. This will minimise elements on
screen. This bar should be just big enough for
two lines of text. Place the subject’s name in
the first line, their position in the second.
Name Name
Ensure all text within the bar uses pleasant,
Position
readable title case. This means you must
capitalise only the first letter of each word,
except for certain small words. These include
articles (a, an, the) and prepositions (at, for,
per). You do not need to include punctuation.