Do This Before Buying an Animated Video
Purchasing a custom animated video requires you, the customer, to bring a couple of things to the table before you can receive an accurate quote. This information needs to be communicated regardless of what animation company you chose so let’s jump right into it.
Have a Script
The script is the foundation of the animated video. You must first have a script before any animation work begins. A script is a document of words that is used as a voice over. For example, a 90 second video usually consists of a script with about 200 words. If you need help in writing a script we have an excellent Script Builder Tool that is free to use. It is a simple form where you answer questions and when filled out it will give you a rough first draft. It is a great tool to get started. From there you can refine the script yourself or have us help you, or a friend, or whomever you like. The goal is to make your script easy to understand. Try to create a script that even a 5th grader could understand. Remember that everyone wants simplicity, cut out the jargon, explain your product or service in the simplest terms possible and you will win.
“Remember that everyone wants simplicity, cut out the jargon, explain your product or service in the simplest terms possible and you will win.”
Branding Guidelines
Branding Guidelines include a company’s logo, typefaces, icons, color palette, and possibly more. The branding guidelines give a clear picture of what a company’s brand is all about and how designers can design collateral based on it.
Mikrob Branding Guidelines. We made these branding guidelines before we started on the Mikrob animated video.
In the animation process it is vital that you have branding guidelines so that the design of the video is on brand. If not, you will run the risk of having a video that is branded completely different than what you want. This last year a client of mine requested an animated video but his company lacked branding guidelines. I communicated to the owner how important it was that his website, pamphlets, logo, etc. all match what the animated video was going to look like. He got it and we commenced to create him branding guidelines. After the branding package was created, we used those branding guidelines to create our storyboards and artwork for his company’s video. Come prepared with branding guidelines or if you need help we can make them for you. We have a brand package offering that is very competitive.
“In the animation process it is vital that you have branding guidelines so that the design of the video is on brand.”
Style Inspiration
It helps if you come to the animation company with images or links of videos or artwork, pulled from the Internet, that you want your video to look like. This is done by searching youtube videos, other company’s websites, or inspirational sites such as dribbble, pinterest, designspiration, etc. If an animation company can’t match your selected style, they should be honest with you and say that they don’t specialize in that particular style. For us, it helps if the inspiration matches something in our portfolio. So for example, if a company comes to us and says, I want a video similar to the Assistance League video on your home page, that would give us a good idea of what style the video needs to be. In summary, come prepared with images or links of videos or artwork that you want your video to look like.
Example of a collection of images from a video produced by Facebook. This is an example of what a client can come prepared with as it pertains to a choosing a style.
Know where your animated video is going to live
Where is your video going to live after it is created? On your homepage, on a product page, on youtube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, an email campaign, a jumbotron, on TV, on a paid ad? Knowing where your video is going to live determines not only resolution size, such as vertical or horizontal, but also takes into consideration voice over and music licensing agreements. It also determines the look and feel of the video, for example a TikTok video is a lot different than a product explainer video on a company’s homepage. Any animation company will need to know where your video is going to live after it is created.
“Where is your video going to live after it is created? On your homepage, on a product page, on youtube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, an email campaign, a jumbotron, on TV, on a paid ad?”
With these four items brought to the animation company’s attention they should be able to get started on a quote for you. There are definitely more questions that the animation company needs to ask you, such as your desired timeline of the project, and a deeper dive into the style of animation, but for now let’s keep it simple and just focus on the four items that are described above. Cover those four things and you should be on your way to get an accurate quote for your animated video.
Motifize is an award winning animation studio that creates animated videos for businesses. If you are interested in an animated video, please feel free to contact us. We are very prompt to respond to inquiries and we would be happy to show you more of our work and our process.