How to Make an Explainer Video with Synthesia

Most “AI explainer video” posts skip the two facts that actually decide the project. First: a concept explainer is not a support ticket path and it is not a sales demo. It is 60–90 seconds that names the product or the idea, says why it exists, and shows how it works against one picture. Second: the tool this site sends for that talking-head file is Synthesia (synthesia.io). This guide is the working path when you will not film an expert every time the definition or the screenshot moves: script, host, one visual, generate, shelf.

When a concept needs an avatar — and when it doesn't

Use an avatar when a help article or a landing-page “how it works” block needs a face and you cannot or will not sit an expert in a room every time the diagram or the UI label changes. Edit the line, swap the one visual, generate again. That is the economic case.

Skip the avatar if the page is a silent diagram. Skip it if the viewer needs a live Q&A — the explainer closes with “read the article” or “see the next block,” it does not replace a call. Skip it if the file is a numbered click-path — the support how-to is the other desk. Skip it if the file is a buyer walkthrough — the product-demo how-to lands a trial card. Skip it if the file is a seat pitch — the course-trailer how-to is an enroll button. Skip it if the file is a spoken battlecard — sales enablement is an internal ramp.

The seven-step Synthesia explainer

1. 01

   Write a 60–90 second concept script, not a click-path and not a pitch

   An explainer is the idea, spoken. Open on the name of the product or concept, say why it exists in one sentence, then walk how it works while you point at one picture — a single screen or a single slide. Close on where to read more or what to do next on that same page. Time it out loud. Most concept clips sit between 60 and 90 seconds. If you wanted numbered help-article clicks, that is the customer-support how-to. If you wanted a buyer walkthrough with a trial card, that is the product-demo how-to. If you wanted a seat pitch, that is the course-trailer how-to. If you wanted a spoken battlecard, that is sales enablement.

2. 02

   Confirm a talking-head explainer is the right format

   Use a presenter when a help article or a landing-page “how it works” block needs a face next to one diagram, and you will not film a subject-matter expert every time the concept or the screenshot moves. Skip the avatar for a silent diagram, a GIF of one click, or a live webinar. Skip it if the file is really a six-click ticket walkthrough, a SaaS demo, an enrollment trailer, or an AE ramp. The avatar is a host reading the current concept brief, not a substitute for the product on screen and not a substitute for a human when the idea is still in review.

3. 03

   Open Synthesia (synthesia.io) — check the domain

   Synthesia is the presenter desk this page is written for. On the home screen, start a blank video — Synthesia’s assistant help currently labels that Create video; some workspaces still show New video. Same start. Synthesys (synthesys.io) is a different company. HeyGen and Pictory show up in the same “AI explainer video” search; they are editorial mentions here, not hops. Mixing the names is the expensive mistake. This page sends you to Synthesia only.

4. 04

   Pick one stock avatar as the explainer host

   Select the Avatar tab in the top menu and choose one stock presenter. Keep that face for this concept and for later recuts when the diagram or the definition moves. An explainer read is second-person and specific: you, this idea, this picture. Head-and-shoulders. Do not commission a founder likeness until product and legal have watched a stock cut of the real brief. Do not clone a voice unless you have written consent. One host. One crop.

5. 05

   Add one screen or one slide — not a deck tour

   The picture job is a single visual the avatar can point at. For a live UI, select Record at the top of the canvas, then Record Screen, or Upload screen recording if you already have an MP4. For a diagram, select Media at the top of the canvas and choose Upload media — Synthesia’s help lists images as .jpeg, .png, and .svg. Import PowerPoint exists for a full .pptx; for one slide, export that slide as an image and upload it. Place the visual beside or under a head-and-shoulders crop. We do not invent an “explainer template” or a “slide” preset. If your workspace has a saved layout, use it. If it does not, Media or Record plus the Avatar is the whole move.

6. 06

   Paste the script, then Generate

   Select a scene in the left scene menu, open the script box, and paste the spoken explainer. Split the definition and the “how it works” beat across scenes if you want a pause on the picture. Use Generate at the top right. If the file will play muted on a landing tile or inside a help article, turn Burned-in captions on in that panel before you generate. Preview a scene first if you only need to check framing — Synthesia’s preview help says a preview does not use credits; Generate consumes minutes. Watch the first second, the concept name, and the one visual. Mouth-sync is consistently strong in English and major European languages. Hand gestures loop. These are narrators. Edit the line and generate again instead of re-booking an expert.

