9 Things To Look For When Choosing An Animation Studio

Hiring an animation company or a freelance video animator is one of the most important parts of the animation production process. Choosing the right animation studio, production company, or freelancer is critical to the success of making your animated video. If you’re ready to start choosing an animation studio, here are our tips to help you find the right animation producer for your specific project requirements.

If you have a question about choosing an animation studio that isn’t answered in this article, you can use our contact form to ask your question or click the image below to schedule a call with a member of our production team:

9 Tips To Consider When You Are Choosing An Animation Studio

 

1). Get clear about what you want

Before you start looking for animators for hire, or figuring out how to choose an animation studio that can deliver the work you are looking for, you need to get clear with yourself about what kind of video you want them to make so that you know what factors to prioritize when choosing an animation studio.

Are you making a 1-2 minute video, 5-10 second social media clips, or 22-60+ minute TV episodes? 2D animation or 3D animation? Motion graphics or frame by frame animation? Is your video supposed to educate people? Entertain them? Make them laugh? Close a sale? Animation studios and freelancers usually have a speciality and you should find someone that has a track record of producing the type of results you are looking for.

2). Check out their portfolio

When you’re looking around to hire animators online, take a look at their portfolio to see if they have the artistic and technical capabilities to create work similar to the kind of animation you want. If you find an animator you like, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask if they have any more portfolio examples they can share. Animators often have a private portfolio of examples that their client’s don’t allow them to publicly post online but will allow them to be privately shared with prospective clients.

3). Price

Price is often the driving factor when choosing an animation studio. While there is a strong temptation to choose the cheapest animator, low cost animators have their drawbacks.  Often times, the work you get for the lowest price doesn’t look as good as the examples in their portfolio. It’s also possible they will charge you extra for revisions and edits that aren’t included in the original budget. Finally, before you hire a video animator or an animation studio, make sure that you understand if you are paying a flat rate for the project or if you are paying for the # of seconds of content being created.

4).  Script & Storyboard Creation

Are you creating the script and/or the storyboard for your animated video? The script and storyboard are essential things animators need to create your video. Unfortunately, not all animators have the storytelling skills to help you create your script and storyboard. Animator’s strengths are usually focused on creating beautiful visuals but they may not be as good when it comes to storytelling or creating unique ways to present your ideas that resonate with your target audience. So, before you hire an animation studio, review some of their existing videos to see if their storytelling keeps your attention. Do they use creative ideas and transitions to keep viewers engaged through the story? Or are they just good at making pretty pictures that move? Either way, make sure you’re clear on whose responsibility it is to turn your idea into a delightful visual story that holds viewers attention.

5). Past Clients & Testimonials

While you’re shopping around to hire an animation studio, see if they have experience creating animations in industries similar to yours. That’s usually a good litmus test to see if they have a track record of creating compelling stories for your particular industry. Also, be sure to check to see if they have customer testimonials or reviews you can reference.

6). Production Timeline

How much time do you have for your animators to make your animated video? Animations should never be rushed but it’s also important to balance quality work with impending deadlines. When you’re looking for animators to hire, ask how long it typically takes them to create a 1-2 minute animation. Freelancers are great for short animations with fast turnarounds. Larger more intricate videos need a fully staffed animation studio in order to produce content in a reasonable amount of time.

FYI – Video Igniter offers rush delivery animation to help speed up production for your deadline.

7). Audio

Often overlooked when finding an animator to hire: don’t forget to give a good listen to the audio quality of their videos. How does the voice recording sound – is it clear and does it draw you in? Does it sound like it was recorded with a low quality microphone? Additionally, how does the voiceover blend with the background music? Do the two support each other for a cohesive feeling in the video? Or is one (or both of them) sounding off and distracting from the video’s message?

 

8). Responsiveness, Communication & Collaboration

If you hire an animator online, are you ok collaborating across different timezones? Before you hire an animation studio, make sure that your ability to communicate and collaborate isn’t hindered by timezones or language barriers. Nobody wants to have to get on a call in the middle of the night to talk about production details.

Furthermore, if your project needs to be completed within a short timeframe, are your animators prepared to work late nights and weekends to meet the deadline? You get what you pay for, and low cost production options usually won’t work on the weekends. If your video needs to be made within 2-4 weeks, check to see if the animator you are hiring charges extra for rush delivery.

 

9). Post Production

What happens when your video is done? Does the animation studio just hand you the final draft of the animation and say, “good luck.” Or are they willing to stick around and provide additional support? Need help getting your video hosted online? Translated to other languages? What about making alternate intros and endings that could make more people want to watch your video or contact you when they’re done?

Why Do People Choose Video Igniter To Be Their Animation Studio?

Video Igniter Animation is an alternative to hiring an animation studio or a freelance animator. We offer the best of both worlds including best price for the level of production quality you get, fast turn arounds, great story telling, eye candy custom designed visuals and 24/7 global support. To get acquainted with us and discuss your animated video project team with us, click here to schedule a call, fill out a questionnaire, or get in touch with us at Start@VideoIgniter.com.