Of course we don’t expect our clients to understand the ins and outs of animation, that’s our job. And that’s why you’ve come to us! However, it can be useful to understand the process we go through to create your animation. This understanding can make sense of how long a production takes and what it costs, as well as highlighting why a competitor has a different price and how what they are offering is different to us.
The process: we’ve written a more detailed blog about the process of creating an animated video which you can read here, but these are the headlines:
- Production meeting – we get together and work out what the objectives and key messages of the animation are.
- Scripting – We write the script and send it over for you to tweak and approve.
- Storyboarding – We plan out the action for each part of the script, and draw out the key frames. This helps everyone visualise the animation and allows for feedback and discussion before production begins.
- Asset production – Once the storyboard is approved we build the assets and prepare them for animation, by layering all of the moving parts.
- Animation – This bit takes a while. All of the motion has to be designed and prescribed using specialist software. Depending on complexity, we can usually animate between 20-30 seconds a day, so a 2 minute video would take 4 days to complete.
“But these guys are MUCH cheaper”
Before you go for what seems to be a much more affordable option, it is worth investigating what they are going to deliver and whether it’s right for you.
In our business we sell time, so if you’re being promised a much shorter time frame but paying less, they are either the owner of a time machine – or they are delivering less.
Glorified Powerpoint
Is it really an animation if the assets just appear on screen? Not really. Even if your animation is structurally just icons and text, there’s a lot more that can be done to build the visuals in an engaging and impactful way. And naturally the more complex and bespoke it is, the longer it takes to do.
A powerpoint is great aid for your presentation – they back up what you are saying and give the audience a visual nudge to keep them engaged and help them retain your key messages. By their nature they are designed to be in the background, to not detract attention from the presenter and to ‘fill’.
An animation is the main event: it’s a whole package, the information, the inspiration and the entertainment all rolled into one. An animation doesn’t need a presenter – you can rely on it to sell your message and your brand again and again and again and you don’t even have to be in the room.
Take a look at our examples below:
DIY Animation Tools
There’s a few online solutions out there who promise professional DIY animated videos…
Here’s a few things to consider:
- Are you the same as any other business?
- Do you have the same message as other businesses?
- Do you have the same look and feel as other businesses?
- Do you want your customers to think you have a one-size fits all approach to them?
- Does bad lip-sync constitute animation?
If you want to create an animated video that is bespoke to you, your values, your brand and the message you want to convey, you simply have to employ a bespoke solution.
To Contact Square Daisy for Video Production Chelsea…
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