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Animation as a Process and Pack of Services Script Development Creating a Storyboard Creating a Style Frame Drawing Illustrations Animation Voice-over Recording Selection and Purchase of Licensed Music Sound Design Elements that Will Increase Costs Explainer Videos Simplified9 min read
Explainer videos can drastically elevate your visitation numbers. The more people you have coming to your website, the more sales, and data you’re collecting. Using highly engaging and entertaining explainer videos helps by immediately grabbing the attention of each visitor. This encourages them to further explore your website or share your video across other media platforms expanding on your organic reach.
The explainer video price can be a bit intimidating for those who do not have experience in this arena or are looking to build their first video. High-quality video production can range anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to well over $5,000. You can save some money if you have in-house designers or writers. You should also be aware that the longer the video, the higher the general cost. There is a lot to consider in the animation process, so here is a basic overview to help you get started.
Animation as a Process and Pack of Services
Script Development
Everything in video production begins with a well-thought-out script to guide the messaging. The whole point is to create a universal message that your audience will find particularly engaging. This skeletal system helps you move through all the essential elements you are trying to convey. Getting a professional to develop a strong script really helps set the foundation of your project.
Explainer video costs for a reputable script development writer tend to average $100 – $500.
Creating a Storyboard
Once you have the outline script of your video, you’re going to need to storyboard the flow of action. Everyone from video game producers to big animation studios like Pixar goes through the storyboarding process. This is the visual representation of a film sequence that breaks down each action point into individual panels.
To put it simply, it is the graphical representation of the narrative you’re building. The animated video price for a high-quality storyboard session ranges from $50 – $250.
Creating a Style Frame
Now that you have a formal storyline with some idea on the look and style of what you’re hoping to achieve, it’s time to add the style frames. This is when the really creative artists come out to play.
During a style frame session, you’ll get a better idea of what your finished video will look like. These are full-color frames that are meant to visualize the depth, style, and artistic direction of each storyboard element. The infographic video cost for a style frame session averages $100 – $200.
Drawing Illustrations
When it’s time to actually draw the complete content of your animation, you need an illustrator. Their job is to demonstrate the concept of space, how objects and action will move across the end video, and to give you a broader sense of character modeling. It really helps to have an illustrator or sketch artist that can also do some exciting calligraphy. This adds a nice extra touch to your end video. The average animated video cost for an illustration session is $300 – $1,000.
Animation
We’ve done all the prep work, and now it is time to actually put it all together into an animation. This will typically involve digital artists that integrate all your illustrations, colors, and scripts into one vibrant end product. This tends to be where the real money is spent because of the skill and talent required to nail the final visual video down well.
Each animator has their own style and often offers suggestions like an art director would for a major marketing firm. Your explainer video price for an average animation session should range between $400 – $1,000.
Voice-over Recording
This is one of the more entertaining parts of the animated video process. You can either hire out a professional voice artist to speak, sing, or dictate your script remotely or have them visit your in-house studio.
If you can, try to watch a recording or live session of their work. These voice actors really know their profession and offer some of the best facial expressions in the film industry. There have been many instances where a quality voice actor actually informs the animator and art style of a film. The average animated video cost for a voice-over recording is $100 – $300.
Selection and Purchase of Licensed Music
Music is crucial to a quality explainer video. You don’t want something that will shock your audience into immediately turning off their speakers or throwing out their EarPods, but you do want them to listen attentively to your messaging.
Background music should enhance the ambiance and theme of your video presentation. It really helps to hire a professional video production company for this stage as securing those rights can take some real time-consuming effort. The explainer video price of securing license music will be on average $50 – $200.
Sound Design
This is the final touch for your video that many people overlook. Think about how you want to hear the sound of boots crunching soft snow as the character walks across a frozen tundra or the audience clapping after a stage show. You need these soundscapes to really bring home the immersive and engaging video quality for your audience. This is another enjoyable stage to watch live if you get the chance.
Don’t be surprised if your sound designer also provides the mixing service. It is common for studios to wrap both design and mixing into one feature where the engineer balances out the entire audio experience for the viewer. The Infographic video cost on average for sound design is $50 – $150.
Elements that Will Increase Costs
Your explainer video costs are primarily dependent on how intricate of a visual journey you are taking. If this is a short, 30 seconds video with little complexity, you can expect to be on the low end of the price schedule. On the other hand, if you create a short film to compete in marketing awards, you can expect a bit higher price tag.
You must consider the length of the video and the complication of the animation. The longer and more complicated you make the video, the higher the costs will be in the end. That is why so many explainer videos tend to have similar character designs and simple elements. You also need to consider the speed of turnaround. If you want something done in 1-3 days, you’re going to be paying a premium. If you work within the timelines of a production company, you’ll probably pay less.
The last thing to consider is design style. If you hire a specific artist for their style and representation, you are probably going to pay more compared to using stock images or common elements.
Explainer Videos Simplified
To really maximize your costs, you should check out the videos available on our website. We have a wide variety of customizable videos to place on your website to increase engagement and really build excitement for your brand, product, or service. You can also learn more about the latest news and trends in video production on our blog.