Introduction
Choosing between animated and live-action explainer videos is a pivotal decision that can significantly impact how your message resonates with your audience. At Gisteo, we understand the nuances of both formats and aim to guide you through the decision-making process.
Each approach offers its own unique strengths—and the right choice depends on your message, audience, and budget.
Let’s explore the pros and cons of both, and why the hybrid (mixed media) approach might just be the sweet spot for some brands.
The Case for Animated Explainer Videos
Animation gives you total creative control. You can bring abstract ideas to life, simplify complex topics, and maintain a consistent visual identity throughout.
Pros:
- Great for explaining complicated or abstract concepts
- Fully customizable style and pacing
- No need to coordinate locations, talent, or production crews
- Easy to update or adapt later
Cons:
- Can feel less personal or “human”
- High-quality animation can still require significant time and expertise
This is a common style we do here at Gisteo, such as in this example for McIntosh Labs:
The Appeal of Live-Action Explainer Videos
Live-action videos bring an authentic, relatable touch. They’re ideal when you want to build trust, feature real people, or demonstrate a physical product.
Pros:
- Adds a human element with real faces and voices
- Excellent for testimonials or showcasing real-world use cases
- Builds trust quickly for some audiences
Cons:
- Requires more logistics—crew, location, talent, etc.
- Less flexible if you need to update it later
- Typically more expensive, especially with custom shoots
Our own intro video with the “Gisteo Guy” utilizes a live-action approach:
The Hybrid Approach (Mixed Media)
At Gisteo, we also specialize in a third, highly effective route: a hybrid approach that we call mixed media. This combines the best of both worlds—bringing together the clarity and flexibility of animation with the authenticity and emotional connection of live-action.
Here’s how it works:
We often integrate stock footage or client-provided clips—like customer testimonials, product shots, or team interviews—and weave them together with branded animation and motion graphics. This lets you showcase real people and real-world situations, while still using animation to explain features, stats, benefits, or abstract ideas.
Why our mixed media videos work so well:
- Cost-effective: No need for custom live-action shoots—we use what you have or licensed stock.
- Flexible: You can update or repurpose animated sections later as your message evolves.
- Balanced: The emotional pull of real people, enhanced by the visual power of animation.
If you’re choosing between animated and live-action explainer videos and feeling torn, the hybrid format is a smart way to get the impact of both without the full cost of a live production.
Here’s just one example of a mixed media production we did recently for SmartPin:
How to Decide What’s Right for You
Choosing between animated and live-action explainer videos (or going with the hybrid approach) comes down to a few key questions:
- Who’s your target audience?
- Is your product or service visual and tangible, or more abstract?
- What’s your available budget and timeline?
- Do you already have strong video assets you can incorporate?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but when you’re weighing your options, choosing between animated and live-action explainer videos doesn’t have to be an either-or decision.
Matching Video Style to Business Objectives
Different video styles can be strategic tools for achieving specific business goals. Let’s examine how each approach aligns with common marketing objectives:
For Brand Awareness & Differentiation
- Animated: Creates distinctive visual identity that stands out in crowded markets
- Live-Action: Shows the human side of your brand and team
- Hybrid: Combines unique visual style with authentic human connection
For Complex Product Explanation
- Animated: Visualizes invisible processes, technical features, or abstract benefits
- Live-Action: Shows real people using and benefiting from complex products
- Hybrid: Demonstrates real-world application while using animation to explain the technical “how it works”
For Emotional Connection & Trust Building
- Animated: Creates relatable characters that embody customer pain points
- Live-Action: Shows authentic reactions and testimonials from real users
- Hybrid: Uses real testimonials with animated enhancements to highlight key points
For Educational Content & Training
- Animated: Creates clear step-by-step visualizations of processes
- Live-Action: Shows real demonstrations with detailed hands-on instruction
- Hybrid: Combines demonstration footage with animated overlays explaining key concepts
Industry-Specific Considerations
Different industries tend to favor certain video styles based on their specific needs:
SaaS & Tech
Tech companies often lean toward animation for explaining digital products and features that can’t be physically seen. Here’s an motion graphics example we produced for StaffBot Flex, a healthcare staffing platform:
However, incorporating real user testimonials through hybrid approaches can add credibility to claims about efficiency and results.
