Are you stuck trying to decide between animation or traditional video for your next project? It’s not an easy choice – it depends on what industry you’re in, who your target audience is, and what the end goal of the video is. While both forms of video accomplish the same fundamental things, animation has an unexpected set of advantages. Does this mean that one form of video is altogether better than the other? Certainly not. To help broaden your horizons, here are 5 things animation can do better than traditional video:
1. Animated Videos Don’t Go Out of Date As Quickly
If you watch a traditional video commercial from 1999, you should immediately be able to differentiate it from a commercial from 2019. Chances are, you’ll be able to tell what decade it’s from based on things like clothing, hair styles, and even the quality of the camera being used. Because animation isn’t comprised of real-life elements and people, and doesn’t rely on a camera, these videos can hold their ground for more time without giving off as many dated cues. Sure, if you look long and hard, there are always signals for when something was created, animation is just a little better at hiding them.
2. Animation Is More Approachable Than Traditional Video
If you’re making a video for a topic or concept that’s somewhat intimidating, or even awkward, an animated video can help take off some of the weight off. Let’s say you have a video needs to be made, but the topic is on the sensitive, scientific, or even boring side, by using cartoon characters, objects, and setting, it may help the video to be more approachable. Essentially, animation just has a light-hearted way of taking the edge off of things – we’re all used to seeing cartoons as kids and we don’t typically associate them with serious or stressful topics.
- Here’s an animation made for Cryoport, to help unpack somewhat of a sensitive service
3. Complex Ideas Are Simplified with Animation
There’s a lot of companies out there making complicated products to solve some of the world’s most complicated problems. Some industries that typically have complex products are healthcare, science, and technology, to name a few. Many of these products are too intricate to conveniently put into 30 seconds or a minute of traditional video, which is where animation comes into play. Concepts can be made larger-than-life and loaded up with viewer-friendly numbers, arrows, and visuals to help the audience understand a complex product at on a fundamental level. It’s not that people are incapable of understanding detailed products in a short video, simply that the faster you can make things click for the viewer, the better.
- Check out this animation created for XOI Technologies that simplifies a complex product
4. Animated Videos Expand the Creative Capabilities
“With animation, you’re not limited by what you can shoot, but only by your imagination.” – Jake Cannon
With traditional video, you have a limited amount of talent to pick from, a finite amount of locations to shoot at, and you’ll be planning around the weather and other people’s schedules. Animated video can be created without the reliance on external factors – no paid actors, shooting locations, pending weather, or hefty props. You can create exactly what you want to create, drawing all the inspiration from the mind alone. Simply put, animation makes the impossible, possible.
5. Animation Really Cuts Through the Video “Clutter”
An effective video should stand out from the surrounding videos that promote a similar product, service, or offering. Animated videos are not commonly the other company’s go-to choice, which helps them cut through the video “clutter”. On top of that, animated videos make great use of vivid colors, outlandish shapes and motions, callouts, endless effects, and many other elements to grab eyes and keep them engaged. We know what you’re thinking…traditional videos can utilize some of these same effects? While this is true, the opportunities for effects and the arrangement of characters, objects, and scenes, is just a bit more uncapped with animation.
If you or your company needs an animated video, or would like to speak with a member of our animation team, we’re here to bring your ideas to life. Reach out to us today!
