From Research to Story: Turning Insights into 90 – 120 Second Explainers

Research teams produce gold: survey tables, transcripts, cohort analyses, predictive models. Most of that gold never makes it into the hands that need it, decision makers, frontline teams, or the wider public, because the translation is missing. Turning dense findings into a short explainer is less about simplification and more about selection: choosing the exact insight that becomes a single, useful story. If you want to see how a studio treats research like narrative craft, take a look at Hairy Hand Productions, they specialise in turning complicated studies into clear, watchable whiteboard animation explainers .

This is a practical guide. I’ll show how to move from raw research to a 90–120‑second video that stakeholders will actually watch, understand and act on. You’ll get a clear process for data selection, a method for choosing a metaphor that carries meaning, a script structure that holds attention, and a worked example that follows a study from dataset to final animation.

Pick the insight that earns attention

Most teams start by trying to cram every interesting number into a video. That’s a fast way to create noise. The first task is ruthless curation: choose one core insight that answers a business question or solves an immediate problem.

Ask three pragmatic questions when you scan your results:

• What surprised the team, and why does that surprise matter to the audience?
• Which single change, if implemented, would move a KPI in the next quarter?
• What confusion does this research resolve for a stakeholder who needs to act now?

If your answers point to different conclusions, you have more than one video to make. If they all point to the same place, you have your story spine. The story spine is the single sentence you will keep repeating in different ways through voice, imagery and timing.

Selection isn’t neutral. It’s a rhetorical choice that determines whether the video produces action or polite nods.

Choose a metaphor that does the cognitive heavy lifting

A metaphor is not a gimmick. It’s a shortcut that maps new information onto something the viewer already understands. The right metaphor reduces cognitive load; the wrong one adds friction.

Good metaphors for explainers have three qualities:

• They map structurally to the insight: cause-to-effect, before-to-after, or journey-to-goal.
• They are culturally neutral enough for the audience: avoid local jokes if you’re addressing an international buyer.
• They allow visual shorthand: one object or character can stand for a system, a process, or a behavior.

For example, if your research shows users abandon onboarding because one step is confusing, a metaphor of a broken bridge is useful: it shows a path interrupted and a simple fix (a plank, a guide rope). If the insight is about cumulative small changes producing big impact, say, microinteractions improving retention, a snowball or compound interest metaphor communicates scale and rhythm.

Pick the metaphor early; it informs voice, visual style, and the pacing of the script.

Structure the script: economy, contrast, and proof

A 90‑120‑second whiteboard animation explainer has roughly 180–300 words to play with. That’s not a lot. Use a three‑part arc that journalists know instinctively: the problem, the turning moment, and the practical solution.

1. Open with a human moment (15–25 seconds)
   Begin with a scene or a line that places the viewer in the story. Make it about a person or a role, not about the research team. “Anna, head of customer success, watches users drop out of onboarding on day two” is stronger than “Onboarding completion drops 40% between steps 3 and 4.”

2. Show the insight as the reveal (25–40 seconds)
   This is where the research becomes evidence, not just an assertion. Use one precise metric or a concise qualitative line. “Our interviews showed 62% of users expected an in-app prompt that wasn’t there” gives concrete gravity. Pair the number with a quick visual, a chart simplified into an animated bar, or a reenacted quote.

3. Demonstrate the fix and call to action (30–50 seconds)
   Don’t stop at diagnosis. Show the change and the result. If the research suggests adding a one-click shortcut reduces abandonment, animate the shortcut being added and the onboarding completion rising. End with a clear, single call to action: request a pilot, test the new flow, or download a short checklist.

Two things to watch in the script: rhythm and verbs. Vary sentence length; short sentences punctuate the reveal, longer ones can carry explanation. Use present-tense active verbs so the animation feels immediate.

Visual rules that respect attention

Once the script is locked, visual decisions multiply quickly. Keep visual rules simple so viewers don’t spend effort decoding style choices.

• One primary color accent for actions, one neutral palette for context.
• One character or icon set that represents your user archetype.
• Use motion to show sequence: directionality (left-to-right or top-to-bottom) helps viewers follow cause and effect.
• Avoid dense onscreen text; animate one line at a time if captions are needed.

Remember: motion is persuasive when it clarifies relationships, not when it dazzles. Fancy transitions or overloaded textures are where explainers die.

A worked example: research → script → animation

Imagine a product team runs a survey and usability tests for a B2B onboarding flow. Key findings:

• 45% of new users abandon before completing company setup.
• Interviews reveal the setup form asks for information users don’t have at hand.
• A quick prototype adding a “save and continue” option cut abandonment by 18% in tests.

Step 1 – select the insight: users abandon because the form assumes they have all info up front. That’s the single problem.

Step 2 – pick a metaphor: the onboarding is a passport control desk where people are asked for documents they don’t carry. The desk is staffed, frustrated travelers leave; a “bag-check” counter (save-and-continue) fixes it.

Step 3 – script (condensed):

• Open: Anna at her desk, clock ticking, she’s halfway through setup when the form asks for a vendor tax number she doesn’t have. She abandons.
• Reveal: A quick graphic shows 45% abandonment; a tested prototype with “save and continue” reduces it by 18%.
• Fix: Animate the new flow – a single click, data saved, Anna returns and completes setup; completion rate rises. CTA: “Try a lightweight save-and-continue pilot with your next cohort.”

Step 4 – visuals: limited palette, passport desk icons, animated progress bar, simple charts that morph into the solution.

This micro-case demonstrates how research becomes an argument: a problem with scale, a plausible fix, and a measurable outcome.

Practical production tips and timelines

• Keep the brief tight. Provide the single insight, your hero metric, brand palette, and one reference video.
• Aim for a three‑week production timeline on a tight brief: week one for script and storyboard, week two for animation and voice, week three for revisions and delivery.
• Ask for source files and editable captions. Reuse requires access.
• Plan for social cuts: a 30‑second and a 15‑second version are essential for distribution.

Measuring success beyond views

Views are a vanity metric unless tied to action. Measure:

• View-through to CTA clicks (did watchers act?)
• View-to-demo or signup conversion (did the video move prospects?)
• Behavioral change in a pilot cohort (did the fix reduce abandonment?)
• Qualitative feedback from sales and support (did the video change early conversations?)

If the video convinces fewer people but produces higher-quality demos, it has done its job.

Final notes for research teams

Treat whiteboard animation explainers as research outputs with the same rigor as your internal reports. A good explainer preserves the nuance of findings while translating them into a single actionable narrative. That translation is a craft – it needs a tight brief, a thoughtful metaphor, and a producer who understands both data and story.

If you want a practical partner that bridges research and film craft, explore Hairy Hand Productions – they provide explainer video services that respect data and don’t waste viewers’ attention (Hairy Hand Productions).

What to remember: research without translation is a shelf of reports. A concise explainer becomes a tool: it persuades stakeholders, aligns teams, and turns insight into change. Make one insight sing, and the rest of your work gets listened to.