We recently delivered a series of animated e-learning videos, and wanted to share our production process with you.
Published: March 2016
Animation is a fantastic way to engage with your audience, and when we were invited to pitch for this project it seemed the most simplistic way to communicate the organisation’s brief.
Storyboard image
When tendering for any project we produce what’s called a ‘creative treatment’. This includes our thoughts on style, content and the feel of the production. But crucially it details resources and a transparent budget, so our clients can clearly see production options. For this particular project we pitched a 2D animation, featuring moving characters and iconography elements.
INITIAL CLIENT MEETING
The first stage in any animation is the concept development which is where we meet with the client to discuss the look of characters, scenes etc and explore various design options. For this project we collaborated with three specialists. Our Producer Tom, along with Consultants Neil, Andrew and Rachel, met at our client’s London office to gain a clear vision of their needs, enabling us to start pre-production.
Storyboard image
PRE-PRODUCTION
Whilst our designer hand sketched individual storyboard frames our writers began scripting, based upon scenes the director has outlined. Both elements were combined in the script, which also detailed the timings for each scene. This was shared with our client to review and agree a final version before moving forward.
ILLUSTRATION
Our designer started to create illustrations. This included all the elements which appear on screen and are individually drawn. This was shared with our client, making sure they were happy with the look and feel of each scenes. With animation it’s important to get feedback each step of the way. Clients really enjoy being involved in the creative process, giving them the opportunity to make suggestions and seeing a character come to life.
PRODUCTION
Finished scene
With our script approved our voiceover artist Jenny came into the studio to start recording. The voiceover is essential for the designer to animate the scenes in time to the audio. Working with a core team of professional voiceover artists, we were able to prepare demo reels for our client to select the right accent and tone of voice for their animation.
POST-PRODUCTION & SOUND DESIGN
As each scene was animated our Editor began to assemble the video, in line with the script. Our Producer selected the music and worked with our Foley Artist to design and mix all the sound effects to complement the animation and bring it to life. For example in the finished scene above we hear sounds of camera flashes and cheering as the speakers delivers her speech at the podium.
CLIENT REVIEW
Finished scene
Once completed the videos were delivered to our client via a secure private portal for review. Our client had the opportunity to feedback on any element of the video, but as they were involved through the entire process of design, illustration and script we only had to make small amendments to the audio and animation. The whole project was signed off and successfully delivered on budget.
