How to Make an Animation Video

If you are considering an animated video to help explain a complex topic, advertise an online product, or generally communicate / educate an audience, you may have a few questions about the process. When we are approached with a motion graphics project, some of the answers potential partners are looking for include: 

-What does it take for an animation studio to produce an animated video? 

-How are motion graphics videos made? 

-How much does an animated video cost? 

-How long does it take to create a motion graphics video? 

We are always happy to talk through these items and believe that ample communication is important to the foundation of a project. However, some might find it helpful to see a bulleted overview of the process. 

• Once a scope & estimate has been established, pre-production will kick off with messaging and scripting iteration. While some clients come to us with a solidified script, and some ask us to provide this service entirely, we always offer to collaborate from script development to finalization. 

• Pretty much simultaneously with the scripting discussions, we dig into existing branding and client visions to create graphic style options. Once the visual style has been selected and the script is finalized we can keep the workflow… flowin’. 

• Next, we hold voiceover auditions and present options to the client. Song options are also in consideration during this phase. 

• Storyboard development is the key to keeping both the client and creative team aligned. It is essentially how we build every scene of the story, and how we align it with the script. Additionally these static graphics and illustrations are also used by our animator to add the motion. We also need this to plan for dynamic movement and creative transitions between scenes.

• With the flow of the video visually laid out, voiceover recorded and pre-production items signed off animation begins. 

• Our animation and post-production team works closely with our Director to execute the creative that has been established. 

• A typical timeline is about 6 weeks, however this can vary depending on length of the video, turnaround on pre-production items, and urgency established. 

As with most creative projects, pricing is customized, but we lay this out clearly in a quote where we estimate the hours spent in pre-production, design, hard costs such as voiceover and music, and animation time. 

Below, you can see a sample of our process from storyboard to the final animated explainer / marketing video.