Case study: Using Video To Introduce Adaptive Sports to PE Teachers and Sixth Grade Students

Case study: Using Video To Introduce Adaptive Sports to PE Teachers and Sixth Grade Students

by | May 17, 2022 | Animation Video

Physical activity is vital to living a rich, fulfilled life. The Michigan Adaptive Sports and Inclusive Recreation Initiative (ASIRI) aims to support the wellness and quality of life of people with disabilities – and creative inclusive opportunities for people with and without disabilities to come together. One channel for doing this is by embedding adaptive sports and inclusive recreation into the physical education curriculum of Michigan public schools. See in Colors worked with ASIRI to create a motion graphics video to bring awareness about adaptive sports to students, PE teachers and coaches. 

The Goal: Raising Awareness About Adaptive Sports

Sport is for everyone. As the force behind the Michigan Adaptive Sports and Inclusive Recreation Initiative, the University of Michigan Adaptive Sports & Fitness department strives to improve awareness about adaptive sports and inclusive recreation in Michigan public schools. 

The University of Michigan previously worked with See in Colors on an animated video overview of the University’s services for students with disabilities. Aware of our skills in this area, they approached us about developing a video to introduce adaptive sports to physical education teachers and sixth-grade students in a fun, informative way – and to showcase how adaptive sports support the inclusion of all people.  

The Solution: A Vibrant Motion Graphics Video

After a discovery session with the client and research into the Michigan physical education curriculum, we decided that a motion graphics video would best meet the goals for the project. 

The client had a basic script written, so we performed a script audit to confirm the script would fall within the allotted time frame, that it would resonate with the target audience, and that any visual ideas and key themes and topics could be powerfully conveyed through the chosen medium. For example, the University of Michigan Adaptive Sports & Fitness department offers ways to participate in adaptive sports including Wheelchair Tennis, Wheelchair Basketball, Track and Field, and Para-Equestrian, so we wanted to touch on these points. 

After the script review, our animation team created a key visual with initial character design to help the client visualize the overall style and characters of the storyboard. Once this was approved, we moved forward with the animation – including art, voiceover, and closed captioning. The final product, which adheres to all web accessibility recommendations, was pushed live to YouTube and the University of Michigan Adaptive Sports & Fitness social media channels to ensure wide-ranging access. 

Our services included:

  • Script Audit
  • Character Design 
  • Key Visual 
  • Storyboard 
  • Voiceover
  • Closed Captioning 
  • Animation

The Outcome: Increased Engagement and Awareness

Premiering in February 2022, The Adaptive Sports and Inclusive Recreation Initiative Video has reached hundreds of classrooms and thousands of students. The video is also freely available online and through the University of Michigan website to ensure that its reach is as broad as possible, and can be shared by educators and the public alike under a Creative Commons license.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with reports of increased awareness of and interest in adaptive sports and the opportunities it provides, as well as interest in engaging with adaptive sports programs.  

 

Final Animation:

How To Pick The Right Animation Video Style

How To Pick The Right Animation Video Style

by | Apr 25, 2022 | Animation Video, Visual Thinking

Hands down, video ranks pretty high when it comes to communication. Adding animation video kicks things up a notch when you need a powerful way to get a point across quickly and succinctly. Animation videos support comprehension and retention – and are increasingly a preferred way for people to consume information. In the corporate world, animation videos in particular are a winning choice for sharing data, educating an audience, or building a brand. Clear, effective, easy to align with your brand style, they have a long shelf life, and are primed for internal or external sharing. But not all animation videos are alike. Each has a different look and purpose, so it pays to be strategic when deciding on your animation video type.  

Here are the 3 main animation video styles our clients choose.

2D Animation Videos

2D (two-dimensional) videos feature “flat” animated content. These sorts of videos usually feature characters and voiceover, and are generally used for storytelling purposes. The style and format can vary widely depending on your brand and niche, from loose hand-sketched formats designed to communicate transparency through to the sophisticated, friendly design used by tech start-ups. 2D animation use cases include:

  • Corporate storytelling
  • Brand or product ads
  • Onboarding videos
  • Educational videos

Motion Graphic Animation Videos

Motion graphic animation videos bring ideas, processes, and text to life. This style of video adds motion to things that are usually static, such as charts, graphs, flowcharts or logos – you can think of them like an infographic, but animated. Motion graphics are a great way to communicate complex ideas in a step-by-step, visually pleasing manner. Additionally, motion graphics are effective in situations where the focus is on getting across an idea or process, not a story, and they easily incorporate existing brand assets and styles. Use cases include:

  • Explainer videos
  • Product or service information
  • Presentations 
  • Corporate awareness

Here’s a little factoid. Animated or “kinetic” typography videos are a subset of motion graphic videos, and feature only moving text combined with a voiceover. 

