Explainer Videos That Convince and Convert
Measurable ROI, backed by 18 years of film and marketing expertise.
Book a consultation: +49 2251 773 99 66
WHERE COMPLEXITY MEETS CLARITY
At Pathfinder Studios, we don't just make explainer videos – we create clarity that sells. Our approach combines instructional storytelling with high-end filmmaking, so your explainer video doesn't just convince, it gets even complicated subjects across in seconds. Every project is built to increase understanding of your offering, make buying decisions easier and measurably lift your conversion rate.
YOUR EXPLAINER VIDEO HAS TO DO MORE THAN ANIMATE
Explainer Videos From Other Agencies
❌ Aesthetics over substance: The video looks good but never gets to the point. An asset that leaves the viewer no wiser.
❌ No instructional concept: Without a clear structure, you get more confusion instead of clarity.
❌ Off-the-shelf look: A generic animation style that doesn't fit your brand, your audience or the complexity of your subject.
Explainer Videos From Pathfinder Studios
✅ Storytelling that teaches: Every word and every image is built to make your message clear and lead the viewer to a specific action.
✅ Strategy and craft together: We combine subject expertise with cinematic creativity, for explainer videos that work on your website, in ads and in presentations.
✅ Genuine explainer experts: We don't just have good ideas. After 450+ projects, we have the experience to visualise even the most complicated subjects simply and convincingly.
HOW YOUR EXPLAINER VIDEO TURNS QUESTION MARKS INTO CLICKS
An explainer video is the most effective tool there is for winning attention online and making a complex offering instantly understandable. It's your tireless pitch – creating clarity around the clock and delivering measurable results.
HIGHER CONVERSION
A short, sharp explainer video on your landing page removes doubt and answers the key questions immediately. The result: visitors trust you faster, and your conversion rate goes up.
LEAD GENERATION & SALES
Your sales team can use the explainer video to spark interest and introduce the product before the first presentation even happens. That saves time and generates better-qualified leads.
ATTENTION & UNDERSTANDING
People will happily watch a 90-second video where they'd never read a long page of text. You hold their attention, keep them on the page far longer, and make your core message stick.
OUR PLAN FOR YOUR EXPLAINER VIDEO
An explainer video that works is the result of a precise process built around clarity. We make sure your message doesn't just land – it stays.
Maximum clarity. Maximum impact.
01
MESSAGE & AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
We start with the most important question: what is the ONE core message your viewer needs to understand? We analyse your offering and your audience, and define a clear goal for the video.
02
SCRIPT & VISUAL CONCEPT
This is the decisive phase. We write a tight script that gets your story to the point. Then we develop a distinctive visual concept – with real people, at the product, or on a whiteboard.
03
PRODUCTION & POST
Our directors bring the concept to life, either as live action or animation. A professional voice sets exactly the right tone, backed by music and sound design that fit.
04
INTEGRATION & ROLLOUT
Your explainer video is ready. We deliver it in every format you need for your website, social campaigns, presentations or email signatures – and advise you on where it will do the most good.
WE DON'T JUST MAKE VIDEOS. WE CREATE CLARITY.
An explainer video is only as good as the idea it makes understandable. That's why we don't present our work as a collection of nice-looking shots, but as proof of how we get complex subjects across and help our clients hit their goals.
DigitalHUB
A dynamic animated video for digitalHUB Aachen, bringing the city's startup ecosystem and all its players to life – and positioning the HUB as the central node connecting startups, science and business.
Grenzflug+
A technically assured explainer video introducing the research project 'Grenzflug+', laying out the complex technology behind autonomous cross-border drone flights clearly and vividly.
Quinlogic QES
A precise animated video that gets to the heart of how Quinlogic's intelligent QES software works – showing how complex production data becomes information people can actually act on.
Value in Every Industry
Work With International Professionals
Pathfinder Studios combines the creative excellence of international feature film with the strategic thinking of a brand agency.
Founded in 2008 in Euskirchen in the Rhineland, we work across Europe with companies that value strategic advice, creative execution and long-term results – from startups to global brands, from mid-sized businesses to corporations.
We have worked with German and British stars, celebrity voice talent and models. We have been an IHK-certified training company since 2015.
TOM WOLT
Director / Marketing Visionary
Tom has spent 18 years directing and advising on marketing, and after 1,000+ days on international film sets, nothing rattles him. His first feature is currently touring the festival circuit. When he's not making films or watching them, you'll find him playing sport, devouring tech news or entertaining his dog.
YVONNE SCHWALOWSKI
Producer / Strategy Architect
Yvonne is a strategically minded producer and an emotional storyteller. Before Pathfinder Studios, she worked as a business consultant and journalist. When she isn't advising clients or running a set, she's baking waffles or writing novels, published by Piper, Egmont and Ullstein.
Behind the scenes
When professionals are at work, you can feel it in every move. Creativity, routine and tight schedules mean everyone stays calm and focused. Whether trained in-house or drawn from our carefully curated freelancer pool, we make sure the right team is on site for your project.
Why Your Explainer Video Needs the Right Partner
The right agency doesn't just film well – it explains well. We're experts at getting to the bottom of complexity and turning it into simple, convincing stories your audience actually understands.
