Animated Video: Basics for Small Business
Discover what the creative development process involves, and how animated video can serve your business.
I’ve been wanting to write this article for a while now. It was actually prompted by a client who was astounded at the processes involved in creating custom motion graphics or animated videos when I explained it all at one of our setup meetings! So, if you’re curious about what really goes on and whether this can serve your business, read on.
A typical “edit” for video or animation…
Unless you’re already in the industry, or familiar with the process, the preparation list is longer than you think. But the benefits list can be longer too.
How Businesses Use Animated Video.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but to get your ideas rolling, check out the most common ways animated video is used for business purposes.
Explainer videos - This is hugely popular! You can use animation or motion graphics to explain pretty much anything from statistics to using products to behind the scenes and “how to” content.
Creating CUSTOM, engaging resources - One thing I’ve been involved in has been converting lengthy documents or resources into more engaging videos. This is used to lead people to more in depth resources but also to give quick overviews of important points for your business or organisation.
Sharing data or adding motion to infographics - Enough said. I think we’ve all seen these by now and they look much prettier than plain text stating “5% of our customers drink coffee before they visit our shop”
Adding branding or flair to a video advert - Adding a layer of animation is a funky way to bring in extra branding assets or information to a quick video, especially when it comes to screen device-based adverts.
Educational content or interactive content - Being used regularly in education, even for very young children.
Logo motion - Those pretty videos usually full of lighting effects and movement which attract your attention to a logo at the end - these normally last anywhere between 3 and 10 seconds. These are especially prevalent in cinema advertising.
Combining 2D assets with live action or stop motion video for advertising - Similar to point 4, this adds interesting visuals however you can take a step further and have your talent interact with the animation. Another technology being used which is similar is AR/VR which I believe will become much more common in the years to come.
Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes?
Want to know how it’s built?
The Creative Process - How everything is Built.
Unless you’re already in the industry, or familiar with the process, the preparation list is longer than you think. But the benefits list can be longer too.
Here I’ll break down my own process to give you a better understanding of what it takes to create these videos. These steps follow after I’ve already been engaged to create a product.
STEP 1 - MEETING TO DEVELOP CONCEPT
The all-important first step! Here, we go through the purpose, ideas, concepts, needs, deliverables, and so on, for the project. This is everything from content to story to assets and resources, timelines and budget. A necessary thing to do at this meeting is discuss time frames and communication standards to work efficiently together.
STEP 2 - SKETCHY SKETCHY SKETCHY
I love this part because I’m thrown back into my happy place (and childhood memories!) of what is now known as “traditional” illustration - using a pencil and paper! Sketching out ideas is a really fun part and is where characters and elements for the whole production start to come to life.
Ideas start here but before I can put the pencil to paper, I make an extensive list of the needs for the project. This is usually a VERY long list - my last project of a 5 minute video was almost 200 elements which must be drawn, reviewed, digitised and digitally coloured, reviewed, and tweaked if necessary. These graphic elements include; characters, their props, clothes, environments, logos, lighting, and anything else. Sometimes characters must be broken down into several parts as well.
Meet, Talk, Review!
Collaborating is one of the best parts of working on graphics projects and animations.
STEP 2.2 - REVIEW
In most instances the sketches are reviewed before proceeding - this is important if there are specific character needs for established brands or franchises.
STEP 3 - PLANNING AND STORYBOARDING
Another lengthy part of the process. Generally I start with planning out a basic storyboard along with separating the project into sections to be animated or constructed as pieces. For example, intros and outros with logos and other information can be built ahead of the internal animation portions. Storyboards are sketched, and further ideas refined. Storyboards can become quite thick, even for a video that only lasts a few minutes!
STEP 3.2 - REVIEW AGAIN
Checking in with the business/organisation is important, especially if there are multiple stakeholders involved. I review first and check against branding requirements, before submitting anything to the contact or management personnel for review.
STEP 4 - RECORDING AUDIO
This can be done any time between step 1 and step 4 simply because script development could come at any time during those phases. Sometimes a client may already have a script and actors/voice talent sourced for the project, other times not. Here we review the script, and head into the studio to record the audio portions. Next, if music or sound effects are required I also search and source these, which can take hours, even up to days.
Next, the raw audio and music is edited, and in some cases the whole audio track including the music can be completed. Usually, if any sound effects are involved they’re added later. The importance of creating the primary audio track now is to allow easier animation flow later and make sure the client can double check the content.
STEP 5 - GOING DIGITAL
Another fun part - turning allllll of those pencil sketches into digital artwork. File naming systems here are critical. In fact they are for the whole project! It can take days to do this if the list is really long.
