How I Made a Retreat Teaser Video With Our Beaver Mascot (Storyboard, Frames and Edit)

In the last post I explained how the Concept Dash beaver was designed. This one is about the first video I made with it: a teaser for our company retreat.

The problem: there was no teaser#

The retreat was coming up and there was no teaser for it. Nobody on my team knew I was working on one. I wanted something that would make people feel the retreat before it happened, not just read the date.

By then the beaver had already been accepted internally as our character. But a character in still images only goes so far. When people see the same character move and act in a video, they react very differently. That is what I wanted to get out of it.

Step 1: Storyboard the story#

I did not start with any AI tool. I started with a question: what would the beaver actually do in a retreat teaser?

My idea was a small panic. The beaver arrives to get things ready for the new retreat, and the place has been demolished. It has to rebuild it, put everything back together, and get it ready for everyone.

That gave the video a story with a beginning, a problem and a payoff:

1. The panic. The beaver discovers the venue is gone.
2. The rebuild. It gets to work, in character: hard hat on, tools out.
3. The welcome. The place is ready, and the beaver welcomes everyone to the new retreat.

It also suits the character. A beaver that builds things, for a company that works in construction.

I drew the storyboard shot by shot, deciding how the beaver would act in each one.

1. 01

2. 02

3. 03

4. 04

5. 05

6. 06

7. 07

8. 08

9. 09

10. 10

Read in order, the ten panels tell the whole story: a quiet moment, an alarm, a sprint, a broken logo, a repair, and a celebration. The video was built from these shots.

Step 2: Frame by frame, with a first and last frame#

For each shot in the storyboard, I created two images: the first frame and the end frame.

Then I used generative AI tools to produce the video between them. The tool gets the starting image and the ending image, and generates the movement that connects the two.

This matters because it keeps control with you. You decide where each shot starts and where it ends, so the beaver does what the storyboard says, and the character looks the same from shot to shot. That consistency is what makes a mascot feel like a character and not a different animal in every clip.

Step 3: Cut it into one video#

The tools only made the individual shots. The video itself came from the edit.

I cut the generated clips together in a normal editor: choosing the best part of each shot, setting the order and the timing, and shaping the whole thing into a vibe. Not a trailer for a product, but a welcome: the feeling of being invited to the new retreat.

Here is the final teaser, as it went out on our Instagram:

The result#

People were impressed. When I started, the beaver had been accepted as our character, but a video made it feel alive. Our client was very impressed when they saw it, and the team gave us really good feedback.

That is the main thing I learned: a mascot in still images gets a nod. A mascot in a well-made video gets a reaction.

What I would tell anyone doing this#

1. Write the story first. A panic, a rebuild and a welcome is enough. Simple stories cut together well.
2. Storyboard every shot. It saves you from generating clips you will never use.
3. Control both ends of a shot. A first frame and an end frame keep the action and the character under your control.
4. Treat AI clips as raw footage. The edit is where it becomes a video.
5. Keep the character consistent. Same outfit, same colours, same face, every shot.

If you want a brand character, a teaser or a short story video for your company, share a short brief through the project form on this site and we can scope it together. You can also read about the video editing service or browse more case studies.