Starting an Animation Project
In my last blog post, I reviewed the questions I typically ask at the very beginning of a project. They help me develop a scope of work with which I can start building a production plan, a budget and a timeline. Two of those questions are particularly crucial when starting an animation project:
Do you have a creative approach in mind?
Do you want to emulate the style of any existing videos?
Whether you’re a producer like me or a communications professional just starting to plan an animation project, it’s important to know the key factors that will impact your budget and timeline.
Style Matters
One of the hardest things about starting an animation project is getting a sense of the style a client wants. Many people simply don’t have a lot of practice in describing what they want to see visually. But the style of an animation will impact nearly every part of the project, from the timeline to the budget to the selection of the design and animation team.
I try to make it easier for clients to describe what they want by asking if they have samples of videos they particularly like (or don’t like). If they don’t have specific ideas in mind (or aren’t sure what they want), I can provide videos in different styles so that they can point out what they might want to emulate. A deep dive of a client’s website and an understanding of the information they’re looking to convey can also help me suggest an approach that might work well for their subject and brand.
Consider these two different styles:
This video was created for the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute. I refer to videos like these as “infographic animations.” Facts, figures and statistics are illustrated with the help of maps, iconography and animated text.
Sue O’Hora - Writer/Producer
Henninger Media Services - Production Company
This project, created for the National Center for State Courts, is what I would call “light” character animation. Characters are used to tell the story, but they don’t move around a lot. For instance, a character’s expression might change or their arm might change position, but they don’t walk on screen or move as a fully articulated Disney character might.
Sue O’Hora - Writer/Producer/VO Talent
Henninger Media Services - Production Company
In addition to the examples above, there are many other styles of animation someone might desire, from fully articulated character animation to 3D. Once we’ve determined the style in which we’ll be working, we can discuss some of the other factors that impact how long a project will take and the work that will be required to complete it.
Complexity, Pace and Length
The style a client chooses usually provides clues to the complexity and pace they’re expecting, though it’s always smart to confirm that in early conversations. The more complex and fast-paced an animation, the more time it will typically take to create. Length is one of the biggest factors in determining the cost and time required to complete an animation. If a client’s budget is limited, one of the first things to consider is the length of the video. Is it possible to tell the same story with a shorter run time? If so, that’s one of the easiest ways to adjust the scope of work to meet budget expectations.
Workflow
Now it’s time to consider the design and animation process. Once the script has been written, there are two basic steps to creating an animation:
Designing the elements to be animated
Animating those elements
As a producer, my job is to figure out what team I need to put in place to accomplish these two steps and how much time each step will take.
In order to create elements, a designer might use client-provided materials or they might license and modify existing iconography or character sets. They could also design elements from scratch. If I’ve determined that a client wants an infographic video, I’ll ask a few follow-up questions:
Do you have an established style guide you can share?
Do you have print materials that you can share?
Infographic videos should be designed to match a client’s existing branding. Getting a look at the client’s style guide will give you an idea of the color palette and fonts you’ll likely be able to use for the project. Web and print materials, like reports, infographics or brochures can give you an idea of the kinds of iconography the company has used before. In some cases, you might discover materials you can re-use in the animation process.
On the other hand, it typically takes longer to design the elements for an animation project that requires characters. Depending on the number or complexity of elements needed, you might need an illustrator to work with your animator, allowing one person to focus on the creation of elements and one to focus on animating. The level of articulation the characters need to have will impact the composition of your team as well. Different software and skillsets are required for different styles of animation. Keep in mind that spending the time to develop a character set up front can help you in the long run if you’re planning to make a series of videos. Once a character set has been established, it can be re-used over and over.
Whether you’re producing an infographic video, a character-driven animation, or animation in another style, you’ll also need to think about final finishing. Will you need a narrator or multiple voice actors to play different characters? What kind of music and sound design will be needed? Will your project require captions or additional languages? These considerations will impact your budget and your timeline too.
Creating a scope of work for an animation project isn’t wildly different than creating one for a live-action video project, but it’s important to keep in mind the impact style, complexity, pace, length and workflow will have on your project plan. Asking a few additional questions upfront can help create a clear understanding of the project, and that will make the project easier to plan and manage.
