One Idea in Four Cartoon Beats
Explain one idea in four cartoon beats: title, problem, fix, ask. If you need a fifth, you have a second idea.
Explain one idea in four cartoon beats so the reel has a shape people can finish. Beat one names it. Beat two shows the pain. Beat three shows the fix as a picture. Beat four says what to do. A fifth beat is either a new idea or a repeat. Cut it.
Beat three must be a picture
The fix has to be drawable. "Be consistent" is not a picture. "One price card on the door" is. Rewrite the idea until beat three exists.
Do not solve it in beat one
If the title already shows the after, beats two and three have no job. Title the problem or the rule. Reveal the picture next.
The ask is one verb
Save, book, comment, rewrite. One. Two verbs split the ending and make the last beat a menu.
A worked example
- "They left at 3 seconds." 2. A tiny opener. 3. A full-frame title. 4. "Write that first." No fifth panel about hashtags.
Before you post
- Beat three is drawable.
- The title does not spoil the fix.
- The last beat has one verb.
Where Scro fits
Scro maps those four beats onto an explainer storyboard. You approve each still, including the title card, before motion. Export 9:16.
Draw the four beats. Finished samples are on the examples page.
Related: Animated Explainer Without a Camera.