Healthcare & Medical
Medical explainers often benefit from animation to visualize internal processes, molecular activity, or treatment methods. Live-action elements showing real practitioners or patient experiences can build trust and emotional connection.
Finance & Insurance
Financial services benefit from animation’s ability to visualize abstract concepts like compound interest, risk factors, or insurance coverage. Live elements showing real advisors build trust in an industry where personal relationships matter.
E-commerce & Retail
Product-focused businesses naturally lean toward live-action to showcase merchandise, but animation can emphasize unique features, demonstrate product evolution, or create lifestyle associations. Here’s a motion graphics example we produced for a polymer company’s new ecommerce platform:
Manufacturing & Industrial
Complex industrial processes often benefit from animation to showcase internal mechanics or large-scale operations that are difficult to film. Real footage of facilities and team members adds authenticity and scale.
A Deeper Look at Animation Styles
When specifically considering animation, it’s important to understand that various styles communicate different brand personalities:
- Flat Design: Clean, minimalist, professional—ideal for tech, finance, and corporate brands
- Character-Based: Friendly, relatable, story-driven—great for consumer products and services
- Whiteboard Animation: Educational, straightforward, process-oriented—effective for training and complex concepts
- Motion Graphics: Data-driven, dynamic, information-rich—perfect for statistics, comparisons, and reports
- Realistic 3D: Premium, detailed, high-end—suitable for luxury products, advanced technology
- Stylized 3D: Modern, distinctive, memorable—works for brands wanting to stand out
- Product Visualization: Precise, interactive, exploratory—ideal for showing product features and functionality
Understanding Live-Action Approaches
Live-action also offers various stylistic approaches:
Cinematic Style
High production value with professional lighting, camera movement, and composition—creates premium, authoritative brand perception.
Documentary Style
Authentic, interview-based approach capturing real moments—builds credibility and emotional connection. Here’s an example of such a production that we did for Airbus a while back:
Presenter-Led
Direct address from a spokesperson or thought leader—creates personal connection and positions the speaker as an authority. Gisteo provided the overlay/visual effects for this EveryKey presenter video featuring John McAfee:
Customer Testimonial
Real users sharing their experiences—leverages social proof and authenticity.
Demonstration Style
Shows products or services in action—perfect for tangible products with visible benefits.
Budget Considerations: Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck
Animation Cost Factors
- Style complexity: Detailed character animation costs more than simple motion graphics
- Length: Longer videos require more animation work
- Character count: More characters mean more design and animation time
- Custom illustrations: Unique assets require additional design time
Live-Action Cost Factors
- Shooting days: Each filming day adds significant cost
- Location fees: Filming in multiple locations increases expenses
- Talent costs: Professional actors or multiple on-camera people add to the budget
- Equipment needs: Specialized equipment (drones, stabilizers, etc.) increases production costs
Hybrid Approach Cost Optimizations
- Use stock footage instead of custom shoots
- Incorporate client-provided video assets
- Film in a single location with animated scene changes
- Use animation for hard-to-film or expensive-to-stage concepts
Future-Proofing Your Video Investment
When planning your explainer video, consider how it might need to evolve over time:
Animation Advantages
- Characters, scenes, and elements can be reused in future videos
- Sections can be easily updated when features or messaging changes
- Consistent style can be maintained across multiple videos
Live-Action Challenges
- Maintaining visual consistency if filming additional content later
- Same actors may not be available for updates
- Locations might change or become unavailable
Hybrid/Mixed Media Flexibility
- Animated sections can be updated while keeping successful live footage
- New testimonials or demonstrations can be integrated into existing animated frameworks
- Brand elements stay consistent even as real-world elements evolve
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re leaning toward animation, leaning into live-action, or mixing both, the key is to focus on storytelling and clarity.
At Gisteo, we guide clients through the process of choosing between animated and live-action explainer videos—and quite often recommend hybrid solutions that deliver the best of both worlds.
If you’re ready to bring your message to life with an affordable, effective video, let’s talk. We’ll help you choose the right format—or blend—for your goals. Contact us today or schedule a free consultation to discuss your project.