7. 07

   Download the MP4 or copy the embed, then drop it in the help article or on the landing page

   A clean download starts on a paid plan — Synthesia’s download help says Basic and trial users cannot download. After generate, use the three-dot menu and choose Download, then the MP4 (Full HD 1080p). Or open Share, create a link, and copy the embed code; Synthesia’s share help says an embed updates when you edit. Paste the embed above the written definition on the help article or in the landing-page “how it works” block, or upload the MP4 if that editor wants a file. Keep the written definition. Name the export so the next recut is obvious: explainer-workspace-vs-project_en_v1. When the concept or the screenshot moves, change that line, generate, bump the version, replace the object.

Explainer-host avatar vs a slide vs filming an expert

“AI explainer video” is a search, not a product. The decision is the format. Plan names and download gates on the Synthesia column match the live synthesia.io/pricing page as of August 2026. Confirm the current grid before you tell product or docs the export is included.

A 60–90s explainer script is the definition, spoken

Do not write a feature tour and hope someone cuts it down. Open the live help article or the landing-page “how it works” block: the name of the product or concept, the one-sentence reason it exists, the one picture you will show. Those sentences are the script. If a definition is still in review, that clip waits. An avatar reading last quarter’s meaning is worse than a still, because it sounds finished.

Four beats, in this order. Name the concept in the first sentence. Say why it exists — the confusion it clears. Walk how it works against the one picture. Close on one next step on that same page: keep reading, open the related article, or use the control the landing block already names. Second person. No joke about “the algorithm.” Time it out loud: 60 seconds is a tight definition; 90 seconds is a definition plus one how-it-works beat. Longer than that and you are making a demo or a lesson.

A workspace-versus-project read that fits the window sounds like this — about 75 seconds when you say it, not when you skim it:

A workspace is the shared home for one team. A project is one piece of work inside that home. You join a workspace once — that is where people, permissions, and billing live. You create a project when the work has its own files and its own due date. The diagram on this page is the whole map: one workspace on the left, three projects on the right. If you can see a file but cannot invite anyone, you are in a project, not the workspace. Keep reading this article for who can create a workspace, or use the next block on this page if you landed here from the product site.

A pricing-concept read uses the same skeleton. Name the meter, say what a unit is, point at one table or one screenshot, close on the article or the page block. Do not stack a definition, a six-click setup, and a trial ask in a single file. One explainer, one idea, one picture.

Do not write a learning objective with a quiz. Do not write a trial CTA card. Do not write a numbered password-reset list. Do not ask the avatar to “sound like a teacher.” These presenters are narrators: blink cadence, micro head-tilt, a looping hand. On a head-and-shoulders framing that is enough. Full breakdown of what the avatars actually do is in our Synthesia review.

Pick one explainer host. Keep that face.

Select the Avatar tab in the top menu. Choose one stock presenter and keep that face when you recut the definition so the help center and the landing page do not look like a new hire every week. An explainer host says you and this idea. It is not a support agent walking clicks, not a course host selling a seat, and not an enablement lead.

A custom founder likeness is a later decision, not the first invoice. Prove the script on a stock presenter. Personal avatars sit on paid plans — confirm the current count on synthesia.io/pricing. Synthesia’s pricing grid lists a Studio Express-1 avatar as a $1,000/year add-on that can take up to ten days. Clone a voice only with written consent. The consent rule is the same one in How to clone your voice for YouTube.

One screen or one slide — Media, Record, or an image export

Viewers watch these muted, on a phone, above a paragraph. The voice is not enough. Pick one visual the avatar can point at for the whole cut.

If the concept only makes sense on the real UI, select Record at the top of the canvas. Synthesia’s screen-recorder help lists Record Screen (Full Screen, Window, or Browser Tab) and Upload screen recording for an existing MP4. Crop the chrome you do not want on a public page. You are showing the idea, not walking six clicks.

If the concept is a diagram, select Media at the top of the canvas and choose Upload media. Synthesia’s media help lists images as .jpeg, .png, and .svg, and videos as .mp4 or .webm. Export one slide from your deck as an image and upload that. Import PowerPoint is a home-screen path for a full .pptx — useful when you already have a deck, easy to overshoot when you only need one frame. We do not invent a “slide” control. If your workspace has a saved layout, use it. If it does not, this upload is the whole move.

