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Paper Cutout Explainers

Turn a PDF, deck, or topic into a narrated collage explainer with cut-paper scenes and word-synced captions.

Make a paper cutout video

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  • Zendesk
  • Salesforce
  • Columbia University
  • Virgin Voyages
  • Xerox
  • Penn State University
  • JetBrains
  • Southwest Wisconsin Technical College
  • Ohio State University
  • Healthee
  • Virgin Media
  • Kaishan USA

Paper cutout explainers: collage scenes drawn for your script

A collage explainer makes one point per scene with one bold image. By hand, that means sourcing photos, cutting textures, and animating layers. Jellypod generates each cut-paper scene from your narration.

Sales teams use it as a leave-behind, educators as a lecture students can replay, and L&D as a narrated SOP. See every look on the AI video generator page.

How to make a paper cutout explainer

  1. Step 01

    Start from a source or a topic

    Upload a PDF or slide deck, paste a URL, or type a topic. Jellypod writes the narration from that source.

  2. Step 02

    Pick a collage style

    Choose Paper Mache or Almanac in a video or a short, then pick the character who narrates.

  3. Step 03

    Edit and download

    Edit any line or scene, then download the MP4: a video of 3 to 25 minutes or a short of 30 seconds or 1 minute.
A frame from a real video rendered in the Paper Mache style

Paper Mache: layered collage with one idea per scene

Paper Mache layers cut-paper shapes, archival photographs, and screen-printed textures into one scene per idea, each with one focal point. It is the closest match to the classic collage explainer.

A frame from a real video rendered in the Almanac style

Almanac: paper cutouts on aged parchment

Almanac places hand-drawn paper cutouts with crisp edges and soft shadows on aged parchment. The earthy palette and calm pace suit history lessons, origin stories, and anything that should feel like a documentary.

The same look in a vertical short

Both styles work in shorts: a 30 second or 1 minute vertical clip with word-synced captions and an original score. Reuse the character from your full video to keep one narrator across formats.

Make a paper cutout video

Stories from Busylike, Ohio State, and Kaishan USA

FAQ

What is a paper cutout explainer video?
A paper cutout explainer is a narrated video built from layered cut-paper collage: torn edges, printed textures, archival photographs, and one bold focal point per scene. It suits documentary-style explanations of history, policy, and how things work. Pick the Paper Mache or Almanac style when you make a video or a short, start from a PDF, slide deck, URL, or topic, and Jellypod writes the narration, generates collage scenes timed to it, and adds word-synced captions.
Can I make full videos and short clips?
Both. A video runs 3 to 25 minutes depending on your plan (15 on Starter and Educator, 20 on Creator, 25 on Business and Enterprise). A short runs 30 seconds or 1 minute and defaults to portrait for TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
What is the difference between Paper Mache and Almanac?
Paper Mache layers cut-paper shapes, archival photographs, and screen-printed textures. Almanac uses hand-drawn paper cutouts with white keylines on aged parchment, in an earthy palette suited to historical subjects.
Can I edit the scenes after they generate?
Yes. Regenerate a single scene with a note, replace it with your own image or clip, or rewrite a line of narration and regenerate only that audio.
What if I want my original slides on screen?
Use PDF to video or PowerPoint to video. Those make a voiceover, which keeps your original pages on screen instead of drawing new scenes.

Discover more explainer styles

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More from Jellypod

The collage look, without the scissors

Make a paper cutout video

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Paper cutout is one style among many

Paper Mache and Almanac are two of 16 styles in Jellypod videos and shorts. The same studio makes AI podcasts and voiceovers with the same characters.