Today, images occupy an essential place in the world of communication and animations and videos are particularly popular with all audiences. This explains the success of social networks such as Tik Tok, ” stories ” or ” reels ” and video posts. But beyond social media, video is a very effective tool to communicate since it allows to transmit a message in a playful, dynamic and aesthetic way and thus to attract more interest from targets. More and more popular, videos are used by companies of all sizes and in all industries. It is in this context that the motion design video has met a growing success in recent years.
What is motion design video?
Also known as motion graphic design, motion design can literally be translated as motion design. It can then be defined as the art of putting images or diagrams in motion. Motion design is therefore halfway between art and communication. He began to find his way in the years 1960. Thus, this technique was used in an animation that has become cult today. This is the theme song directed by Maurice Binder for the James Bond movie. Moreover, it is very present in the daily life and evolves constantly. You can find it in music videos as well as in film credits, billboards and TV commercials.
Nowadays, the creation of motion design video is increasingly applied to the Internet. It then allows to realize :
- Tutorials,
- Banners,
- Promotional or institutional videos, etc.
This work requires the design and production of content that combines special effects as well as video, sound, typography, 2D graphics, and sometimes even 3D animation. In recent years, it has experienced a great development taking advantage of the various digital advances.
Why choose a motion design video?
First of all, and this is important, like all videos, the motion design format can be used for almost any type of communication: institutional, product, educational, event… However, motion design has some significant advantages.
Lower cost of video motion design
If you have ever had videos made, you know that they can represent a cost that is not within the reach of every company’s finances. Motion design has therefore, in a way, democratized the use of videos by smaller companies. Indeed, by asking for the intervention of a reduced team we can reduce the production costs, but also the time of realization, compared to the shooting of an advertising film, is also less important.
Easier to adapt to your brand’s visual identity
As a company, you probably have your own visual identity and a well-defined graphic charter. The motion design animation video offers the possibility to adapt perfectly to your image and your positioning on the long term.
More virality of motion design video
Finally, thanks to messages and a well-defined script, the motion design video can effectively reach its target and its positive and often quite playful aspect allows it to maximize your chances of being seen because these videos, relatively short, are very often shared. Their often pleasant aesthetics as well as their humorous tone also allow you to benefit from a significant sympathy factor.
What are the different graphic styles of video motion design?
On the graphic and artistic level, there are different styles of motion design videos:
- A motion design animation made on a specific theme using universally known pictograms or symbols.
- A style of animated video closer to computer graphics that is generally used to present data, figures, balance sheets or present a strategy.
- The whiteboard where a hand, often accompanied by a voice-over, draws and sets the animation in motion.
- 3D to obtain a more realistic image than the classic 2D motion design.
- Pencil motion design, which is similar to a whiteboard and is defined by fine lines and gives a “handmade” effect.
- The stop motion which consists of a collection of images of a moving object to give the impression that it is alive.
Our communication experts and graphic designers are at your side to propose the style adapted to the content and objectives of your motion design animation video.
The different steps to create a motion design video
Today, many agencies, such as Altosor Communication, are able to create a motion design video for their clients. We generally follow a more or less identical methodology that breaks down into 9 steps.
The framing or client brief
Our creative communication agency in charge of the development project of your motion design video appoints a project manager in the team. He will be the sole interlocutor of the client and will focus on the smooth running of the project. That is, he is responsible for it from the client brief to the final delivery of the video. In this perspective, he must ensure that the schedule and budget are respected. At the same time, he makes sure that the work done by his team of creatives and web designers matches the client’s request. We can then say that he is the guarantor of the final quality of the animation video and the respect of the specifications.
Thus, he must analyze the client’s needs before the team embarks on the various stages of creating the animation. This is what specialists call the “client brief”. In other words, the project manager will meet with the client to clarify a number of points. These include the objectives and challenges of the video, the target audience, the duration, the graphic charter, the type of video sought, the message to be conveyed, the desired tone, etc.