CONSULTING
Draw on our experience from hundreds of explainer videos. We'll advise you on how to strip your message back and shape it for maximum clarity and impact.
CONCEPT
Every good explanation needs a strong instructional concept. Our concept writers are masters at scripts that inform, engage and move people to act.
FULL SERVICE
Everything from one team: a sharp concept, production in live action or animation, professional voice talent and final post. All of a piece, for a result that holds together.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Clear processes make for clear results. We guide you reliably through every project, so you can count on your explainer video being ready – on time and on budget.
Explainer Videos: Frequently Asked Questions –
Answered Straight
Talk to our experts
Explainer Videos: What You Need to Know
Our free Pathfinder Studios primer on explainer videos. If you have further questions, just book a free consultation with our experts.
So you can revisit this and share it with colleagues and decision-makers, we've put everything worth knowing about explainer videos, along with clear examples, into our free handbook, available for immediate download.
What is an explainer video?
An explainer video makes complex processes visible and explains how things, products and services actually work.
Explainer videos are often animated, but they can equally be shot as live action. Companies use them most in sales, in support and in training.
Animation styles range from very simple cut-out techniques through illustrated styles to elaborate 2D animation and photorealistic 3D.
What are the benefits of an explainer video?
The explainer video is the number one marketing tool when a product, process or idea needs explaining.
Because information reaches the viewer visually through the image and audibly through the voice (warm, relaxed or serious, depending on the brand), it's processed faster and retained better.
And because explainer videos are usually simplified and animated, they speak a universal language – they work across language and cultural barriers.
That's why they're used so heavily in sales and training. Public institutions increasingly use them too, to explain administrative processes, structures or rules of conduct (at an airport, for instance).
Explainer videos in sales
Explainer videos are particularly effective in sales. They can open a client meeting or a presentation to give an overview, or be dropped in at specific points along the way.
They also help make sure information travels correctly inside the client's organisation. If your rep has spoken to the head of HR, but quality management, marketing and the board still have to sign off, the explainer video makes sure every decision-maker gets the same, accurate picture.
What an explainer video isn't good for is brand building. For that, a commercial or product film or a corporate film is the right tool.
Explainer videos in support and training
They work just as well for support and training. Give your customers and staff instructions or how-to tutorials, and you help them help themselves – and take real pressure off your support team.
They're also well suited to knowledge bases, wikis and internal training. Not to be confused with the industrial film, which is mainly about showing manufacturing processes.
Explainer video facts
Explainer videos usually run 60 to 180 seconds and typically cost between €5,000 and €15,000.
95% of marketers say that using video strategically has dramatically increased brand awareness with their target audience.
83% of companies using explainer videos on their website say the investment pays for itself quickly through new customers.
84% of consumers (B2B & B2C) say a brand's video convinced them to buy a product or service.
Which industries are explainer videos right for?
- Technology and engineering
- Research and development
- Industry and manufacturing
- IT, software and the digital economy
- Public authorities and the public sector
Explainer videos suit every industry and every size of company. From startups through mid-sized businesses to corporations and the public sector, they're used to make products and processes easy to grasp.
They're especially valuable in sectors where things genuinely need explaining – research, engineering, IT, and public administration.
They work in B2B for a specialist audience and in B2C for the general public. For the latter, a corporate film or a promotional product film can also be a good fit.
What types of explainer video are there?
- Cut-out / paper animation
- Animation (2D or 3D)
- Live action
- Screen capture
- A mix of the above
Most explainer videos are animated. Within that, styles vary by supplier, budget, goal and – not least – personal taste.
The simplest (and usually cheapest) is cut-out animation: static 2D graphics moved around on a white or plain background, often by real hands. With a voice-over, that gives you a simple, comprehensible video – which unfortunately often ends up looking interchangeable and getting dull fast.
The most common style is partially animated 2D: colourful 2D graphics brought to life. The execution can be very simple or as elaborate and complex as a cartoon.
At the top end you get photorealistic 3D modelling. But the effort – and therefore the cost – is high, and often it simply doesn't pay off.
When the explainer video leans more towards a tutorial or how-to, it's often shot as live action, with real footage supplemented by on-screen graphics. That works especially well when you're explaining how to install or set up a product. Screen capture often comes into play here too.
Examples of good explainer videos
You'll find examples of successful explainer videos of various kinds on this page. There are more in our free handbook.
Bear in mind that every company, product and goal is different, so no two explainer videos are alike.
What should you budget for an explainer video?
There's no single answer. Every explainer video is built around the specific company and the specific goal.
For planning purposes, we'd suggest budgeting between €5,000 and €15,000. What drives the number is the effort involved – the complexity and the degree of animation. As a rule of thumb: the simpler and more static the graphic style, the less work, and the lower the cost.
The total breaks down into pre-production (concept, script, storyboard), graphics and animation (usually billed by day rate; a minute of video takes 1 to 5 days depending on complexity), and audio (editing, voice recording – possibly in several languages – subtitles, sound effects and music).
Most production companies bill by day rate, though some explainer videos can also be scaled and priced by the minute. So unlike a corporate film, you can sometimes get a per-minute price here. Even so, flat fees and "fixed prices" are unusual – and sometimes a red flag – and worth looking at closely.
