Restrictions on social distancing will be commonplace for a while yet – and this will impact across businesses in how they protect staff, how they are run and how they will continue to work with external partners. So what if you’ve got a story to tell or a product to sell and you want to do it with video? How animation could keep your message flowing?
Like most businesses, filming at home with a basic camera has its limitations. Vlogs, community initiatives and live streaming educational videos are among the most commonly produced videos during the Covid-19 crisis. But if you’re yearning to roll out your message sooner through more professional means, animation might just be the answer. This is especially if you’re restricted by Lockdown rules (we’re not by the way, here’s how we’re safely operating during the pandemic).
People love watching animations. In fact one of my recent distractions was the show-reel for anime streaming service, Crunchyroll, that doubled its subscribers last year and is now one of the top 10 streaming companies in the US.
At Skylark, we love anime too but it’s just one of the many styles of animation we offer. But what style would be right for you?
How about employing an illustrator to create original characters for your brand? They could be 2d vector people with stick arms all the way to photo-real characters or even a train that animates in your logo. One Big Circle had a complex story to tell about how their automated intelligent video review works on trains and they needed it explained in under two minutes to their audience of train operating companies. Here’s what we came up with:
One Big Circle
Or if you want something a bit more minimal, how about this example for Brunel Insurance where we bring to life the two circles that make up their logo to tell the story of investment portfolios. I know, it doesn’t sound possible, but one you’ve got the visual analogy going I hope you’ll agree that the results are very pleasing and will resonate with their sophisticated, high-net-worth audience.
Brunel Insurance
Animated explainers make up the bulk of our work. The compelling thing about this style is the way that text is given life which makes reading it so much more fun. Then when you add in animations of the icons you’ve used on your website you’ve got a winning formula for a social media campaign (see recruitment firm identifi’s social ad).
But for products or services with more complex ideas, animation has always been ingenious in that it takes viewers to the most abstract and far-reaching places. When Carbon Gold tasked us to create an explainer to inform viewers on its product – a biochar soil improver – there was only one way to go. Underground. Take a look for yourselves:
Carbon Gold
When you’re making an animation you start with a blank canvas which can be quite daunting. There’s no location footage to fill the frame. But it’ a challenge we love. Give us a call and we can help you to decide on the style to suit your brand and your budget whether it’s a social media campaign or a TV ad.
Jo Haywood
Jo is Managing Director at Skylark Media. She founded the business in 2005 after carving out a career making climate change documentaries for the BBC and Discovery Channel. She is an environmental campaigner and avid tree-planter.