Can You Tell Me More About the Process (of Animation)?

Newsletter:

As we close out 2019, we'd like to take a minute to pause and reflect on the past year. The past 365 days have been a whirlwind for us, and one theme that seems to have popped up quite a bit was "process." It's kind of an abstract term, but boy oh boy does it have an impact on keeping things running smoothly. Let's take a few minutes and go over some of the ways in which having a consistent order of operations for your workflow can make all the difference in turning out a great product (or service).

When you look at one of the Pyramids, you might ask yourself the question: "What's the most important part, the base or the top?" Trick question, they're both important, but for different reasons. The base is important because without it, you can't do anything else. And the top is important because, why else were you building a base for? It's also true for your company's output. There are fundamentals that need to be there, and there's also the bells and whistles that make you stand apart from your competition (This is kind of a roundabout way of getting into workflow and process, but bear with me).

So, when your shiny new product presents itself, how did it get there? Simple, someone made it. Well, this was an easy article, right? Not so fast. How did that someone make it? Did they conjure it out of the ether? Maybe if their name rhymes with "Shmumbledore." More likely, someone told them how to make it. OK, great. So, how did that someone know to pass along knowledge of how to make your shiny product? There's a decent chance the words "market research" appear in the answer somewhere. OK, but take a step back even further: Where did you even find this market? And why are you trying to appeal to it in the first place?

All these are good questions, about very good steps to have. Take out even one of these steps, and you don't have a product at all (or a Pyramid). Basically, process is about figuring out 1. What you're selling 2. Why you're selling it 3. Who you're selling it to 4. How you're selling it, 5. When and where you're selling it (sometimes these steps are interchangable), and finally, 6. Usually in numbered steps, yes. And it doesn't matter what kind of business you have. You can be selling animated videos, or SEO services, or biodegradable widgets, or how-to guides to succeeding in business without really trying, and you're still going to benefit from Knowing Your Process.

Hope you have a great month, and we'll see you all in the New Year!

How Do I Decide What I Want My Video To Look Like?

One of the first topics that tends to come up on projects is, “so what do you want it to look like?” Good question. For obvious reasons, visual style is what sets animation apart from other video techniques, and there’s often no right answer to creating a distinctive look for your message. That being said, here are a few things to keep in mind that we’ve found helpful over the years:

Who is your target audience?

What is the mood or tone of your script?

Does your script deal with character stories or more abstract concepts?

What are other people doing?

What do you like?

One of the first topics that tends to come up on projects is, “so what do you want it to look like?” Good question. For obvious reasons, visual style is what sets animation apart from other video techniques, and there’s often no right answer to creating a distinctive look for your message. That being said, here are a few things to keep in mind that we’ve found helpful over the years:

Who is your target audience? Maybe it's retiring parents. Maybe it's twenty-somethings who are interested in a phone. Maybe's it's people buying their first house. Regardless of the category, it's good to keep in mind who they are, and what they want, as the visuals in your video should reflect that demographic. A lighter, whimsical story might not be the best way to sell life insurance (Or, depending on the script, maybe it's perfect!) Which leads us to our next item:

What is the mood or tone of your script? How serious is the subject matter? Are you selling a common necessity, or a luxury item? Different subjects need different ways of presentation. Animation by it's very nature lends itself very well to a more light-hearted tone, but at the same time, we've seen videos using cartoon characters work very well as a "subvert-the-expectations" approach to more serious topics. And speaking of characters:

Does your script deal with character stories or more abstract concepts? If you're showcasing your newest consumer product, technical accuracy might be more a concern than creating a fun visual world. 3d wireframe graphics are very good tools for giving detailed presentations on laying out how things work, whereas using simplified, exaggerated characters tends to make things more immediately engaging. Except when it doesnt! There are almost always people doing things in the total opposite way (and succeeding!), which brings us to our next point:

What are other people doing? Changes are, you are not the first person to try and create a video for your type of product (and if you are, congratulations!) A quick glimpse (or long detailed observation, whichever) into your friendly internet machine of choice can answer this question either way, and give you a very good idea of how your competition is presenting their products to the world. That being said, just because someone else is presenting their stories in a certain way doesn't mean they're the be-all-end-all authority on the subject. Maybe you want to subvert expectations (see above), and create a more attention grabbing approach than anyone else a the table? In other words:

What do you like? What do you not like? This is your video. You can create a video where the visual style touches on all the questions raised earlier, but if you, personally, hate the style, then what's the point? Maybe you really like Powerpuff Girls. Or older Batman comics. Or Tim Burton movies. Or you've always been captivated by the alluring mystique of stick figures. Whichever. It's your call, and we're certainly not going to tell you you're wrong. Now, that being said, not every style translates as easily to animation. However, there is *usually* a middle ground that will work for production, and no matter what, there is always a solution to finding a visual style that will work (and sometimes, there is more than one!)

Why do you need animation for your business?

A question we are often asked is, "Why do you need animation for your business?" And the answer is: Sometimes you don't. We're certainly not trying to talk ourselves out of any jobs, but this is something we definitely want to make clear. Companies in startup mode oftentimes find that the single best marketing tool they have is word of mouth, or testimonials from real people. Animation may or may not be a good fit at that stage, but we would definitely suggest considering all alternatives before pulling that particular trigger (which, to be fair, is good advice for a business at any stage).

Now that that's out of the way: Animation lets you tell stories that are often impractical or costly to tell in other ways. Some simple motion graphics showing cause and effect can get across important general principles of your business, or explain your value proposition, in a re-playable and entertaining way. Commiting to animation might have a cost in the short run, but it could very well end up saving time and resources that would otherwise be spent on giving the same pitch or presentation over and over again.

It's also efficient and low-risk: Want to show a memorable example of the worst case scenario that could happen if a customer goes to your competitor? You could hire actors to portray them inevitably falling to their doom off a cliff, but then you'd have to worry about insurance and liability, make sure you've acquired all the necessary permits (and pay the fees accordingly), and run the risk that the weather might just not be cooperating the day of the shoot. With animation, your actors and environments are all digital, and once you've incurred the cost of creating your assets, you can use them over and over again as often as you want!