Creating video content for your business can be a great way to showcase your brand and reach your target audience. When it comes to video production, animation is a popular choice due to its creative flexibility and ability to convey complex ideas. However, with so many animation studios available, it can be challenging to evaluate what you should be paying. In this blog post, we’ll provide a primer to help you get started.
Assess Your Needs
The first step in determining the cost of your animation project is to assess your needs. Do you have an internal creative team that can develop a style guide and write the script, or do you need a partner to handle the entire project? What type of animation do you want? Do you need support with distribution? These are all factors that can affect the cost of your project.
Budgeting
Most animation companies price their services per minute of video content. To simplify things, we’ll break down the cost into three categories: Simple, Custom, and Advanced.
Simple Production
If you’re looking for basic animated elements such as moving words, shapes, or images across the screen, you can expect to pay between $2k-$5k per minute. This will likely include simple flat graphics with limited color variation. You will need to have a well-developed concept and script to share with the artist ahead of time.
Custom Production
For a custom production, you can expect to pay between $5K-$10K per minute. This category will meet the majority of businesses’ needs. You should get a studio that can develop a script and storyboard from a standard creative brief. This should have enough variation in animation that the studio can match your unique branding and have some character animation. You may be able to get support on your distribution plan as well.
Advanced Production
Advanced production is a fit for a showcase animation that may have 3D elements with advanced shadows and transitions. For advanced production, you should get full creative concepts, scripting, and production. This may be produced for a specific channel or advertising opportunity. You can expect to pay $10K+ per minute for high production.
Value Adds
When evaluating an animation studio, it’s important to make sure you know all of the value adds they bring to the partnership. You can’t assume each studio will offer all of these benefits based on price point alone. Consider whether the studio has experience in digital marketing and can guide you on how to serve your content for the best results, and whether they can deliver versions optimized for various channels.
Animation is a great choice for video content creation due to its flexibility and creative control. When evaluating animation studios, assess your needs and budget accordingly. Remember to look for value adds beyond the price point alone to ensure that you’re getting the best return on your investment.
Get in touch with Flikli to learn more about which style is right for you.