What High-End Brands Should Look for in an Animation Video Partner
This article is intended for brand marketers who are curious in the inner working of an animation studio or even a freelancer that you might be hiring in helping out your campaign. It is a little bit of a geeky read, going down into the creative and artistic influence of a studio or production house.
Knowing your influences
When selecting an animation studio partner, it’s crucial to understand their influences and how these shape their work. A studio that knows itself and its influences can offer a unique, consistent voice. One of the quickest ways to do it is to check out their team profile aside from viewing portfolio. Look at how they write or post (if any) on their social media page or press appearances. Look beyond just the work but the things that they talk about and post as these will be the influence in how they work.
Experiment with Different Tools and Methods
First and foremost, consider developing an angle or story that you'd like to tell in the animation before even exploring tools or a certain style. High-end brand marketers should look for animation studios that are versatile and open to experimenting with various tools and methods. Before getting into tactical and committing into a particular style, here are some considerations:
The emotions and feelings they want to evoke through their animation.
The key message they aim to convey through visual storytelling.
The timeline and budget constraints (recognizing that some styles, like 3D animation, are more resource-intensive).
The above would serve as anchor to make the choice of style to be much more intentional and meaningful.
A quality animation is not restricted to a particular style. It shows through the intention of the story that's being communicated.
A studio that anchors its choice of style in intentional and meaningful storytelling will produce high-quality animations that resonate deeply with your target audience.
Signature Elements - are there such things?
While signature elements can help a studio stand out, they shouldn't be restrictive. A versatile studio can pivot between styles while retaining the essence of what makes their work unique. For instance, if a studio is known for creating 3D cute characters, they might apply the snappy, slapstick qualities of those characters to kinetic typography or motion graphics. This flexibility ensures they can meet various business and marketing needs while maintaining a cohesive creative voice.
Portfolio is not everything
Showing you too many things does not mean the studio can do the work well. A well-curated portfolio can demonstrate its capabilities to adapt across different industries and styles. However, you should look for studios that are able to understand your intention in hiring them. Pay attention in how they understand your needs and overview from the first meeting.
While this might be an unpopular opinion, great studios will have some good, active listeners when they meet their prospective clients. They do not immediately showcase their capabilities and work, but they take the time to really ask you high-level questions pertaining your business and how your brand communicates. They can even be honest and say no if you are not a good fit and they go to the extent of referring to their suitable partners in their network.
Studio’s Network and creatives roster
One key indicator of a valuable studio or video production partner is their ability to say “no we do not do this, but we will be able to help you by either working together with our partners/freelance designer and artist rosters.” And they will be transparent from the start, stating it clearly on how they can help you. They would rather collaborate with other specialized studios or production house to ensure that your campaign is being handled by the right experts. This could lead to a much more effective outcome.
These are some of the key indicators for a studio that could journey with you. By looking out a little deeper into their artistic and creative influence, you can have a fruitful partnership that results in the animation that not only looks great, but also on-brand, and speaks uniquely about your brand and vision.