Stay home. It’s an order those of us living in Toronto have spent more than 100 days observing. We’re all doing our best to follow government advice to try and get through the pandemic. But at Key West Video, we still have clients who need our services, so we’re finding ways to accommodate their requests. For live-action video, we do remote shoots or practice physical distancing and masking to protect ourselves and the people we work with. Another option that’s worked really well for many client is animation.
Physically Distanced
Something we’ve been hearing for a year now is about the importance of physical distancing when it comes to stopping the spread of COVID-19. Many of us are using Zoom and other video conferencing platforms to keep working. When one of our clients chooses to use animation, we can do the entire project from a distance! Email, video chats, and phone calls can take care of all the pre-production discussions and planning. During production, the same channels can be used to send storyboards and video cuts to clients and they can respond with feedback. Final delivery of the video and any related files can be done online. Through much of the pandemic, our animators have been working from home because their tools are all computer-based. It’s a format that’s worked really well for them and for our clients.
No Scheduling SNAFUs
Animation means never having to coordinate a bunch of different variables. There are no shoots to schedule, no locations to secure, and no actors to hire. Animators create the characters in a video and the world they populate. Heck, you don’t even need characters! Animation can use symbols and icons to explain or promote your business. The point is that an animation project is relatively simple. Here’s a basic breakdown of the process we follow at Key West Video:
- initial talks with client
- questionnaire or creative brief for direction
- script and approval
- storyboard and approval
- first cut and subsequent cuts with client feedback
- final versions provided in whatever format and length needed
Inclusivity
Inclusivity has become a major part of most business value structures, which is great news. Clients often ask us to include as much diversity in a video as possible. They want to represent their employees, customers, and community. With animation, it’s easy to fill a video with any characters or situations requested. One of the most important objectives of an effective video is to have the target market see themselves represented. This makes everyone feel included and people will have an easier time imagining themselves using your product or service. Through animation, any neighbourhood, any work situation, and any community can be depicted. You may also want to translate a final video into various languages and include captioning or descriptive video for better accessibility.
Explain What’s New
Looking for a way to share new information about your business with customers? Once again, animation is a great choice. Let’s say you have a new product that you’d like to promote. Even if you don’t have a working prototype, animators can create an animated version that helps customers understand the value and use of the product. Another example is keeping up with changes in your business. Who hasn’t had to alter operations in the last year? Let your customers know what’s new and what to expect with animation. This could be as simple as text on screen showing new store hours and promoting online shopping. Or demonstrate curbside pickup by showing a character in front of your store. With a few pictures and a map, an animator can recreate your location without either of you leaving your desks.
On Brand
Animation isn’t just about characters. Our animators also use icons, symbols, text, graphics, and more to tell the story of a business. And they work with your assets so that your video fits with the rest of your marketing plan. Using the colour schemes and logos associated with your business, an animated video will fit right into your website, social media posts, and wherever else you choose to use it.
Giving Business a Voice
At Key West Video, we work with a lot of very talented voice-over (VO) actors. After talking about the content of a client’s video, we provide voice samples so you can choose the person who really speaks to your audience. Male or female, young or old, accents, high-energy, or soothing. These VO specialists can really do it all and help bring your video to life. Of course, we can also do this for live-action videos. But with animated characters, the voice truly gives the video personality.
Draw Me a Picture
Last spring, when the pandemic was still fairly new, animation showed how easy it was to explain to all of us what was happening and how to react. The video above, Global COVID-19 Prevention, attracted 1.2 million viewers within 10 days of its March 21, 2020 release. It’s short, easy to understand and provides important information. The video was effective on a global scale because there was only music and visuals, negating the need for language translation. In fact, the video also makes perfect sense on mute. There was even a sequel with more COVID-19 information that was also very successful. From the beginning of the pandemic, animation has been widely used to great effect. Why not consider the format for your next video? Have a look at our animation portfolio for inspiration.
