Animation is just for kids…right?
How animation can elevate your storytelling.
We’re often asked if animation is more complicated to commission and produce compared to live-action filmmaking. The beauty of animation is that it tends to broadly follow the same process no matter how big or small the project. We’ve listed the eight essential steps below…
The initial task is to determine the best visual style for the project based on its messaging and the required channels. We would typically develop a pitch document proposing our ideas with a number of creative routes at different budget levels for discussion.
Once we’ve established the visual direction, we write a script with some initial ideas for accompanying visuals / scenes.
After the script and initial visual ideas / scenes have been circulated and signed off, we start storyboarding. Depending on the complexity of the project this can either be rough sketch designs or more fully developed frames. The storyboards give us an idea of what the key scenes in the script will look like.
When the storyboarding is finished and signed off. We create an animatic. Essentially taking the rough, static designs and putting them on a timeline with music and guide voiceover (if needed). It’s here where we can determine if we need to add additional scenes or elements before heading into design.
When the animatic is approved, we head into design, applying the agreed visual route to all of the required elements in the script.
This is where we bring the whole thing to life. The fully realised designs are meticulously animated to match the storyboard / animatic.
The unsung hero or animation. Sound design makes a film feel more fleshed out and tangible. It’s not a necessity for every project but it always makes a difference!
Now that everyone’s happy and high fiving each other after a job well done, the last thing to do is to create the channel deliverables and put it out there and let people see it!
