Animated Video – How To Make An Animated Video

Animated videos are a great way to entertain people and explain new information. We get a lot of questions about making animated infographic videos and wanted to create a resource with answers to all those questions.

Animated Video Demo Reels

Video Igniter can create any kind of 2D or 3D animated video for you. Check out the example videos below.

To start your project contact us, schedule a call with our production team or request access to our new pricing page.

High End Animated Video Demo Reel

Mid-Tier Animated Video Demo Reel With Animated Characters

Mid-Tier Animated Video Demo Reel Without Animated Characters

Lower-Cost Animated Video Demo Reel

 

Examples of Animated Videos

Are you looking for an example of a different style of animation? Send us a message to let us know what kind of animation example you want to see and we will follow up with relevant production samples.

 

Why should you create animated an animated for your business?

Animated videos help keep people’s attention when explaining new data and information. By using custom animated visuals to enhance what the narrator is explaining, the viewer has more context to be able to understand the data that is being presented to them. Sometimes, animation is the only way to visually articulate what needs to be explained. The added benefit of using animation is that people love watching animations. It helps keep the viewer’s attention focused while they learn. It improves their ability to comprehend what is being explained. And most importantly – it increases their ability to retain the information.

How to make an animated video

 

Script

The first step in creating an animated video is to create the script. This provides the outline and structure for the entire video project. As you write your script, include notes about what you want you want to show visually for each part of the animation.

Here are some resources to help you write the script for your animated video:

Examples Of Explainer Video Scripts + How To Write A Script

7 Tips to Supercharge Your Explainer Video Script Writing

Storyboard

Next, it’s time to create the storyboard. The storyboard is like the blueprint for your animation. It is a way to present your script along with notes for the illustrators and animators to know what they are supposed to create for each scene. In the diagram below, you can see what information needs to be included on each slide of a storyboard:

Free Download: Get our free storyboard creation template here.

Soundtrack

After your storyboard is approved, it’s time to research some soundtrack options. Your animation team will help pick out a few soundtracks that can be used in the scenes of your animation. If you can’t decide which soundtrack is your favorite, narrow it down to your top 2-3 options. Then, when the first draft of your animation is done, the production team can render out versions of your video with each soundtrack option so that you can feel how each one works within the context of your animated video.

If you plan to use your animated video in a paid media campaign (TV or Online) make sure you have purchased the broadcast rights to use the song in an ad campaign. Broadcast rights typically cost $199-$499 for stock music.

Want to look for your own soundtrack options? Check out sites like AudioJungle, PremiumBeat and Pond5.

VoiceOver

Now it’s time to procure the voiceover for your animated video. We recommend finding your top 2-3 candidates for each role in your animated video and hiring them to record an audition. Instead of paying them to record the full voiceover, just hire them to record the first 1-3 sentences of your script (some voiceover artists will produce this recording for free).

Give the auditions a review to decide which voice is your favorite. Then, hire the selected voiceover artist to record the full voiceover. When the first draft comes in, give it a thorough review to ensure everything is pronounced the way you want it to.

Before your voiceover artist begins recording, we recommend documenting your script to help them understand how you want them to record the voiceover. Include notes that tell them how to pronounce difficult words, what kind of energy/tone they should use and how they should modulate their inflection and speed throughout the recording.

You can find great voiceover artists through Voices123, VoiceBunny and Fiverr (for lower cost VO talent).

Illustrations

After your storyboard is approved, the illustration team for your animated video will develop concept art. That means they will review your brand guidelines and style references you started at the beginning of production and use that information to create a scene from your video in one or more unique visual styles.

You will get a chance to review the concept art and let your illustration team know what you like and dislike about each piece of concept art. Based on this feedback, the artists will refine their creation and develop a new style frame for you to review. Don’t be afraid to send more feedback to the team if you need to refine the styleframe farther. It’s very important that you are completely satisfied with the art direction in the style frame before your artists begin illustrating your video.

Once the styleframe is approved, the illustrators will create all of the art for your animated video based off of the approved artwork. It takes about one week to create all the art for a one minute, 2D animated video. Take your time and provide detailed feedback to the design team after you review all the art they created. They’ll make all the revisions and give you another chance to review and approve the art before it moves into production.

Animation

Now that everything is approved (script, storyboard, voiceover, soundtrack and illustrations) it’s time to animate your video! Animation takes about one week to animate each 60 seconds of footage. Multiple animators can work together to speed up production for longer animated videos.

When the first draft arrives, give it a through review with your in-house team and members of your target audience. Spend the time collecting and sharing the feedback with your animation team to ensure the final draft will resonate with your target audience.

We recommend providing feedback to your animation team using a format similar to this:

0:01-0:05: Speed up the appearance of the logo so it can be on screen longer.

1:32: Remove the green outline.

0:25, 0:47, & 2:12: Some sort of unintended glitch effect appears when the graph animates into view? Please investigate.