The scenario or script
The project manager and the creative and editorial team will then meet after obtaining the above information. They will seek to develop a relevant and effective scenario for your motion design video. Indeed, the script will serve as a red thread to this one and can generally be used as text for the voice over. In this context, the team is responsible for writing the script or may, if necessary, call on the services of a scriptwriter. The latter seeks to create an effective storytelling approach and at the same time prioritize the information to be conveyed to the target audience.
In addition, they will write the action script which is the “visual” scenario of the video animation. This means that for each section of the voice-over, it will detail everything that is happening on the screen. Thus, a good script must have a number of qualities. These include conciseness, clarity, rhythm and the ability to produce certain feelings and emotions in the audience. The final goal is to encourage sharing and commenting to increase virality.
The storytelling or storyboard
This is the pictorial version of the scenario. It illustrates succinctly the various animations while giving indications for the realization of the motion design video. We can say that it is an illustrated plan of the latter, sequence after sequence. Thus, the storyboard is a communication tool between the creative team and the client. Its objective is to give a precise vision of what the animation video will look like visually.
This step is very important as it gives you an idea of the number of characters, the number of sets needed, the transitions and the sequence of sequences, etc. This is what specialists call the dynamism of video. Moreover, the initial version of the storyboard is made with a pencil in order to facilitate the modifications. The client will then have to definitively validate the storyboard. Then, the motion designer can start to work on the graphic elements.
The layout of the motion design video
This step consists in creating the shapes to be used in the motion design video. It can be a human, a factory, a car, an animal, etc. In this context, the motion designer will work on the basis of the storyboard and script previously developed. It is in charge of creating the different graphic elements in a digital way. These will then be used and animated in the realization of the animation video through a specific software like Photoshop, After Effects, Gimp or Illustrator. The objective is to obtain dynamic sequences.
Voice recording off
This is the next step in creating a motion design video. The creative agency begins to record the characters’ voices as well as the omnipresent voice-over that provides a better understanding of the content. In this regard, it is important to make this recording before the animation. Indeed, it offers a temporal reference to the animation in order to time the different animations. Thus, not only is the voice-over a vector of information, but it also helps to give rhythm to an animated video. Moreover, it is possible to record it in several languages and even to subtitle it.
The animation of the video
This step is highly anticipated as it allows the images to come to life. It is realized by the motion designer who will respect the storyboard to the letter. With this in mind, he will move the objects, illustrations, drawings, and pictograms. But he must pay particular attention to the rhythm, legibility, coherence and duration of the shots. Moreover, he will often use software such as Cinema 4D or After Effect to help him create special effects and graphic animations, or to compose sequences. If the previous steps have been done correctly, the animation can then look like an assembly session.
The soundtrack: sound illustration or sound ambiance
Even if it is not essential, it is useful to add a soundtrack to the animation to reinforce the dynamism of the motion design video. These are sound effects, sound effects and background music that accompany the video. This sound illustration must of course be adapted to the register and the information conveyed by the video. It is possible to use royalty-free music or a composition created especially for the video for this sound illustration.
Subtitling
It is possible to subtitle or not the animation video, depending on the broadcasting mode and its destination. Thus, if it is intended to be broadcast on the Internet, it is recommended to put subtitles. Indeed, 80% of videos on social networks are viewed without sound. It is also useful to add subtitles if the video is to be shown on screens during a trade show or for silent broadcasting in companies. In addition, it can also be understood by people with impaired hearing.
Final editing in motion design video
This last step consists in assembling the visual and sound files. It also allows you to give more rhythm to the video, by slightly shortening a shot for example. It is then a matter of giving a final touch to the motion design video before exporting it in various formats, namely .AVI, .MP4, .MOV, low and high definition, etc. Your video is now ready to be delivered to you to be finally diffused on all the supports which you wish.
Do you have any questions ? Do not hesitate to contact the Altosor Communication team to discuss your project and to propose you a customized quote for your motion design animation video !
