Wondering how all this works? You should find most of the answers here – What I’ll need from you, Frequently Asked Questions, and the Timeline for making a video.

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?

Not currently, no. At the time of writing (May 2023), I’ve managed to avoid them as creating visuals is enjoyable part of the process for me. There may come a time when I need to use some, but I’m holding out for now.

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.