Sound Effects

After your animation is approved, the timing of all the scenes and sequences is finally locked in. Now, audio engineers can go in and add sound effects, textures and other noises to add more life to the animations and motion design in your video.

How to choose a producer to make your animated video?

Looking for an animated video producer but not sure where to start? There are many factors to consider when shopping around for an animation studio, a freelance video animator, or a production service like Video Igniter Animation including: pricing, visual style, storytelling, customer service, production timelines and more. Here are some resources to help you figure out the right production option for your animated video:

– 9 Things to Look For When Hiring An Animator

– Pros and Cons of Different Animation Styles

– What’s the difference between hiring a freelance animator vs an animation studio vs Video Igniter?

– Want to make your own animation? Learn about DIY options.

– What is Video Igniter Animation?

What are the different types of animated videos?

2D Animation Styles:

1). Flash / After Effects 2D animation
2). Motion Graphics
3). Hand Drawn Animation (aka Frame by Frame or Cel Animation)
4). Kinetic Typography

3D Animation Styles:

1). 3D Animation
2). Stop Motion

Deep Dive: Want to learn more about the different styles of animation? Check out this deep dive to learn the pros and cons of working with each style of animation.

What does it cost to make an animated video?

Animations range widely in price. Especially between 2D and 3D animation styles. 2D animated videos cost between $2,500-$25,000 per 60 seconds of animated content. Most animated content that’s made for the internet costs between $2,500-$7,500 per 60 seconds. 3D animated videos start at $5,000-$10,000 per 60 seconds but likely cost much more to produce. For context, Pixar’s animation films have budgets of +$150 million – that’s over $1 million dollars per 60 seconds of animation!

For more information on animated video production costs, get a quote or read our article about animated video production costs.

How long does it take to make an animated video?

Short 2D animations (30 seconds – 2 minutes) take 3-8 weeks to produce. Rush delivery is available if you need to guarantee the final draft is completed before a fast approaching deadline. 3D animated videos take at least twice as much time to create. 90 minute animated movies take years to get all the way through the production process.

If you plan on making a video longer than 2 minutes, schedule a call with our production team to discuss how long it will take to get your animated video produced.

Want to learn more about what’s involved at each stage of the animated video production process? Read our companion article that explains how long it takes to make an animated video.

What kinds of animated video creation software exist?

Now that you know what it takes to create an animated video, maybe you are are considering learning animation so you can make animated videos yourself. If so, here are a few services and programs that are used to make animations – ranging from easy to complicated to learn:

Easy to learn animated video creation software:

Online animated video creation software like Wideo, PowToon and Vyond can be learned in a few hours and cost substantially less than professional animation programs.  These easy animated video makers can be used to create simple animations using pre-created scenes, characters, objects, text and icons.

Pros: Low cost. Can learn how to use the program in a few hours.

Cons: You have to teach yourself how to use the program. The videos use pre-made stock visuals (characters, scenes, objects, etc) which means that your video won’t look completely original.

Advanced Animation Creation Software:

Adobe After Effects is the go-to animation program for many professional animators. The program enables an endless list of visual creative possibilities and integrates with the Adobe Cloud ecosystem (so it’s easy to work with Photoshop and Illustrator art).

Pros: You can make any kind of custom animated 2D video you can imagine.
Cons: Requires more time to learn and master the program.

Expert Animation Creation Software:

Cinema 4D is the industry leading program animators use to create custom 3D animations.

Pros: You can create any kind of 3D animated video you can imagine.

Cons: Takes longer to master and requires learning multiple skillsets (rigging, lighting, modeling, etc).

How long should my animated video be?

If your goal is to get awareness, target a length of 5-60 seconds. Most awareness videos are in the 5-30 second range. The purpose isn’t to tell people your whole story. It’s just to get them intrigued enough to want to learn more. In many cases, the shorter the better.

If your goal is to educate your leads and prospective clients, ideally people who have heard about you and want to learn more, aim for a length of 1-2 minutes for your animated video.

Longer videos are usually reserved for customer education and retention. Longer videos can be used to show how to use your product or service. They can include screencasts. It can also be longer feature-length content that would be of interest to your target market and subsequently could be used for gaining awareness with new potential customers as well as delighting your existing clients.

How to create animated video online free

Animated videos typically require budgets of at least a few thousand dollars to produce. There are a growing number of cheap ways to make animated videos – but they usually require a lot of your time to learn how to use the program and even more time to actually create the videos. There are now some new ways to make free animations. In recent months, Facebook has introduced Make-A-Video and Google researchers have introduced DreamFusion – a text to 3D animated video creation AI. These services can be used to make short clips with small pixel dimensions and a moderate amount of photo realism. While they’re still in their infancy, these new services are already generating impressive results.

