ATS Whiteboard Animation Video
This is a whiteboard animation video I created with ATS (Advanced Trustee Strategies) in 2019. The video was created as a general guide for inquiry into the services offered by ATS.
Around the time the video was created, Whiteboard Video was highly popular (and still is when done well) as a means to keep viewer’s engagement and attention. ATS reached out because they wanted something down-to-earth and charming that clearly explained their services to potential new clients. While I’m not aware of ATS using the video as an external ad, I do believe they used this video for in-office meetings or for email communications involving the description of their services to potential new customers.
Video Process - The Making of ATS Whiteboard Animation Video
When ATS was ready to create a video, they invited me to their offices and I met with Sandeep Varma (CEO and ATS Wealth Strategist) and Phyllip Simmons (ATS Wealth Strategist) to begin to get a general brief from them about what they were looking for in a video.
In our first meeting, I gathered Sandeep’s vision and was also happy to find that he was quite the creative storyteller himself! Luckily, Sandeep had already been employing the use of graphic storytelling in his communication efforts with his clients through a fictional family he created to explain the concepts of wealth building using financial trusts. This gave me a little bit of extra comfort that we could lean into something that took a bold stance while using my whiteboard skills and creativity.
To begin with, I quickly realized I could use some help with the creation of the script and so I reached out to a local colleague who I considered to be very sharp, talented, and experienced – copywriter, Anne McColl. I reached out to Anne for her help because the script and storytelling for this ATS video called for a certain professional polish and precision. Anne also had actual direct knowledge of trusts herself and could write from inside of her knowledge.
Anne began by putting together a version 1 script. She suggested (which I agreed with) doing a version 1 script and presenting it without images so that we could ensure they liked the direction we were going and that I didn’t create imagery for something that wasn’t relevant or would be thrown out. I then began creating storyboard imagery for a version 2 script (a single cell sample above). After Anne had shared the version 1 script and they had provided feedback, we knew we were on track. I then got to work on storyboarding the scenes and screens for the whiteboard video. I focused on making each scene and screen as ‘full’ as I could with meaning so that the imagery would span pretty large ‘chunks’ of the script..
At the beginning of the script, there is the introduction of the role of financial advisor. Initially they wanted to call the role financial planner because that phrase plugged into a consensus knowledge of someone who works with your money. But Sandeep and team decided to change the role’s title from financial planner to financial advisor as a sprinboard for introducing the ATS’s self-created role of wealth strategist.
The wealth strategist angle implies the use of creative strategies and knowledge that will build wealth that sets ATS apart from your ‘run of the mill’ financial planner.ATS wanted to elevate the conversation by meeting the customer on the table of financial advisory as this implied that they were not beholden to a particular industry standard or strategy. The change from ‘planner’ to ‘advisor’ was giving the viewer a ‘hand up’ so that they could metabolize ATS advisors as the next level wealth strategists they are!
Also in our creative exploration of the script and storyboard, we began talking about the concept of ‘family’ in relation to financial advisors. Often, when people are looking for help with protecting and building their wealth, trust is a major consideration. And that trust is built through seeing those who have handled others wealth successfully for a long time and maintain great relationships with their clients. Well, that’s what Sandeep and his team do and have done for almost 30 years! If you know someone that long, and you plan to continue a relationship with them, it’s only natural that it turn into a friendship and maybe even enter the circle of family! We also wanted to convey that ATS was warm, people that you can learn to trust and grow with, and they possessed rare financial expertise.
The minimal black and white whiteboard animation approach allowed me to storyboard and complete the vision for the final video as we ventured into the version 3 script and storyboard. On other types of animation, the storyboards act as more a ‘wire frame’ guide, similar to building a cake without the icing. Storyboarding for whiteboard animation that is filmed with a hand drawing it live is like building the cake and the icing all at once as you prepare to create images that you can basically copy when doing the live recording.
All in all, the storyboard had 5 scenes and screens, which is a fairly low amount for 2 minutes and 43 seconds of video animation. But because I’m drawing to a live recording, this allowed the unfolding of the storytelling through a collection of many graphic images that made up the larger scene (particularly in the first three scenes/screens) to grab and keep attention.
When creating for whiteboard animation it’s a kind of creative challenge to find unique ways to link the different parts ot the script, creative cohesive meaning, and make something memorable.In the end, I really remember enjoying creating this video we put together and Sandeep seemed to really enjoy it too. That’s all I can ask!