Plan an Animated Video in 5 Steps

Jun 3, 2022 | Video

Join us “behind the scenes” of planning an animated video! Following these 5 steps, you’ll have all the right elements in place to complete your animated video on time and on budget. 

    Set your animated video budget.

    This piece of planning is huge! Your animated video budget determines whether you’ll be taking on the task of planning and creating the full video yourself; reaching out to a freelancer for help with animation/graphics/voiceover/script; or working with a creative agency to plan and produce your animated video from start to finish.

    Plan your timeline.

    When do you want to launch your animated video into the world? Pick a date for project completion, then build your animated video plan timeline backward from there. (Pro tip: Allow time for your animated video to go through revisions, the process of finalizing files, and for any reviews along the way.)

    Pen your animated video script.

    Whether your animated video will have voiceover or on-screen text, you’ll need a script to steer the way! Once you’ve finished the script, time it out to ensure it matches the length you’ve planned. (Our copywriter recommends doing this step out loud; you’ll get much more accurate results.)

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    Sketch your animated video storyboard.

    Once the script’s in place, it’s time to bring it to life with visuals. Go through your animated video “plot” screen by screen, start to finish, and roughly sketch out what you want to see happening in each scene. (Don’t forget the title screen and end screen, too!)

    Create your animated video!

    With your animated video budget in place, timeline planned out, script completed and storyboard sketched, you’re ready to make the magic happen. (For animated videos, Adobe After Effects is our design and video teams’ program of choice. )

    We’ll be the first to tell you: Animated videos are challenging to create! We’ll also be the first to tell you that, yes, even in the thick of it, the time and effort you put into creating your video is absolutely worth it.