Animated Video Production | How Kurzgesagt videos are made and Why They are so Fascinating

The idea of making animated videos for a living is not as complicated as it may seem. However, like any other profession, becoming an animator takes some time and effort. Especially when you’re just getting started and don’t know where to start.
In this article, we explore the process of how Kurzgesagt videos are made and why they are so fascinating: from the team’s storyboard to the final video with voice-overs and visuals.
How are Kurzgesagt videos made?
Before creating a video, the team first discusses its storyboard. Here, they decide on the specifics for each scene. For example, how many characters appear in the video, who will speak, and what jokes will be made. Then they turn ideas into a script, where they start writing the video’s narration and the lines for each character.
After this comes the storyboarding part, which is often done as a storyboard. That is, to create a sequence of images showing the action and dialogue, as well as the situations and characters that will appear in the video. Here’s an example: The same applies to character design — an artist draws, for example, how a character looks and poses and what emotions he/she may express during a certain scene. And then finally comes animation. Animators create all these illustrations into the final video with voice-overs by adding movement to them, making them more lively and interesting.
The videos are often just 3–5 minutes long with lots of interesting facts that leave you wondering why you haven’t seen them before.
Kurzgesagt Videos are produced within eight to ten weeks and cover a wide range of topics from science, space, technology, biology, history, philosophy, and much more.
Why are Kurzgesagt videos so fascinating?
The first thing that makes the channel so famous is the excellent combination of different animation styles. Many of their videos start with a hand-drawn animated background and often include textual animations as well. The style changes throughout the video depending on the subject and setting.
The second reason is that many Kurzgesagt videos are very informative and leave you with something new to think about. They cover a wide range of topics from science, space, technology, biology, history, philosophy. Most of their videos present information in an easy-to-understand and simple manner, which makes them very interesting and entertaining to the audience.
The third thing is that the channel aims to make its content widely available and easily understandable for most people. It presents a wide range of subjects in a fun way, which is great for viewers who are not interested in science.
The channel has over 16.5 million subscribers!
But it’s not just about facts and figures– the channel also encourages exploration of the different topics by providing links to other videos that give you more information.
Why are Kurzgesagt videos so funny?
A common thing when watching Kurzgesagt videos is laughter. That’s because the channel is funny. Sometimes it might be hard to understand what exactly is funny, but it’s usually clear when they tell you something that’s not serious.
The main idea behind the videos is to entertain and a good amount of comedy is a big part of that. They also use silly voices and improvise scenes, so sometimes they even sound more like a sketch comedy show than science videos.
The video below combines different scenes, where you can see actors acting like humans, robots, birds, and aliens: In fact, the creators started as researchers, writers, designers, animators, and producers.
On top of that, they collaborate with a wide network of experts, journalists, voice actors, and sound designers.