Optional on-screen label: select Text at the top of the canvas and pick Title 1 or Title 2 for the concept name, Subtitle or Body for the one-line definition. Type the same words the avatar will say. Drag a corner to size it; keep it readable on a narrow column. Do not stack a glossary on the card.

Captions: Synthesia’s help lists closed captions, dynamic captions (Captions in the top menu), and a Burned-in captions toggle in the Generate panel. For a muted help tile or landing block, turn burned-in captions on before you generate. After generate you can also download .srt or .vtt from the video menu if the page builder wants a separate track.

Generate, then export onto the article or the landing page

Generate sits at the top right. Title the file the way the article or the landing block is titled. Watch the first second and the one visual against the live page. Proper nouns and the concept name are where these reads go wrong — fix the script, generate again. That loop is the product. An expert re-book is what you are not buying.

A logo-off download starts on Starter. After the render, open the three-dot menu and choose Download, then the MP4 (Synthesia’s help lists Full HD 1080p). Or open Share, create a link, and copy the embed code. The embed is the better shelf when you will recut the same definition; the MP4 is the better shelf when the editor wants a file. Interactive buttons and branching cannot go out as an MP4 — leave those off an explainer you need to download. If a last scene still points at a “next scene” instead of ending the video, Synthesia’s download help says the MP4 can stay locked; set that last scene to end, generate again.

Paste the embed, or upload the file, above the written definition. Keep the written definition. A viewer who cannot play video still needs the sentences. A help-center article and a landing-page block are ordinary destinations on this page, not hops — use whatever control that editor already has for an embed or an upload. We do not invent a “Synthesia app” inside those products.

Name the object so the next person can find it: explainer-workspace-vs-project_en_v1, explainer-usage-credits_en_v1. When the definition or the screenshot changes, edit that line, generate, bump the version, replace the object. Leave the clips that are still true.

Which Synthesia plan ships an explainer in 2026

The live pricing page (August 2026) lists Basic at $0 with 9 avatars and 10 minutes a month. Downloads and logo removal start on Starter at $29/month, or $18/month billed yearly. Creator is $89/month, or $64/month yearly, with more minutes and personal avatars. Languages and voices are published as 160+ on every tier. Confirm the current grid on synthesia.io/pricing before you tell product or docs the download is included — we do not invent a checkout total or a commission rate.

For a first explainer, start on Basic with a real definition paragraph, not a placeholder greeting. Move to a paid plan when you need a logo-off file or an embed you will actually publish. Buy Creator for a personal explainer-host avatar or more minutes — not for “more cinema.” Buy Enterprise when brand asks for a kit or you are ready to localize a locked English master. Confirm commercial and customer-facing terms on the plan you will export from. Ten minutes a month is a handful of 75-second explainers, not a catalog.

Localization and other desks are next steps, not this brief

Ship the home-market explainer first. A second language is a translation of a signed definition, not a reason to start in Enterprise. When you are ready, lock this cut, then follow how to localize training videos — same loop, different packet. A numbered help-article path is customer support. A SaaS walkthrough is the product demo. A seat pitch is the course trailer. A ramp file for new AEs is sales enablement.

Viewers still deserve a plain-language note when the presenter is synthetic. Say it on the article or the landing block, above or under the player: this is an explainer-host avatar reading the current concept brief. If you later publish the same file on a public platform, you also need that platform’s current disclosure for synthetic media. That is separate from the vendor license. You need both.

The comparison of presenter platforms — including where Synthesys sits as a different company — lives on Synthesia vs Synthesys and Best AI Avatar Video Tools 2026. This page does not hop there. The only Try button here is Synthesia.

HeyGen, Pictory, and a filmed expert — editorial only

Those names sit in the same “AI explainer video” search. HeyGen is the usual Synthesia alternative in reviewer write-ups: faster custom-avatar turnaround, punchier social presenters, less of the help-center or landing-page shelf. Pictory is closer to a text-to-video editor than a governed presenter desk. A filmed expert is the right tool when the face has to be that person and the file will not be recut. None of them have a live hop on this page, so there is no Try button. If you need the concept explainer we can route, it is Synthesia.