Why use animation?

If you are working on a campaign that includes any kind of video content, ask yourself the following questions before you begin:

  • Would your topic be appropriate to talk about over food?
  • Would your topic cause people to laugh due to a lack of maturity?
  • Is your topic a modern taboo that causes people to feel anxious talking about it?
  • Does your topic call for a range of identities to be included?

If your answer is yes to any of these questions then it might be best to start thinking about utilising animation. In our opinion, there are four reasons why animation is perfect to tackle the tough topics.

Reason 1 - Communicating the hard stuff

Animation removes the human element which in turns removes the potential hilarious, awkward, grotesque or taboo nature of the subject.

Think about how often gory and inappropriate adult animation shows can be. If they made a live-action remake of Family Guy, it would be cancelled faster than you can say “Rated 18”.

Reason 2 - Increasing campaign awareness

The goal of a campaign video is to gain exposure for the campaign. However, if a live-action STI video comes up during a meal, it will likely be quickly turned off. Similarly, if a graphic road safety video is shown to young children, it will probably lead to more distress than understanding.

Animation has the ability to communicate subjects effectively that would otherwise be too tricky to communicate. It also has the ability to represent a huge diversity of job roles, nationalities, genders etc. without the need of going on a mass hiring spree.

Reason 3 - Reaching the right people

We’ve been working on the #JustTalk campaign for Hertfordshire County Council, producing an annual animation film designed by the winner of a competition open to young people across the county.

These animations are incredible because they address mental health among young people. Now, imagine a young child browsing social media or seeing the film in a classroom. Are they more likely to stop and watch a live-action video or a cartoon-style animation? The answer is most likely the cartoon, as they associate cartoons with enjoyment.

Reason 4 – A logistical heaven in comparison

From a logistical standpoint, addressing 'tough issues' through video can be challenging, especially when aiming to represent a diverse range of people. Tracking down all the participants for a live-action film can be daunting.

In contrast, animation only requires background knowledge, an artist, and an animator to incorporate a new character. While it may sound straightforward, compared to the complexities of live filming, it truly is!

How do I get started on getting an animation?

It’s so simple. The only bits of information we need to start the process are your goal, your audience, and your method of delivery.

From there we can start bouncing ideas around and once we've got one nailed down, get right down into pre-production!

But isn’t animation expensive?

It can be very easy to get carried away with the animation ideas. Why? Because you’re not bound down by real life restrictions. If you want aliens dancing on an Egyptian pyramid – sure why not. But you’ll need to make a miracle happen if you want to recreate that in a live film scenario.

It’s in this case that animation can get very expensive. But we’ve been creating films for a while now and here are the 3 golden rules we swear by:

1. Never waste a second of screen time

2. Make sure every scene and line progress towards the animations objectives

3. Prioritise the message over fancy aesthetics

If everyone who is part of the project keeps these rules in mind, then the end product will be focused, concise and within budget.