Animation.
Nothing brings an idea to life quite like animation.
Good ideas can only have global impact if they are clearly explained, easily understood, quickly shared, and can transcend cultural barriers.
Welcome to the alchemy of content at Butterley, where concepts and research are transformed into viral videos.
We turn complex, world-changing ideas into accessible animations with mass appeal, deep engagement and global impact.
All it took was a Sharpie, a whiteboard, a camera, and a big idea.
We hoped they would inspire people, but we had no idea just how profoundly the RSA Animates and Shorts were going to impact the world.
For almost a decade, I edited and produced a viral video sensation that amassed countless awards, devotees, critics, imitators and translations.
In a YouTube landscape where the major viral success stories were cat videos, RSA Animates and Shorts managed to attract hundreds of millions of views for in-depth investigations of topics like economics, education, neuroscience, late-stage capitalism and behavioral science.
People were genuinely hungry to find out more about the world they lived in, and how to change it, and themselves, for the better.
Our fans range from high school students to senior executives to A-list celebrities, and have become an instantly recognisable feature of the YouTube landscape.
Our videos are used in classes, lectures, film festivals, training sessions, online courses, mediation, therapy and art exhibitions around the world.
Whilst the events they were drawn from are long over, new audiences are still discovering our videos every day.
In attempting to share some of the best ideas from the RSA’s public events programme in an accessible way, we unwittingly kickstarted a digital genre that now seems entirely ubiquitous: the ‘explainer video’ or ‘whiteboard animation’.
Online video is an essential communication tool for any business, institution or organisation. But you need to know what works - and what doesn’t.
If you want to connect deeply with your audience, boost your accessibility, drive more visitors to your website, translate your content for a general public, and spread your ideas far and wide – you need to harness the power of animation.
Butterley can take you through the entire process – from your rough ideas and raw content all the way through to delivery and dissemination.
Concept & strategy
We get to the heart of the issue you’re trying to communicate, quickly identifying the universal themes within your content and synthesizing various strands into a cohesive whole.
Editorial & curation
We translate your work into an accessible, democratic language – either scripting and recording an audio track for animation, or editing your existing material into digestible digital snippets.
Commissioning & delivery
We commission extraordinary animators and visual thinkers to bring your content to life, and work with them on metaphor, storyboarding and pacing.
