In a previous post, I examined various ways of using animated videos for business and learning. In it, I suggested how you might use your video from a content perspective. Here’s a recap of the key points from those posts:
You can use learning animated videos to:
- Simplify a complex topic
- Tell learners a story
- Solve a problem
For businesses, animated videos are brilliant at:
- Telling your company story in a fun way
- Showcasing customer testimonials
- Making social media adverts
- Marketing your products and services
Once you have decided which type of animated video you want to make (learning or promotional), you next have to consider what style of animation you’d like. Shopping for clothes is a useful analogy here. If you’re female and shopping for a new pair of trousers, what style of trousers do you want to buy?
- Cropped
- Bootcut
- Wide leg
- Slim fit
The style choices are almost endless.
Choosing the right trousers and clothing, depends on several factors. For example, your body shape. Your budget. In which situation you want to wearing your trousers e.g. casual, work, mountain climbing?
Similarly, there are different styles of animated videos. The term style in this context refers to the graphical style. Like the perfect pair of trousers, choosing the right animated video depends on various factors. And, each has their pros and cons.
Let’s look at the four main styles of animated videos we make and create here at Eight Interactive to help you make the right video choice.
Business promo video: photographic style
Here’s an example of a business promotion video using:
- Photos
- Simple graphics
- Animated text
The video animates the above elements in stages. Upbeat background music helps to engage watchers with the video’s message and bring everything to life.
A one-minute video used well, will communicate a business’ core services, how it helps customers and how to get in touch.
Choose this animated video style if you:
- Have several photographs you can bring together to tell a story
- Are getting started with video
- Have a lower video budget
- Want a video made quickly – we can make one within a few days
- Want regular video content
Animated whiteboard video style
Popular with businesses and educators, whiteboard animation videos have been around for a while. But, a bit like animal print in clothing, they’re having a ‘moment’ and are in vogue right now. They’re popular because they’re simple – and there’s nothing wrong with that. They can be an effective way to demonstrate dry/unsexy products.
For the uninitiated, whiteboard animation is a particular type of presentation that uses the process of drawing a series of pictures on a whiteboard. Recorded in sequence, the images are then played back to create an animated presentation in a time-lapse or stop-motion effect.
Whiteboard animations are quick to make because most of the images are static. That said, you can add some movement of images to some whiteboard animations
Animated doodling is a common technique in whiteboard animations. A human hand draws or sketches out images or writing text – often accompanied by voiceover narration.
Even within whiteboard animations, there are different looks you can create by choosing different fonts, colours and the actual images.
Choose this style of animated video if:
- You really like this animated video style (in our experience they are like marmite – some like whiteboard animations and some don’t)
- Have no photographs and want to clean graphic style – we create a whiteboard animation for a client who had yet to create their company branding. As Whiteboard animations use little or not colour, the client felt the clean look would not affect their branding
The disadvantage of using whiteboard animations is that they can look the same. Making a whiteboard animation video that stands out from the rest is a skill. So if you want your business to stand out and be different – then consider whether a different video option will achieve this.
Hybrid video
Here’s an example of a hybrid video – as I call them – that uses a mix of approaches and includes:
- Film footage
- Photos
- Graphics
- Text
- Other animation
This style of animated video is a good option if you want a film approach for your video, but don’t have the budget to commission your own film with different locations and actors.
However, as this involves buying footage, or finding royalty free clips, it can be hard finding the right clips to fit the video’s storyboard.
Graphics animation
A graphics style animated video uses graphical images and shapes to communicate a specific message. Shapes, objects, items, people can all be graphic. Those graphics can then be animated.
Graphics animated videos work well to:
- Communicate data, as in the example below.
- Tell story in a fun way using characters
- Summarise key points
- Solve problems
- Explain difficult topics
A final thought
You can make any of the above animated video styles with or without a voiceover recording. Much depends on your message, your personal preference and what you want to communicate.
For example, a thirty-second social media piece doesn’t usually need a voiceover script.
While a training video, explaining a topic, will need a script so the voiceover can guide learners through the explanation.
We have experience of making and creating all these types of videos. Get in touch if you have a video project you need help with.