Why we love this beautifully-made ad.

Instructional videos can often be dry and visually uninteresting, especially when there’s a lot of information to convey. But a tight script and some clever ideas about framing, action, composition and sound design can often make things more visually engaging – and, occasionally, downright charming.

Electronic musical instrument makers Critter & Guitari employ a colourful, handmade-looking aesthetic across all their products. The group’s innovative ideas are housed in bright hues, round wooden buttons and compact shapes. So it’s fitting that their promo vids are similarly vibrant – and full of lessons all film makers can learn.

Cute, informative, and showcasing clear and fun ways introduce a bunch of ideas in a few short minutes.

The short video churns through a range of technical ideas, some shown, others told – but you don’t have to understand most (or even any) of them to follow the basic thread: that this is a creative tool, and there are many ways to use it.

It helps of course that the design, from the instrument itself to the company branding overall, promotes ideas of playfulness. Like the voice-over, the relaxed, almost child-like tone belies the meticulousness that went into this.

Further Viewing

In a similar vein, is Martin Grieco and Rocio Gal‘s movie for their own musical instrument, Introducing Nopia: