Wondering how all this works? You should find most of the answers on this page:
What I’ll need from you
I’ll ask you a few questions about your needs and preferences before we get started. Please note that most of these are optional – I’ve worked with clients who know exactly what they want to see onscreen, and others who simply say ‘make us a video about [X]’ – either way, I’ll make sure you’re happy with the final result.
- The script – will you provide this, or will I write it?
- Style – 2D or 3D? Playful or serious? Realistic or stylised? Do you have some references for a style you like, either from my work or elsewhere?
- Format – do you need the end result in widescreen, square, or tall? If you need several formats – say, for YouTube (HD wide) and Instagram stories (vertical) – I’ll need to know early on, and it’ll take a little more time.
- Colours / fonts – if you have a preference (or a style guide for the project), I’m happy to work with what you need; otherwise, I’ll choose something that works for the visuals.
- Music – what style of music would you prefer? Even with a voiceover (see below), it’s good to have some background music.
- Deadline – when do you need the final video? Is there any flexibility in this deadline?
- Voiceover or text onscreen – I’ll work with your preference, and can find voiceover actors if necessary. If someone on your team wants to produce the voiceover, I can give some recording tips if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a video cost?
This depends on a lot of things – mostly the length and the complexity of the style. I’ll normally ask you for a range of budget and then give you some options based on this.
How long does it take to make a video?
Motion graphics takes time – there’s no magic ‘make me an animation about [X]’ button, despite all the advances in AI (even those AI trailers you might have seen take serious work to produce). To give you an idea, an average is that a minute of animation takes a week to 10 days, though this (hopefully) doesn’t include planning, scripting etc. If you come to me with a last minute project, I’ll always be able to produce something, but the more time I have, the better our animation will be.
What will you deliver?
Unless otherwise stated, at the end of the project I’ll send you:
- High quality video files, in a format of your choice (usually .mp4 or .mov)
- Music
- Sound effects (when needed)
- Subtitles – both embedded and as a separate file, if needed
How do you send the files?
I use a secure online storage cloud service called Mega to deliver files (like Dropbox, but with stronger encryption), which will give you a folder that can be accessed by as many people as you choose.
Do you use AI tools to make videos?
No, all of my work is ‘hand-animated’ in Blender. This is partly because I think AI slop is contributing to ruining the internet and destroying our creativity, but mostly because I like making stuff. There are certainly times when I feel like throwing my computer into a volcano and going to live in the woods, but for the most part it’s an enjoyable process.
For a highly opinionated (and sweary) comic that includes a lot of how I feel about this topic, see a cartoonist’s review of AI art by The Oatmeal.
What’s the timeline for making a video?
Below are the usual steps for making a video – note that most of these will usually require feedback from you / your team, so on rush jobs it’s necessary to have a quick feedback cycle.
- Description of visuals in script > feedback
- Once we have a script, I’ll divide it into scenes, add (written) visual ideas to a Google document, then send it to you for feedback
- Send trial still frames > feedback
- At this stage I create one or two frames for each scene and add them to a shared folder for review
- Animatic > feedback
- An animatic is a series of still frames with music / voiceover; please note there’s little or no animation at this stage – it’s purely to test the timing of each scene.
- Important: this is the time to suggest major changes (to the order of scenes or the timing), as it’s much more difficult to change once it’s animated
- Animated draft > feedback
- I’ll then animate the scenes and send it across to you for review
- Revisions > feedback
- I don’t limit the number of revisions, but please note that major changes should be suggested earlier
- Final draft
If you’ve any other questions, feel free to get in touch.