How do noise-cancelling headphones work? A 59 second motion-graphics explainer where every scene is animated in code and timed to the voice. Made by Claude in Editbay, in 16:9 and 9:16.
The noise-cancelling explainer re-laid out scene by scene for 9:16, with every label and wave inside the Reels safe zone.
What is an animated explainer video?
An animated explainer video makes one idea easy to understand with simple moving pictures and a clear voice. Companies use them on landing pages and in onboarding; creators use them on YouTube and in Shorts. They work when every picture shows exactly what the voice is saying at that moment.
That is where AI helps most. Here, every scene is written as code and timed to the word timings of the voiceover, so the wave flips exactly when the narrator says "flipped upside down". The vertical version is not a crop: each scene is laid out again for a tall screen.
The structure
The beats this film follows. Copy them for your own topic.
The hook question"How do headphones delete the sound of a plane?"
The basicsSound is a wave: show air pressure rising and falling.
The partsMicrophones outside and inside the ear cup, and a small chip.
The key ideaThe chip makes the opposite wave: anti-noise. Show the flip.
The resultPeaks meet dips and the two waves add up to almost nothing.
The limitsWhy engines vanish but voices do not, and what the ear cups do.
The ending lineOne memorable line: "It's sound, cancelling sound."
How to make an animated explainer video with your AI
Editbay is the video studio your own AI works in. Claude or ChatGPT does the creative work; Editbay gives it the editing server, the asset library, rendering and checks. This is how this film was made.
Connect your AIAdd Editbay as a connector in Claude or ChatGPT.
Ask the questionTell your AI what to explain and who it is for. It researches the facts and shows you the ones it will use.
Pick voice and lookChoose the voice, the pace and a colour system from real samples before anything is built.
One voice take, then scenesThe script is recorded as one take; Editbay transcribes it and your AI builds one animated scene per idea, timed to the words.
One shared lookAll scenes share one style file (colours, type, icons), so the film looks designed, not assembled.
Review and make the 9:16 versionPin notes on the frames to fix, then ask for a vertical version laid out for Reels and Shorts.
The ask behind this film
Make a 60 second animated explainer on how noise-cancelling headphones work, for curious non-experts. Clean motion graphics, one colour for noise and one for anti-noise, an upbeat curious voice, every animation timed to the words. Keep the physics accurate. Then make a 9:16 version laid out for Reels.
Tips for an animated explainer video that works
One idea per scene. If a scene needs two labels and a paragraph, split it.
Give each concept its own colour and keep it for the whole film.
Time animations to the words, not to the scene start.
Ask your AI to list the facts it will use, and check them before the script.
Re-lay out for vertical instead of cropping. Labels at the edges get covered.
The script
How do headphones delete the sound of a plane? They don't just block it. They fight it. Sound is a wave: tiny ripples of air pressure, rising and falling, many times a second. Noise-cancelling headphones have small microphones. Some sit outside the ear cup, listening to the noise coming in. Others sit inside, checking what reaches your ear. A tiny chip reads that wave and makes its exact opposite: the same shape, flipped upside down. That's anti-noise. The speaker plays it along with your music. Where the noise peaks, the anti-noise dips. Together, they add up to almost nothing. Physicists call it destructive interference. It works best on low, steady sounds, like engine drone and air-con hum. Voices and sudden clatter change too fast to cancel well, so the snug seal of the ear cups does most of that work. So that quiet on a plane? It's not silence. It's sound, cancelling sound.
Questions
What is an animated explainer video?
A short animated video that explains one idea, product or process with simple visuals and a voiceover. Most are 30 to 90 seconds.
Can AI make an animated explainer video?
Yes. In this example Claude researched the facts, wrote the script, recorded the voice and animated every scene in code, timed to the words.
Do I need animation software?
No. The scenes are written as HTML, CSS and JavaScript and rendered on Editbay's server. You review and leave notes in the browser.
Can I get a vertical version?
Yes. Ask for 9:16 and your AI lays every scene out again for a tall screen, keeping labels inside the safe zone.
Credits
Music: original, generated with Google Lyria. Voice: ElevenLabs.
