The Open University needed a video to show options students have available when they need advice or support. TFA delivered an engaging, striking and super-fluid animation.

A higher-education explainer video to engage and inform.

The Open University, one of TFA’s long-standing clients, tasked us to develop and animate a 2-minute explainer video for their students. The goal was to explain how to contact them for any assistance they might require through their Student Association, as well as to lead them to appropriate resources and people who can assist them.

Supplied with the narration pre-recorded, our design team created a storyboard illustrating a character’s journey as she discovers how to get in touch with the OUSA to seek out advice.

Knowing our audiences. 

With inclusivity being such a crucial message to convey, we felt it was important to represent all university students by depicting a diverse group of people throughout the explainer film. To provide a subtle comic-book feel, we used halftone backdrops and expressive motifs.

We planned each scene to flow from one screen to the next to convey the sense of the learner being on a journey. This kept the explainer from getting uninteresting and overburdened with information. We inserted short phrases from the narration throughout, ensuring the video could be understood without audio, and it becoming unnecessarily wordy. Appealing to students in higher education we chose a striking and modern colour palette, used across the background, simplistic characters and bold typography. 

Super-fluid animation. 

Our motion graphics department animated all the elements together resulting in a super-fluid animation as the story of the Student Association’s Advice Hub was told. The Open University was ecstatic with the end product, and we’re still working on a variety of projects with them.

If your institution of higher education needs to engage its students, faculty, or broader audiences, contact TFA now. Also, you can learn more about our video and motion graphics services.