Whiteboard Animation Videos

Whiteboard animation videos are a stylized video type designed to look hand-drawn, typically with a white background. These animations are sometimes also known as whiteboard explainer or sketch animation videos. Whiteboard animation videos have a clean and simple look with an “education” vibe to them. They’re popular in the following scenarios:

  • Brand education videos
  • Selling a product or service
  • Communicating complex ideas or data

 

Whiteboard animation videos are effective and efficient – and can deliver great results.

Not Sure Which Animation Video Type to Choose? Talk to Us.

If your organization is developing an animation video but needs guidance on which style of video to choose, and how to leverage it for best results, talk to the team at See in Colors. We can walk you through the selection process, help you develop a winning script, and even assist with production and voice talent. For more information, contact us.

Finalizing Finishing Touches: What to Keep in Mind When Selecting Voiceover Talent and Music for Your Animation Video

Finalizing Finishing Touches: What to Keep in Mind When Selecting Voiceover Talent and Music for Your Animation Video

by | Mar 14, 2022 | Animation Video, Business, Technology

You’ve dialed in your script, storyboarding and even animation. Now all that’s left is making decisions regarding the audio components to drive your message home. We say “all” like it’s a small thing, but audio is make or break when it comes to your animated video. It sets the tone, shapes expectations, and aligns your brand with certain markets and audiences. Here’s what to think about when choosing your voiceover talent and music. 

Defining Your Music Selection

Music is key for evoking a certain mood in your audience. The type of music that’s ideal for your animated video will depend on the purpose and tone of your video – and also your overall brand. But in general:

  • Informative video: use a light instrumental track with a slower, quieter beat. 
  • Advertising video: use an upbeat and motivating instrumental track or pop song (although beware of licensing fees)

Consider your audience when choosing your background and foreground music selections. Think about the demographics of your audience and their interests. Also be aware of how your music selection will work with or against your voiceover or animation – you generally don’t want anything too loud, disruptive, or distracting that takes away from your message rather than enhancing it. Typically, we recommend avoiding music with vocals, a driving beat, or prominent instrumental solos. 

One thing to take note of is the cost of licensing well-known songs. These can be extremely expensive and may require you to pay royalties. Unless your budget allows for it, consider the many low-cost and royalty-free music options available instead. 

A Voiceover Artist vs. DIY Voiceover

Voiceover refers to the off-camera voice that explains what’s happening in your animated video. Your choice of voiceover artist is critical to the overall experience of your video, helping to convey tone, expertise, brand alignment and audience alignment. 

A great voiceover is clear, well-paced, engaging, and natural, and aims to evoke a particular feeling in an audience. It’s a form of acting, and there’s a real skill to getting it right. Often, we recommend professional voiceover because they are great in cases where:

  • You need someone who reflects the gender or background of your audience.
  • You need an authoritative tone and delivery.
  • You need to create a certain complex emotion in your audience. 
  • You lack the professional tools and setting to create a high-quality voiceover. 

While it’s tempting to take on the voiceover role yourself or to assign it to someone on your team, this isn’t always the best choice. However, in some cases DIY voiceover can work well. Examples include:

  • If you are the known face of your brand or organization.
  • If you want to create a welcoming, intimate experience.

If you do choose to do your own voiceover, read slowly and clearly, with appropriate tone variation, and ensure that you use a professional recording set-up.

Our Voiceover Artist Samples

See in Colors has worked with a variety of voiceover talent, and we’re happy to point you in the direction of an experienced professional to help you achieve the outcome you’re seeking for your animated video. You can listen to this sample of a voice-over, and if you need help finding the perfect voice-over artist for your animation project, contact us.

So whether you’re knee-deep in animation video production or just starting to plan your project and need help putting all the pieces together, talk to us! We can ensure that your choices help create the mood and brand alignment you’re looking for. Request free quote here. 

3 Things to Keep in Mind When Creating a Storyboard for your Animation Video

3 Things to Keep in Mind When Creating a Storyboard for your Animation Video

by | Mar 8, 2022 | Animation Video, Business, Uncategorized

You’ve heard of storyboarding before – it’s something TV and film writers do when mapping out their project. But even the shortest video project can benefit from storyboarding. Storyboarding helps you dial in your script, maximize visual and animation elements, and ensure that your production team has the information they need to deliver an exceptional product.

