Video Production vs Animation for Businesses
The Big Picture Benefits of Each
At Kohlitz Animation & Video Production, we offer two major services and you shouldn’t have to guess hard, it’s right there in the name – animation and video production. But how do these two differ, and more importantly which might be better for you project?
Video production is the use of camera, lights and audio, to capture footage of live action. Animation is the manipulation of graphics or still images so as to create the illusion of motion. Most people are familiar with the animation of old-style Disney movies that were drawn frame by frame, otherwise known as cell-animation. Another familiar form of animation is stop-motion animation. Computers today, have further advanced the style and methods of animation. Kohlitz uses mostly computers for their client animations, making animations customizable, yet still affordable.
You Can Use Both in the Same Production
These two options are not an “either-or” situation. They can work excellently in tandem. A hype video can be made far more exciting with motion graphics and text emphasizing points. A training or educational video can benefit from a supporting animation illustrating a conceptual idea. Even a more straight-forward talking head video can look more professional with animated lower third titles for the speaker and the company logo animating in.
Knowing how video and animation differ and work together is useful but what are the pros and cons of each? We’ll start with video.
Benefits of Video Production
Live action video is particularly useful for when a “human touch” or “realness” is needed. If your business wants to tout its welcoming environment and smiling staff, then what better way to capture those smiles for real? Or perhaps you want to assure the audience your new technology is legit. Having a testimonial from an expert will speak volumes. Or if you intend to train your employees on a new machine, well, they will learn a lot better if they can view the real machine in action.
Another perk of video production is its flexible range of cost. Depending on bells and whistles, the price can range widely. If you’re on a budget and have a simple goal, a stripped-down production is possible without losing an enormous amount of quality.
Benefits of Animation
As for animation, it is exceptionally useful for conveying conceptual ideas. A start-up whose services utilizes the cloud, internet and similar non-tangible things, benefits greatly from animation’s ability to visualize those ideas. And not only to visualize, but also to explain. Analogies are great for making explanations, and animations bring those analogies to life in an engaging and memorable way. With this ability to explain, animation is excellent for education. And lastly, in many ways, animation is just more entertaining to watch!
Animation can also offer more control. While video production can be entirely controlled (think of a Hollywood movie with professional actors on greenscreen sets with crew of hundreds) it is usually outside the budget of most businesses. As a result, most types of video production our clients engage with are interviews and b-roll capture sessions. Those then get edited down into a story. (Unlike the Hollywood movie above, imagine a wedding highlight video.) Animation on the other hand, by its nature, is completely controlled from beginning to end. A script, storyboard and concept are, will give you an idea of what the final product will be before anything ever gets animated.
Video Versus Animation Production
That’s it in a nutshell. They are obviously two different beasts with further differences but, we believe those are the big-picture differences. Video is great for showing reality and emphasizing the human touch. Animation is exceptional for explaining ideas, making educational topics more engaging and entertaining. Level of control, and therefore cost, is a range with video production, whereas with animation, it is fixed. High control, but also slightly higher cost. As mentioned above, you can still have the best of both of these worlds. And Kohlitz Animation & Video Production, can easily do both for you.