Animated pregnancy announcement video: tell them in 20 seconds

You have a secret the size of a lemon, and you want to tell people in a way that is a little more fun than a text that says "guess what". A photo of a test on the bathroom sink is fine. A small drawn film that builds up to the news, with a bit of music and a voice saying the words, is the kind of thing grandparents watch eleven times in a row.

This page gives you ideas, a script you can copy, timings, and the mistakes worth skipping. Most of it works whatever tool you use.

What is an animated pregnancy announcement?

It is a short drawn video that announces a pregnancy instead of a photo or a phone call. Usually it is 10 to 20 seconds long, has a simple story with a reveal at the end, and closes on the key line: who is coming, and roughly when. Because it is drawn, you need no bump photo and no staged shoot.

That last part matters more than people expect. Early in a pregnancy, a lot of people do not feel like being photographed. A drawing does the job while you sit on the sofa eating crackers.

Animated pregnancy announcement ideas that actually land

The best ideas have one small story and one reveal. Here are eight to steal.

• The growing family line Two drawn figures walk across the screen. Then the dog. Then a very small dotted outline joins at the end, with "Coming in May".
• The fruit calendar A blueberry, then a lemon, then a melon rolls into frame. "Our little melon arrives in spring."
• The empty chair A kitchen table with every chair filled, plus one tiny high chair that slides in last.
• The job title "Now hiring: one small boss. Start date: March. No experience needed."
• The house with a new light A drawn house at night, windows lit one by one. A small new window appears in the roof and switches on.
• The promotion For the grandparents: "Congratulations, you have been promoted to Grandma and Grandpa."
• The two shoes Two pairs of shoes by the door. A tiny third pair taps its way in.
• The weather report "Forecast for next summer: very little sleep, with a strong chance of baby."

If you want the funnier end of this list, there is a whole page of funny pregnancy announcement video ideas.

What should a pregnancy announcement video say?

It needs three things: a small build-up, the news in plain words, and a date or season. Everything else is decoration. Keep the announcement line short enough to read in two seconds, and save the due date for the very end, because that is the part people will screenshot.

Lines you can copy:

• "Baby [Surname] is on the way. Arriving [month]."
• "Our family is growing by two very small feet."
• "Coming soon to a crib near us."
• "[Big sibling] is getting a promotion: big sister, [month] [year]."
• "We have some news, and it is due in [month]."
• "Party of three, table for [month]."

Build up, say it plainly, give the month. That is the whole recipe.

How long should a pregnancy announcement video be?

Between 10 and 20 seconds is the sweet spot. That is long enough for a small story and a reveal, and short enough that people watch it twice. Longer than 30 seconds and the reveal starts to feel like a trailer for a film nobody asked to see.

Not sure which shape goes where? This page on 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1 sorts it out.

How do you make an animated pregnancy announcement video?

Write one short line, decide on one idea, choose the order of who hears it, and make it the size of the screen it will be watched on. Then watch it once with the sound on and once with it off, because half of your relatives will open it in a waiting room.

1. Step 1

   Write the last line first. "Baby Olsen, arriving in April." Everything else leads up to it.

2. Step 2

   Pick one idea. One picture story from the list above. Two ideas in 15 seconds is one idea too many.

3. Step 3

   Choose the voice. A narrator, or your own voice saying "We have news". Your own voice makes grandparents cry, in the good way.

4. Step 4

   Make it the right shape. Tall for phones, wide for a TV at dinner.

5. Step 5

   Test it on one person. Someone who already knows. If they smile before the last frame, you are done.

Who should see it first?

Plan the order before you press send. The usual order is: close family in person or on a call, then the film to the family chat, then friends, then social media if at all. A video is lovely, but a grandmother who learns the news from a public post will mention it at every birthday until the child turns 30.

If there is already a child in the house, they deserve their own version, told at their level. Here is how to make a video that explains a new baby to a toddler.

Mistakes to skip

• Revealing in the first second. If the thumbnail says "We're pregnant", the film has nothing left to do.
• Tiny text. Most people will watch on a phone, some with reading glasses on top of their head.
• Posting before the family call. See above. This one has consequences.
• A gender reveal hidden in the same film. Two surprises fight each other. Save the second for its own gender reveal animation.

The quick way: a pregnancy announcement film in Nine

If you would rather not animate anything yourself, Nine makes short drawn films with a voice, music and sound effects. The simplest way in is Start from a template: type a name and one line, such as "Baby Olsen, arriving in April", and the crew makes the film while you watch. If you have a small story in mind, write it as a script, where each paragraph becomes a scene, or record yourself saying the news and use a voice recording. No photo is needed. Change anything by saying it in plain words, like "softer music" or "make the month bigger". Every film comes in wide, tall and square, as a video file you send yourself; Nine never posts it anywhere. Plans start at $29 a month, and the Film plan makes films up to 20 seconds, which is exactly the right length for this. See pricing or try it.

For the bigger picture of films around a new baby, from the announcement to the naming day, read a new person in the family.