 

How to create animated video from pictures

Another low cost way to make animated videos is to add motion to photos you already have. This is a great way to repurpose and extend the life of content you’ve previously created. The video below shows different ways that you can turn photos into short little animations.

 

Tips to keep your animated video production budget low

 

Create your script

Writing the script for your animated video can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars off the cost of your production budget. Freelance animators and animation studios are capable of helping you craft your script. However, as the originator of the idea for a video, the heart of the story is in your mind. You have the best chance of creating a first draft that will articulate the story you want to present. It doesn’t need to be perfect; providing the first draft of your script to your animation team can still be enough to help you save money on your production budget. Your animation producers can help you polish your first draft and make it production-ready.

Here are a few resources to help you create a great script:

Examples Of Explainer Video Scripts + How To Write A Script

7 Tips to Supercharge Your Explainer Video Script Writing

Create your storyboard

Creating the storyboard for your animated video is another way you can save hundreds or thousands of dollars off the cost of your video’s production budget. You create a storyboard even if you have no artistic ability.

All you need to do is brainstorm visuals to correspond with each line of your script and create instructions for the illustrators and animators so that they have a clear understanding of what you want them to create for each scene.

Free Download: Get our free storyboard creation template.

Deep Dive: Building a great storyboard for an animated explainer video.

Record the voiceover

English voiceovers tend to cost $10-$199 per 1-2 minutes of recorded audio. You can try sourcing low cost voiceover talent from Fiverr or VoiceBunny. You can also record the voiceover yourself for free! That’s right – you can record a professional sounding voiceover without having to buy any expensive equipment or software. Check out Episode 3 of The Video Igniter Show (at 1:31) to see how you can record the voiceover for your animated video for free.

Use stock assets

Not every visual for your animated video needs to be created from scratch. Using pre-created assets can help you keep your budget down because they usually cost less to buy/license than it would to create something comparable. Free (or low cost) icons, clip art, stock images, fonts, graphs and video clips are available on sites like Mixkit, TheNounProject, Google Font Library and Envato Elements.

Use free music

Soundtracks typically cost $10-$299 each. If you plan to promote your animation using paid media (TV and or Online), you may need to pay even more for the broadcast rights to use the soundtrack in paid promotional campaigns. On the flip side, there are a few great resources you can use for free soundtracks. The first is a site called Incompetech. Artist Kevin MacLeod provides his music for free – all you need to do is provide proper credit and attribution to him as the creator.

Another great option for free music is Facebook’s Sound Collection. There, you’ll find an even larger variety of musical options

What is the Video Igniter animated video creation platform?

Video Igniter offers animation production services online. Video Igniter modernizes the experience of creating a custom animated video to help you save on cost, and create custom content faster. We streamline the complex process of making a custom animated video and do all the work for you. All you need to do is tell us what you want us to create and then respond to the assets (script, storyboard, voiceover, soundtrack, art and animation) when the Video Igniter app notifies you it’s time to review part of the video we create for you.

If you’re looking for a website to make an animated video, Video Igniter is a new kind of custom animated video production service that enables you to create any kind of animated video you can imagine. Our talented staff collaborates behind the scenes to create custom 2D and 3D animated videos.

Hire Video Igniter to Create Your Animated Video

World class design talent at prices startups can afford.

We can make any kind of 2D or 3D animated video you can imagine. Check out our portfolio!

+20 reasons companies love hiring us to create animated videos.

Do you want to create an animated cryptocurrency video or an animated blockchain explainer video that explains how your technology works? We can help with that too.

Demo Reel

 

Animated Video Success Stories & Testimonials

“I run a video production company and outsource animation. The team at Video Igniter did a great job in taking the concept I very crudely drew out and made it into a beautiful animation. The review process was easy and their turnaround time was very quick. I’d def recommend them if you’re looking for an animation project.”

Pat Henderson – Founder, Path8 Productions

“Video Igniter offered us the critical combination of creative value, clear communication, and patience with stakeholder feedback. We ended up with truly high-quality design assets for our video series largely due to the extra level of commitment — and the right balance of efficiencies with flexibility in the process when called for.”

Larry Schlessinger – Sr. Creative Program Manager, Amazon Web Services

“Video Igniter came to us with a number of creative and engaging ideas and were able to create an exciting, impactful video in a short period of time. And the best part was that it cost much less than other options of similar quality. The video they made is a great marketing tool for us.”

Alex Raymond – Founder, Kapta Systems

“My whole family and everyone on Facebook thinks you are amazing. My whole office is freaking out.”

Patricia Shields – Real Estate Agent

“I am beyond satisfied with my experience with Video Igniter. The first drafts of the work were almost exactly what I had in my head when developing the concept. After that each step along the way was seamless until arriving at a perfect finished product. And all this at a tremendous value. Anyone who has considered creating a marketing video should check out Video Igniter.”

Anonymous Customer Feedback

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