Because Animation Isn’t Just about Peppa Pig
When you think ‘animation’, it’s understandable that you might instantly imagine Bob the Builder, Peppa Pig or (depending on how old you are) The Jetsons. Think again about animation, but this time about all the reasons you or your kids like it. It’s simple, often funny, and the bright colours and easy transitions make it easy to watch, follow and understand – all the reasons why animation is a great option for corporate videos and explainer videos too.
Of course there will always be the video traditionalists who believe that live action is the only video format suitable for serious and professional corporate videos. Just like the age-old debates between iOS and Android, cats and dogs, or Marmite and Vegemite lovers, animation versus live action can also make for an interesting discussion.
There are many elements you need to take into consideration before embarking on the corporate video or explainer video journey, like your target audience, the message your trying to convey, and how you’re going to use your video. Add the animation versus live action debate into the mix and you’ve got all the elements for an interesting decision-making process.
We’re fans of both, but these are some of the reasons why animation might suit your corporate video better than live action.
Simple, Slick & Stylised
How many times have you completely missed the point during a training session because your ‘teacher’ just doesn’t know how to teach? One of animation’s biggest appeals is its ability to explain complicated ideas quickly, easily, in a way that’s easy to understand, and most importantly, in a way that’s easy to remember. It doesn’t matter how tricky or convoluted your concept is; a skilled animator can translate just about any idea into a fun and easy to watch cartoon. On that note, ‘animation’ doesn’t automatically equal ‘cartoon’ either. There are loads of animation processes like 2D, 3D, hand-drawn, hyper-realistic and stop-motion, each of which suit different styles of video.
Making Abstract Ideas
Live action video is perfect for advertising, explaining and introducing tangible products like clothing, chocolate or toasters. What animation is successful at is conveying abstract ideas that are difficult to articulate visually, or boring to listen to like numbers and data. Animated explainer videos help viewers understand why a service could be good for them, in a way that live action video just can’t do. If your video is going to be data-heavy, animation is a great way to add more personality to seemingly uninteresting facts and figures visually, versus a person trying to explain them all.
Virtually Infinite Freedom
While live action video is limited by the constraints of reality and feasibility, animation is only limited by your imagination. If you need a plane in your video but your budget won’t stretch to hiring a Boeing 737, animation is your man. If you would like God to perform a cameo in your video but you don’t know the best number to reach Him on, animation is the answer. Because the animation process is carried out on a computer screen, not in real life, the world really is your oyster when it comes to what your new world is going to look like.
Easy to Edit
Live action video is usually quicker to shoot than animation is to create, but if you need to make changes to your video further down the track, animation is much easier to edit. While reshooting a live action video to update facts and figures is lengthy and expensive, for an animator it’s simply a case of making changes in the comfort of their edit suite.
In the market for an interesting corporate video or explainer video? Give animation a go; contact the friendly Onepost Media Production team today to find out more.