Camera says Tall, wide or square? Yes. I shoot all three at once and I refuse to be sorry about it.
How to make short films that people actually watch to the end
Most short films lose people in the first two seconds. These guides are about the other kind: the length, the script, the shape and the sound that keep people watching.
These guides work whatever tool you use. Where Nine does a step for you, the page says so, and says what it costs.
Small business
- 30 second explainer video script examples you can steal tonightA 30 second explainer video script is about 70 words in three beats: the problem (5 to 8 seconds), what you do about it (15 to 18 seconds) and one next step (5 seconds). Below are three complete examples for different businesses and a fill-in template.
- Animated ad for a local business: stop the thumb, name the streetA good animated ad for a local business is 6 to 15 seconds, grabs attention in the first two seconds, names something local (your town, street or season), makes one offer and ends with one action. Make it tall for phones, add captions, and test two versions.
- Explainer video without an agency: the whole job, on your kitchen tableYes, you can make an explainer video without an agency. Write a 60 to 80 word script with one problem, one answer and one next step, pick a length of 20 to 30 seconds, and make it with a freelancer, a do-it-yourself tool or a service like Nine for a fraction of an agency quote.
Creatives
- How to Animate a Joke (and Not Kill It With a Drawing)To animate a joke, pick one with a clear picture in it, keep it to 10 to 30 seconds, and time it as setup, pause, punchline. The drawing should reveal the punchline at the same moment the words do, never before. Observational bits and short stories animate best; puns need text.
- Animate a Podcast Clip: Give Your Best Minute Something to Look AtTo animate a podcast clip, pick one self-contained moment of 15 to 45 seconds with a story, a surprise or a strong opinion, trim it to start mid-thought, then add drawn pictures that follow what is said, plus captions. Make it tall for phone feeds and wide for your website.
- How to Animate a Poem Without Squashing the Poetry Out of ItTo animate a poem, choose a short poem with strong images, give each stanza or couplet its own scene, and read it aloud slower than feels natural so the pictures have room. Show the feeling, not every noun. Use your own poem or one you have the right to use.
- Animated Book Trailer: How to Make Readers Need Page OneA good animated book trailer runs 30 to 60 seconds and sells a question, not a summary: hook with one striking line, show the world, raise the stakes, then end on the cover, the title and where to get it. Drawn pictures suit books because they leave room for imagination.
- How Long Should a Short Animated Film Be? Shorter Than You ThinkMost short animated films work best at 15 to 60 seconds: 10 to 20 seconds for a greeting, 15 to 30 for social feeds, 60 to 90 for an explainer, and one to three minutes for a story with a real arc. The right length is the shortest one where your idea still lands.
- How to Make a Short Animated Film Without Drawing (Stick Figures Welcome)You can make a short animated film without drawing by writing a tight story, planning it as a few simple scenes, and letting something else make the pictures: paper cut-outs and a phone, moving shapes, a hired animator, or a tool that draws from your words or voice.
- How to Write a Script for a 30 Second Animation (About 70 Words, Tops)A 30 second animation script holds about 60 to 70 spoken words, or 20 to 30 words if they appear only on screen. Structure it as a 3-second hook, a middle of two or three short beats, a payoff line, and a final card. Write it, read it aloud with a stopwatch, then cut 10 percent.
- Turn a Script Into an Animated Video (Your Words Finally Get Legs)To turn a script into an animated video, split your words into short paragraphs, one picture each, cut every line that only explains, and read it aloud for timing. Then hand it to an animator or a tool that turns each paragraph into a scene, and give notes in plain words.
- Turn a Voice Memo Into a Cartoon (Your Rambling, Now With Pictures)To turn a voice memo into a cartoon, record a short, clear story on your phone in a quiet room, trim the silence at both ends, and give it to an animator or a tool that draws pictures to match what you say. Your real voice stays the soundtrack, which is the whole charm.
Parents & kids
- A bedtime story video with your child's name (and a very sleepy moon)A bedtime story video with your child's name works best as a short, slow, cozy film: the name early, a gentle little journey, and an ending where everything goes to sleep. Keep it under a minute so it closes the day instead of starting a new one.
- Make a cartoon starring your kid (no photo, all superhero cape)To make a cartoon starring your kid, describe them as a drawn character in words (name, one outfit detail, one superpower) and drop them into a short adventure. No photo is needed. Kids recognize themselves by their name and their details, not their nose.
- Record your voice reading a story for your child (then add pictures)To record your voice reading a story for your child, pick a short story, read it slowly in a quiet, soft room with your phone close, then add simple pictures so it becomes a video they can watch anytime. Your voice is the part they care about.
- Turn your child's story into a cartoon (the dragon gets a voice)To turn your child's story into a cartoon, write it down in their own words, keep the three best moments, and let each moment become one scene of a short drawn film. Keep their weird details. That is what makes it theirs.
Craft
- Doodly alternatives: whiteboard animation, and when to skip the whiteboardIf you love the hand-drawn whiteboard look, VideoScribe is the closest Doodly alternative and runs in the browser too. Animaker includes whiteboard among many styles. If you just want a short drawn explainer with a voice and music made for you, try Nine.
- Vyond alternatives: cheaper options, and when Vyond is still worth itThe best Vyond alternative depends on the job. For long training videos, Powtoon and Animaker cost less and do similar work. For whiteboard sketches, Doodly. For a finished short film with a voice and music that you don't build yourself, Nine.