STEP 6 - GATHERING ASSETS & TOUCHING BASE
Next it’s a case of gathering all necessary assets into one place, and checking this off against the planning lists. Sometimes we can face delays in this process when changes need to be made to artwork, or graphics need to be sourced from additional contractors, or statistics from external research departments. In some cases various levels of management need to have a last say on information or data included in the project, so it’s important to touch base once again because the last thing you want to do is have to restructure and go back to step 3 because this element was missed.
STEP 7 - PREPARING TO BUILD
Here is where I place each asset into the various software programs I use, into strategically named filing systems. Organisation makes the world go around and here it is VITAL.
STEP 8 - BEGIN BUILD - THE FRAMEWORK
Just as you’d create a 3D character starting with a skeleton, or build a house beginning with the base and the frame, in motion design I create a framework based on the timing of the audio track before I actually animate anything. It’s at this point that sometimes the storyboard needs to be adjusted and adding assets in using this approach means that it’s more efficient than beginning the animation and needing to go backwards to redo anything later.
STEP 8.2 - REVIEW YET AGAIN
As mentioned above, after storyboard adjustments and framework, it’s time to review again!!
STEP 9 - BUILDING PROCESS - THE INS AND OUTS
I usually start by building the “intro” and “outro” first. These are critical points as they often contain essential branding, CTAs, or titles, and often take anywhere between 2-15 seconds on either end of the video. These portions often are output and reviewed by themselves so that I can move on without touching them again.
STEP 10 - BUILDING PROCESS - THE INTERIORS AND EFFECTS
Next it’s a baby-step-by-baby-step process to move through the body of the work. Often it’s a few seconds forward, a few seconds back. In some cases animation is created in a separate program to the motion design, and if so these must be completed first, then inserted into the motion software. This is by far the longest part of the process.
STEP 11 - STARING INTO A SCREEN
Tweaking, progressing, going backwards, going forwards, adding effects, adding sounds, adding motion, adding elements, layers upon layers of artwork on the timeline! This is (I find) the most intricate part of the process and can take days if not weeks… until you’ve created the first draft.
STEP 12 - THE DRAFTING PROCESS & REVIEW AGAIN
Once the first complete draft is rendered it’s sent out to stakeholders for review. If we’ve covered all bases correctly, and the earlier review process has been efficient, I catch any errors before I even send out the first draft. Sometimes there will be a few changes, and back and forth it goes if needed.
The last review is where we confirm all changes are addressed and I can move forward.
STEP 13 - FINAL OUTPUT YAY!
SOOOO exciting!! Time to render this baby and send it out! Depending on complexity rendering can take up to a few hours for a short video. In addition to this any thumbnail artwork/graphics and additional outputs are designed and it’s all packaged up ready for the client to download in their part of the world. Happy days!
The scope of Animation and Motion Graphics are unlimited.
Why use animated video?
Here is a short list of benefits, and these change or grow depending on your business of course.
Changes can be altered quickly compared to using actors or traditional animation techniques (yay technology)
The format can be output to any size for any device.
No need to pay for acting talent if it’s not in your budget.
You can use any colour and incorporate almost any number of digital assets!
There is NO LIMIT to the imagination of your designer or yourself when it comes to creating this kind of content for your business.
It can be recycled and used in different departments or campaigns with some additional editing and output - HUGE bonus!
Voice actors (if needed) can be located anywhere in the world.
It looks fun and engaging, and a more effective way to educate your customer or user base. Especially when it comes to high level educational or informational content.
It can be dissected to create extra pieces of content in the form of mini-graphics, infographics, stills, and audio-only files!
There are a million ways to use this but I’ve got a few examples here. You might even notice animated logos used on videos as well, which is another way to set your business apart from others.
Before you hire someone to create for you, stop! Make sure you’ve thought through the following details before you contact an animator, designer, or agency.
Know the purpose of your video - let’s not make graphics for graphics sake! Knowing the purpose makes it easier to define CTAs and anything you want to measure, such as registrations, sign ups, or other data.
Know your budget - if you’re not sure how much these things cost, to be honest I can’t give you a definitive answer. Some people charge in the hundreds of dollars per video, some in the thousands, and some, a fiver. But generally speaking you get what you pay for. Having said that, what you want to get out of your video should be reflected in how much you’re willing to invest in it.
Know your timeline - make sure you know when you need this product finalised. As a general , unspoken courtesy, allow at least one week between the deadline and when you need to launch/use this animated video. This allows for any last moment changes, particularly if it’s related to an event or a public information release.
Have your resources and assets ready - if you need expert contributions, logos and branding, previous or archived footage, data or information, have these ready. It simply streamlines the process. If you need to incorporate voice into the video and haven’t captured this yet, work together with your designer so that the narrative is on point and you’re not wasting precious recording or editing time (and therefore, money!).
Good luck!
I hope that this helps you out when looking to make that motion graphic or video you need!
If you’ve got any questions or would like to talk graphics, hit me up!