Here’s what to know about storyboarding.   

1. A Storyboard is a Map

A storyboard is a visual outline of your script. It outlines your proposed video scene by scene, or in this case, drawing-by-drawing, including notes such as visual elements, special effects, transitions, voiceover and music additions. A storyboard helps you explain your idea to your stakeholders or production team so that others can understand your goals, vision, and intended narrative flow before beginning production.

A storyboard might look rough, but that’s on purpose. It’s not meant to be a polished final draft: it’s there to help you visualize and validate your idea, confirm whether your script works, and to see if there are any gaps, inconsistencies or tangents. It’s also an opportunity for your team to identify a production direction and flag any elements that might result in longer timelines or greater expenses. 

Once your storyboard has been approved, your animation artists and production team can refer to it often – ensuring that your final product is aligned with your vision.

2. A Storyboard Helps You Tell a Story

A storyboard is a linear, visual interpretation of your animation video script that breaks down your story into bite-sized chunks. A good storyboard is one that tells a good story – but also tells it in a way that gets across the information or emotion that’s at the heart of your idea in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

Remember, your animation video is probably about 90 seconds long, so every drawing, line, and transition matters. Storyboarding helps you zoom out from your script and see it from a fresh perspective without distractions, while also giving you opportunities to ensure that you’re leveraging the visual format to the max. Because storyboards use a thumbnail-style visual approach, you can easily add, remove or move panels around to try out different ways of communicating your story. Unlike video editing, drafting, and redrafting a storyboard is simple – so keep working until you have the perfect basis for your animated video. That’s where we come in. Our specialty is helping you organize the storyboard and align the visual elements with the message you’re trying to share effectively. We serve as experts who specialize in seeing the big picture and making it happen. We did that within a few of our recent projects like the one below.

3. A Storyboard Isn’t Optional!

We understand the instinct to send your script straight to production, bypassing the storyboarding step. Your script is clear, and you’ve communicated your ideas to your production team, right? But adapting a text-based script into a video animation is an act of translation, and things do get lost in translation. A storyboard is a failsafe that not only ensures that you’re telling your story in the best possible way, but that your production company knows exactly what’s expected of them. It takes the guesswork out of the creative process. 

Sure, creating a storyboard might take a little extra time upfront, but it’s time well spent. Without this critical visual roadmap, it’s easy for everyone to get lost in the weeds – and getting back on track can be time-consuming and costly. If your creative or production team wants to move ahead without a storyboard, be sure to hit the brakes, and introduce them to this concept first! It will save you a ton of time, headaches, and resources. 

At See in Colors, we consult with clients throughout the animation video process including  the storyboarding stage. We’ll make sure that you’re getting the most of your visual medium, while also effectively communicating your story and message. 

Ready to storyboard your project? Talk to See in Colors to ensure that your video animation lands with impact.

Why The Script Will Make or Break Your Video Project

Why The Script Will Make or Break Your Video Project

by | Feb 17, 2022 | Animation Video, Business

Your script is the backbone of your animation video. A great script gets your point across in a clear, focused, engaging way. It resonates with your audience, communicates a concept or narrative, and makes your message compelling. 

Here’s what to know about creating a winning video script.

1. Know What Your Goal Is

Before you start writing, define your brief and what success looks like. Figure out what the purpose of your script is, and what channels and formats it’ll be distributed across. As you draft, refine, and revise your script, keep referring back to your brief to make sure that you’re on target. It’s easy for a project to evolve creatively and end up straying from the brief! When we review your script, the team at See In Colors will confirm with you any goals or objectives and make suggestions if needed.  

2. Know Who You’re Talking To

Knowing your audience is #1. Who are they, what do they want, and what do they need to know? This will help you figure out what kind of background information you need to share, how in-depth you need to go, and what kind of tone is appropriate. An animation video on PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for medical safety will be presented very differently from a corporate anniversary timeline video. Make sure your audience is defined and that you’re communicating effectively to ensure the message lands. 

3. Tell a Good Story

Storytelling is critical to your animated video’s success. Think about the information or message that you’re trying to convey, then step up your game by transforming it into a story. Be authentic and human, use anecdotes and observations to highlight points, problems and solutions. Consider traditional story arcs and see how you can align your script with these. Great storytelling will make for a more engaging script – and help build empathy with your audience. 

