Use case: explainers
Explainer videos that show how your product works
An explainer answers the first question every visitor has: what does this do, and why should I care? Softer makes one from a one-line brief, in your brand, and keeps it editable so it can change when your product does.
Updated
What an explainer is for
A launch video is news and an onboarding video is first steps. An explainer is the evergreen one: the minute on your homepage, your pricing page and in your sales follow-ups that shows how the product works and who it's for. It is often the most-watched video a SaaS company has, and the one most likely to be years out of date.
A good explainer doesn't tour every feature. It names a problem the viewer recognises, shows one workflow that solves it, and asks for one next step.
The shape of a good explainer
| Beat | In a 60-second video | Its job |
|---|---|---|
| Hook | 0:00–0:07 | Name the pain in the viewer's own words |
| Turn | 0:07–0:13 | Introduce the product as the change |
| Show | 0:13–0:44 | One workflow, start to finish |
| Proof | 0:44–0:52 | A concrete, honest result |
| Call to action | 0:52–1:00 | One next step, said and shown |
Hook
- In a 60-second video
- 0:00–0:07
- Its job
- Name the pain in the viewer's own words
Turn
- In a 60-second video
- 0:07–0:13
- Its job
- Introduce the product as the change
Show
- In a 60-second video
- 0:13–0:44
- Its job
- One workflow, start to finish
Proof
- In a 60-second video
- 0:44–0:52
- Its job
- A concrete, honest result
Call to action
- In a 60-second video
- 0:52–1:00
- Its job
- One next step, said and shown
Softer paces its scripts this way by default: one idea per beat, timed to the length you pick. More worked examples are in our explainer script examples.
Example: a 60-second explainer, beat by beat
Here is the script for the sample at the top of this page, made for Clarimed, an invented patient intake platform for clinics. The one-line brief was: "A 60-second explainer for Clarimed's digital intake, for practice managers at busy clinics."
Clarimed: how digital intake works
16:9 · 60s · audience: practice managers at busy clinics · ~140 words
- 0:00
On screen: A waiting room: a clipboard, a pen on a string, a stack of forms growing.
Voiceover: “Every appointment starts the same way: a clipboard, a pen, and ten minutes of forms in the waiting room.”
- 0:07
On screen: The clipboard slides away; the Clarimed logo, then a phone.
Voiceover: “Clarimed moves intake to the patient's phone, before they arrive.”
- 0:13
On screen: A reminder text arrives with a link; the intake form opens on the phone.
Voiceover: “When an appointment is booked, patients get a text with a link. No app, no login.”
- 0:23
On screen: Fields fill in from the last visit; an insurance card is photographed and ticks "Checked".
Voiceover: “Returning patients confirm what's already on file, and insurance is checked as soon as they submit.”
- 0:34
On screen: The clinic's "Today's intake" list; rows tick to "Verified" one by one.
Voiceover: “Your front desk sees every form verified and in the chart before the patient walks in.”
- 0:44
On screen: "Check-in: 12 min → 2 min" counts down, labelled "Example figures".
Voiceover: “Check-in takes minutes, and appointments start on time.”
- 0:52
On screen: Logo, "Fewer clicks. More care." and the URL.
Voiceover: “Clarimed. Fewer clicks. More care. See it at clarimed dot com.”
How Softer makes it
- The script. Softer writes it from your brief. Or paste your own and it's used word for word.
- Your brand. Colours, fonts, logo and product screenshots come from your domain, so the first cut already looks like your product.
- The voice. A natural voiceover from a large library of voices, in any language.
- The sound. A music bed generated for the video, with sound effects on the cuts.
- Captions. Word-timed captions drawn into the animation, so the video works on mute.
- The export. An MP4 in 16:9 for your homepage, or 9:16 and 1:1 for social.
One explainer, every audience
Buyers, users and markets each want a slightly different explainer. Reuse turns one finished video into the next in one sentence, and the original stays exactly as it was.
| Version | How you ask for it |
|---|---|
| Homepage explainer | The original brief |
| Front-desk version | "Reuse for front-desk staff: walk through the daily intake list" |
| Spanish-speaking patients | "Reuse in Spanish with a Spanish voice" |
| Social cut | "Reuse as a 30-second vertical cut" |
Homepage explainer
- How you ask for it
- The original brief
Front-desk version
- How you ask for it
- "Reuse for front-desk staff: walk through the daily intake list"
Spanish-speaking patients
- How you ask for it
- "Reuse in Spanish with a Spanish voice"
Social cut
- How you ask for it
- "Reuse as a 30-second vertical cut"
When the product changes
Explainers go stale when a screen moves or a feature is renamed. A Softer video is built as code, so the fix is a sentence, not a new project: "the Forms tab is now called Intake". Softer updates the script, voice, captions and scenes to match.
Questions
How long should an explainer video be?
60 to 90 seconds for a homepage or sales explainer, and 20 to 30 seconds for a social cut. You choose the length of each video in Softer.
Do I need to write the script?
No. Softer writes it from your one-sentence brief. If you already have an approved script, paste it and Softer uses it word for word.
Can I make the explainer in other languages?
Yes. Reuse the finished video in another language and Softer rewrites the script and records the voiceover and captions in that language, with the original left intact.
Does it use avatars or stock footage?
No. Every frame is designed and animated for your video, from your brand kit and product. There are no presenters, avatars or stock clips.
