Things you can do before – or even without – the computer.

Handmade Slide Show

Ahoy sidesteps the computer altogether to edit together this research video. In celebration of the retro-tech subject matter, well-designed slides are printed out (perhaps onto paper, possibly onto transparent acetate?), which are then slid in and out of frame by hand. With bold typography, a distinct design sensibility, and well-scripted voiceover narration, ‘The First Video Game’ maintains visual interest throughout its nearly two-hour runtime:

These slides could even have been a detailed storyboard – and they feature a lot of the types of information design (diagrams, graphs, archival photographs) common to explainer videos.

Handmade Previs

Michel Gondry‘s mind-bending visuals are very much about the interplay between the visual and the audio, and often take a massive amount of conceptualising and planning. His computer-generated music video for The Chemical Brothers’ ‘Star Guitar’ began life with just pen and paper, but then with the unique step in-between of computerless previs – using everyday objects, ordinary groceries, and (now retro) hardware…

(Our more detailed look at this process is over here)