Digital Product Videos versus Physical Product Videos

Born in Silicon Valley, we’ve had the opportunity to produce a wide variety of different digital product and service videos.  Some of these included videos that became viral and introduced widely-used products like the Google Maps Street View back in 2007.

We still do quite a bit of digital product videos, but now with an office in the greater Los Angeles area, we are also doing a lot more commercials for physical products.

Here are some of the key similarities and differences between digital and physical product videos.

Animation is easier with digital products and services

We’ve helped to introduce many startups with animated explainer videos.  These include Mint, New Relic, Ujet, Stoneshot, Clockspot and others.

These videos include some level of 2D or 3D-designed animation that convey some conceptual ideas.  The videos also feature the product, usually animated version of their platform.  All of this is much easier to do with digital products than physical products.

With physical products, animation can convey some ideas, but in order to showcase the product, it’s usually easier to shoot it live with a camera.

Animation can showcase physical products, but it usually requires higher budgets and lengthier processes.  For example, SambaNova wanted to showcase their servers with 3D animation.  We designed and created animated versions of their servers using photographs and schematics.  It took much more time and cost to animate than if we were to have shot it with a camera.  But it turned out pretty great – check it out:

Live action works well for both digital and physical products

Some of our favorite explainer videos for digital products are live action spots.  For example, when Thumbtack wanted to showcase how their product can make an impact on the lives of everyday people, we did a live-action shoot.  It featured several locations and actors, and we included motion graphics overlays to demonstrate the digital product’s features.

We also did the same for another one of our favorites, Gong.  Their product is entirely digital, and a big part of it works behind the scenes as sales reps do their thing.  Check out the spot:

And of course, live action videos have been presenting physical products since the beginning of television.  Here are a couple of our favorite live action commercials that we’ve recently produced:

Creativity is at the heart of both types of videos

Regardless of the medium or method, all commercials need to be creative to stand out.  Animated videos require significant creative development to effectively convey concepts and the product itself.  Live action videos need to be memorable.  They can have a spokesperson simply presenting the product (e.g. Gong explainer), but it needs to be done in a creative way.

The product is amazing and the videos needs to serve the product regardless if it’s digital or physical.

Picturelab has been in the marketing video production business for nearly two decades.  We have the experience and creativity to make them come alive.  For more information about how we can help with your product or service, contact us at info@picturelab.com.

We are based in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Greater Los Angeles and Orange County areas, but serve clients all over the world.