Using animation and motion graphics.
You’ve got a long list of facts, figures and numbers. You need people to connect and understand fast. Whether you’re creating new video content or reworking your existing content library, animation and motion graphics can deliver your brand’s message or unique offer fast. Here’s now…
How to begin
Animation and motion graphics are no different to other forms of communication. It’s always good practice to start with the brief, answer the following questions:
Who are we talking to?
What do we want to say?
What else are our audience watching?
For We Make Footballers it was all about grabbing eyeballs and converting those viewers into sales. Potential franchise buyers needed to see what the brand looked like, how they could interact and a video alone could not convey all the elements on offer.
WMF also didn’t have the video footage to cover the whole story, so animation and motion graphics perfectly picked up the narrative in a clear easy to understand style. It was a great way to use graphics to re-purpose existing content and avoid the need to shoot any additional footage. A very economical solution.
Look and feel
Another example with a wholly different brief was Maritime.
Leading the way in UK logistics and transportation Maritime needed a film for convention. A way to communicate their brand message across a busy convention hall without sound.
Stylistically we wanted to appeal to an audience who knew and were confortable with an informational style, developed by such companies as Expedia. A way to deliver clear messaging with a fun animated info-graphics style. Size changes, moving elements and Maritime’s own coloir palette.
At the same time the film needed to be on brand and to feel like Maritime who have a very clear sense of brand, visualised by their blue and while look and feel.
Script and storyboard
Film length and distribution platforms are definite dictators when it comes to working out you script and storyboard for animation.
Generally, especially with information driven films, animation works visually at a much faster rate, so you always need a clear shooting board. It’s harder and more time consuming to change animation than traditional video, so time spent in pre-production saves a lot of time and money in post production. If there’s a budget, producing a draft animatic, a rough version of the final film, is also a great way to understand how your film will flow over the given time.
PLATFORMS
It’s at this point your usage comes into play, not only in terms of the length, but also the style and format. A simple change from a 16:9 traditional video format to a vertical 9:16 phone format can have a major affect on graphics and animation, doubling your production time and budget so be sure, so you reall need all those formats? Where will your main audience be seing your film? Consider:
Does your film work as a cut-down or do you really need something else for social?
Always start with the longest version and then work out if you can cut socials from the main film
Don’t compromise message for format, find a work around.
Social
Social cut downs can be the perfect format to use animation and graphics without the need to shooyt additional footage but as discussed above, first stop - the idea.
There are many tools out there for you to create your own cut-downs. Platforms such as Canva give you pre-designed templates to use and they’re a great way to start, but as we discovered working for Notch, they quickly tire and your films start to look like, well, everyone elses films, unless you use plug-ins and code similar to websites and then the question is, why not just start from scratch?
Things to think about with social formats are:
The 3 image rule, especially on TikTok - if you can’t say it in three images you can’t say it.
Use captions to convey speech and emotion.
It’s all about timing.
Graphics ARE the style
If your animation or film is reliant on information and graphics, the style of those graphics is a key element for your look and feel.
Do you want them to represent the brand?
Have a character of their own?
Be pure information?
Think about graphics and style before you begin, don’t leave it to post or else you’ll be starting from scratch with the deadline looming.