How to Hook Your Audience in Those Crucial First Seconds
Whether you’re making an animated feature film, an explainer animation, or an advertisement, you will want to hook your viewer from the start. Jumping in with a menacing adventure scene where the protagonist’s baby is kidnapped by a giant fire-breathing cockerel is not the only way to grab attention, though it does encompass many of the important points.
If a viewer came across your video while browsing online, she might be prone to click away quite spontaneously, in as few as six seconds, so hooking her attention immediately is vital.If a viewer has sought the film out, on the other hand, she might give it several minutes before she decides if it’s worth her time or not.
The general principals are the same for grabbing your viewer’s attention, so let’s look at how that can be done.
1. Know your target audience
Get into the mind of your typical target viewer – their way of thinking, their habits, and even get a picture in your mind of what they might look like. This can help you to get an idea of what your audience will be turned on by, and can influence your character and story choices, including which to feature in the beginning sequence.
The hero of your story should have a lot in common with your viewer to keep them engaged. You won’t be able to mirror your viewers precisely, but the aim is to include important features they are likely to hold, such as specific beliefs, values, habits and personality traits. If you introduce him/her at the start then think of a gripping scenario that the viewer can resonate with.
Finding common ground with characters at the start of a video can keep viewers hooked throughout. For example, if your prospects are animal-lovers, begin with a compassionate animal-rescue scene. Aside from the characters, the entire setting, the scenario and the sequence of events will be affected by the intricate personal details of your target viewer. If they are more inspired by action than humour, then this can influence your opening scene considerably.
The more you know about your target viewer, the better your story will be.
2. Give your audience something new
Inspire your viewer. She doesn’t want to see the same old introduction she’s seen before; she wants to be intrigued or even shocked. This something new might come from an unusual storyline, from hilarious characters, or perhaps from introducing a contemporary animation form.
Whether your animation is pioneering state-of-the-art computer graphics or puzzling viewers with some paper craft animation, your chosen animation form could be what mesmerises your viewer.
3. Create curiosity and suspense
To engage your target audience, you must realise how important the disparity between what your hero wants and where he/she is now is.Whether or not the hero is present in the first sequence or not, it is beneficial to provide some reference to him/her, to provide a gripping start to his/her story. The script is extremely important to ensure the story really hits home and has the desired effect. This is what will immediately instil an air of suspense, and embed curiosity. The viewer will be driven to continue watching in order to find out what happens next.
Later on, as the hero closes in on his/her goal, the viewer will follow and be engaged, expecting to see their accomplishment. Unexpected cliffhangers may also be introduced to increase this allure as the story gets further underway.
4. Tell your audience what they will get from the experience
If your animation is an advertisement or explainer video, then this is where the hero’s challenge will make a lot of difference to whether your viewer continues watching. A potential customer has challenges in their lives that they’re trying to solve, and she will seek answers to these. A story that recognises her plight will have power. An advertisement doesn’t need to introduce the product or challenge immediately, however.
Intrigue can be created by introducing a mysterious scenario that is not even connected to your product. This will inspire curiosity, and later in the story they will find out about the product being advertised. With any animation that seeks to entertain, starting the story at an emotional and eventful point will help to hook viewers and show them what they can expect going ahead.
5. Appeal to your audience’s emotions
An effective way to immediately grab attention is through an emotional appeal. The emotions being rendered could be happiness, shock, sadness, fear, or any intense feeling that will likely retain a viewer’s attention.This can also keep a viewer hooked throughout an animation, particularly if a rollercoaster of emotions take place. You cannot know or control whether each viewer will experience the intended emotion, but this will partly depend on targeting your audience correctly. Sometimes causing an emotional reaction or matching emotional triggers to your audience is not as easy as it at first appears.
Remember that the sound effects, music and voiceovers that you use also play a significant part in formulating an emotional trigger and in keeping viewers engaged. Deep and mysterious music or a penetrating voice can create excitement, intensify suspense and hook viewers. The genre of music and the intonation of a voiceover can influence the scene entirely.
This first scene is possibly the most important one of your animation, as it will either hook your viewer or leave them sinking.
If you put deep thought and consideration into all these points then you should be well on your way to enticing your viewers. There is then the next challenge of keeping the script and entire production appealing to the end of the video.
Good luck!
Qudos Animations has captivated audiences with unique explainer videos since its establishment by Dr. Manroop Takhar. The studio produces engaging and informative animations for businesses at an affordable price. Visit the studio’s website to learn more about its creative offering. You can also add Manroop to your circles on Google +