4. Shorter is Sweeter

We live in a world of highly abridged attention spans. The sweet spot for a video is about 90 seconds, which translates to about 220 spoken words. Cutting your script too short risks skipping over critical information, while running long means that people are likely to tune out. If your script is 500 words long (or more!), think about what can be cut or explained in a more efficient way.. If length is an issue, See In Colors can help you with some creative solutions.

5. Read it Aloud First

Something may sound good on paper but not necessarily flow when read aloud. Make note of things like sentences that are too long, the use of confusing acronyms, stilted and overly formal language, or words or phrases that make you stumble. You can use the “read aloud” feature in MS Word and Google Docs  so your script can be read to you. It’s a quick and easy way to catch awkward sections that you can rework or remove. Read over your whole script every time you make a change to make sure that it still flows!

6. Add a Call to Action

You’ve spent ninety seconds with someone hanging on your every word. You went to all that effort because you want them to do something – not just say “that’s nice” and then click away. Always add a call to action (CTA) that reflects what you want them to do next. Do you want the viewer to sign up for something, share feedback, or adopt a new business practice? Let them know in a quick, clear manner. Our team will always check to confirm that your script has a CTA, and help you define one if not.

If you’re about to embark upon an animation video project and want to make sure that your script is on point, book a consultation with See In Colors. We’ll help you take your script – and your video – to the next level. 

Here’s what to know about creating a winning video script.

5 Things You Need To Know When Embarking On An Animation Video Project

5 Things You Need To Know When Embarking On An Animation Video Project

by | Feb 5, 2022 | Animation Video, Business, Leadership, Technology, Visual Thinking

 

Animation video is a powerful way to share information, tell stories, and boost learning. Whether your goal is to explain a product or service, or to make information stick for training and development, video elevates your communication by making it possible to break down complex ideas and processes while driving engagement and focus.

 

But video can also be expensive and time-consuming – with a steep learning curve. Before you embark upon your first video project, here’s what you should know.

1. The script can make or break you.

Ever cringe your way through a bad movie? The fault probably isn’t with the acting or the special effects. No amount of flashy camerawork or fancy editing can make a great script shine. Perfect your script before you start animation and you’ll save yourself a world of pain (and money). Know who your target audience is, what you’re trying to communicate, and what your call to action (CTA) is. Your CTA creates conversions, so make sure it’s tight, clear and actionable. And don’t forget to keep your script on point: about 90 seconds (220 spoken words) is the sweet spot.

2. Storyboarding brings the pieces together.

Storyboarding is a way to visually outline the information you’ll be presenting. Use it to create a timeline, identify key scenes and speakers, decide what detail needs to be added to each scene, and figure out your transitions. This is a huge but necessary step – so don’t skip it!  Storyboarding will help you hone in on your budget, actors, style, and timeframe. At See In Colors we often consult with clients at this stage to make sure that they’re making powerful use of their visual medium – and that their story is being clearly and effectively communicated.

3. Quality audio garners the right attention.

Music, sound effects, and voiceover delivery are the key things to think about when it comes to your video’s audio. Music sets the tone for your video and fosters certain emotions and experiences in your audience, from the uplifting to the serious to the motivational. Stock music can be affordably sourced through royalty-free databases, but costs add up quickly if you want to license a well-known song. Another thing to think about is who will do your voiceover – someone in-house or a professional? Your choice will influence the mood, style and reception of your video. If you decide to opt for a professional, See In Colors can point you to a great portfolio of proven voiceover artists to convey the tone you desire.

4. Animation tells a thousand words.

Today, many corporate videos lean heavily on animation. Motion graphics (animated illustrated footage), closed captions or dynamic sketch notes are all powerful options depending on what you’re trying to communicate. Motion graphics are visual aids that are great for breaking down facts and data – such as when explaining stats, processes or procedures. In contrast, whiteboard animation can help get a point across while also telling a story. See In Colors can help you decide which is right for your video, and walk you through stylistic options that will resonate with your branding.

5. Good preparation means a killer final delivery.

The more work you put in up front, the less reworking you’ll have to do later. If you’re new to video projects, talk to the team at See In Colors to make sure you’re checking every box on the video project to-do list. Making the right strategic decisions early on will reduce time and resources spent editing, rewriting, and redesigning your video.

Ready to press play on a video project? Talk to See In Colors to ensure your project moves forward seamlessly – and with the impact it deserves.