USE ANIMATION TO TELL A STORY
Why should one use animation to tell a story? The simple answer is it’s entertaining and fun. Not only is animation a great way to tell a story and connect to your audience – animation is full of endless possibilities, it doesn’t need to be realistic or accurate, it can be fun, imaginative and creative. We develop full animation videos from start to finish. From concept to completion…creating an effective way to get your message across.
SO WHAT GOES INTO MAKING AN ANIMATED VIDEO?
I am sure that you have watched your favourite cartoons on TV or on the internet and wondered what does it take to create these animations and get your message across in a fun and effective way. Well…here is how it goes. We use a seven-step process to ensure that the end product message resonates with the audience.
PART 1: THE PREPARATION WHICH IS THE FOUNDATION
1. CREATING A SCRIPT
Just like how there are scripts used in big Hollywood movies, so too does your animation need a script. This essentially gives a pretty good idea of where the story is based. It includes the time of day, which character is talking to whom, and of the utmost importance, is what are they saying to create a conversation. This is the most important ingredient otherwise there will be no direction in your animation. We create scripts and concepts with original ideas.
2. STORYBOARDING
We sequence images or pre-visualise the movie shots so as to understand how the story will unfold. The look, feel and camera angles are all illustrated in a flowchart. We create a detailed outline so that we achieve a close and complete image of what the finished animated product will look like. All images are captioned with camera movements and clear detail of objects and characters are differentiated.
3. VOICEOVER
What good with an animation be if it was a silent movie? Characters without a voice would just be like watching paint dry. Adding voice to the animation is critical and knowing how to record a great voiceover would be another piece of an almost completed puzzle. We record crisp clear voices in our recording studio and do a final adjustment to make sure the tone and pitch of the voices are great for the listener.
PART 2: GETTING INTO PRODUCTION
4. ANIMATION
Once we have done all the prep work with the scripting, storyboard and voiceover, then we start animating. The length and different tracks of the voiceover are the deciding factors for the animation time. We use various software products to create that memorable animation.
5. MIXING THE AUDIO
Here we select and assemble the recorded sounds and start the preparation for the final mix of putting the sounds together ensuring that the voice is synched to the movement of the character’s lips. We also add other sounds effects and any background music.
3: EDITING AND FINALISATION
6. FINAL EDITING
We shoot the animated scenes at random. We sometimes also shoot a number of scenes just as a backup so that later while editing it can be checked and the best shot from many can be picked to include in the animated movie. We also rearrange the clips so that the end product is perfect. We also create other editing tasks which include the addition of effects in the clips or text used in titles and during transitions.
7. EXPORTING THE PROJECT
We export the animated movie which is the final step in creating an animation. Here we select the correct file compression and format to optimise viewing on various devices. We then have a finished product that we can deploy on the web in all aspects of social media as well as a Learning Management System.
CHECK OUT THE FINAL PRODUCTS