- AI animation software in 2026: which kind you actually needNearly every complaint about AI animation software comes down to one thing: the person bought a tool from one category and had a job from another. The categories are easy to tell apart once somebody names them.
- Motion graphics vs animation: what the difference actually isYou have been told you need animation. That word covers at least five different jobs, with different costs and different failure modes. Here is how to tell which one you are actually asking for.
- How to write an onboarding film people actually watchMost onboarding films are not bad films. They arrive at the wrong hour, in the wrong order, with the wrong job attached. Here is how to write one that a new person watches, remembers, and still trusts in month three.
- Captions and subtitles: how to make a business film work with the sound offMost people watch your film with the sound off, in a room where nobody is listening. If the message only exists in the voiceover, the film only exists for the handful of people who hear it. Here is how to build captions in from the start rather than adding them at the end.
Birthdays
- How Long Should a Birthday Video Be? Shorter Than You ThinkA birthday video for a phone should be 15 to 45 seconds. A group video with messages from friends works at 2 to 4 minutes. A party screen montage should stay under 5 minutes. In each case, stop before people start checking their drinks.
- How to Make a Birthday Video (That Nobody Skips Halfway)To make a birthday video, pick one idea about the person, write 3 to 6 short lines, keep it under a minute, make it tall for phones or wide for a party screen, and send the file on the day. Everything else is decoration.
- Last Minute Birthday Gift Video: Forgot? Nobody Has to KnowA last minute birthday gift video works if it's specific: their name, one real memory and a wish, in 20 to 40 seconds. It feels thoughtful because of the details, not the hours. Pair it with a promise, like "dinner's on me Friday," and nobody will guess you forgot.
- What to Say in a Birthday Video: 64 Lines You Can Steal TonightIn a birthday video, say their name, one specific true thing about them, and one wish, in that order. Keep it to three or four sentences. Below are 64 lines, funny and sweet, grouped by who you are talking to, ready to copy.
Big moments
- How long should a memorial video be? A calm guide to timingMost memorial videos shown during a service are 3 to 6 minutes, about the length of one or two songs. A short tribute to share online works well at 1 to 3 minutes, while a video looping quietly at a reception can run longer. Ask the venue how much time you have.
- What to say in a memorial video: gentle words you can borrowIn a memorial video, say who they were to you, share one small memory, and end with thanks or a goodbye. Short, plain words are enough. "You taught me to be patient. I will miss our Sunday calls. Thank you for everything" is a complete message.
Holidays
Love & weddings
- Wedding Video Invitation for WhatsApp: Looks Great in a Tiny Chat BubbleA good wedding video invitation for WhatsApp is tall (9:16), 15 to 30 seconds, with big text that stays readable after the chat app shrinks it. Send it one-to-one with a short personal message, and put the RSVP details in the text too.
- What to Write in an Anniversary Video: 70+ Lines for Every Year and CoupleIn an anniversary video, write three things: a specific memory, what you love or admire now, and a wish for the years ahead. Keep each line short enough to say in one breath. Below are 70+ lines by year and relationship to copy or adapt.
Using Nine
- A long, a short and a snippet from one filmOpen the film in the chamber, drag the two handles under Cuts to the stretch you want, save it as a version and get its video file. Do it once for each length; the film as it was made is always kept.
- Edit a film yourself in the chamberThe chamber is where you change a finished film by hand: its colours, its pace, its framing, the size of its words, its music and where it starts and ends. Every change can be undone, and every version you save is kept.
- A film from a script or a documentPaste your script, or drop a Word file, a PDF or a plain text file, into Nine's script way in. The film follows your words in your order, and it can be up to 20 seconds on Film, 30 seconds on Film + Transparent, 90 seconds on Production and 3 minutes on Studio.
- The same film in several languagesA Nine film is made in the language of the words you give it, so the simple way is one film per language, each from its own translated script. On the Production and Studio plans, extra languages of one film are part of the plan, and we set them up with you by email.
- Let a client see a film and give notesPress Share for review on your film and send the link. Your client watches that version with no account, pins each note to a moment and answers Approved or Changes needed. The notes come back to your film, where you fix them yourself or send them to Nine.
Reading
- 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:5, where each one actually goesA film made for a screen on a wall and a film made for a phone held in one hand are not the same film cropped. Here is what each shape is for.
- How to give notes on a film that make the next version betterAlmost every expensive revision round is expensive for the same reason: the note said what somebody felt, and the studio had to guess what to change.
- What we measure, and what we refuse to inventA useful check names what it looked at. When there is no honest measurement, Nine says so instead of making up a score.
Process
Where it goes
- One film, every format: making one animation work on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, a website and a trade fair screenThe same film has to work in a feed, on a wall, and on a screen in a hall. That is not a resizing job. It is a second composition, and it is worth planning before the film is approved rather than after.
- A hero video on your website: when it helps, and when it wrecks the pageA film above the fold is a promise about weight, sound and attention, and it sits in the most expensive space on your site. Here is how to decide whether your homepage should carry one, and what has to change on the page once it does.
Questions people ask
What is the best length for a short video?
Between 15 and 30 seconds for anything sent by phone or posted on social media; up to 90 seconds for an explainer someone chose to watch.
Which shape should I make: wide, tall or square?
Tall (9:16) for phones, stories and reels; wide (16:9) for websites and screens; square for feeds. Nine makes one film in all three.
Your idea, ready to go“A 20-second film that explains one thing simply, in my own words and colors.”
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