{"id":4409,"date":"2017-06-29T15:34:07","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T20:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/\/"},"modified":"2017-06-29T21:52:21","modified_gmt":"2017-06-30T02:52:21","slug":"animations-how-to-guide-for-think-tanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/animations-how-to-guide-for-think-tanks\/","title":{"rendered":"Animations: A how-to guide for think tanks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are animations something you\u2019ve wanted to try in your organisation for a while, but have been unsure how to approach? No two projects are ever the same, but working as an animation producer at Soapbox, a busy design studio in London, has given me insights that I wanted to write up as a standard guide. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not too long ago, Soapbox held a Breakfast Club event in partnership with WonkComms where we discussed how our client base (think tanks and research organisations) can make animations with impact. We looked at films such as the animated<\/span> RSA Short with Dr Bren\u00e9 Brown<\/span><\/a>; the work of the late <\/span>Han Rosling<\/span><\/a>; and the<\/span> Healthy Not Hungry animation<\/span><\/a> by Project Everyone.<\/span> The <\/span>follow up blog<\/span><\/a> (well worth reading) contains loads of useful information about identifying your target audience, setting your aims and objectives for the animation, putting a dissemination plan into place and other factors to consider. <\/span><\/p>\n

What we didn\u2019t cover in much detail was the <\/span>process<\/span><\/i> of actually producing an animation. So I felt that a step-by-step production guide to how we work would be extremely helpful.<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting your ideas together and writing a script<\/span><\/h2>\n

Assuming you have identified an idea, or content, that will work for an animation (again, check the<\/span> first blog<\/span><\/a> for help with this), involve an animator or studio as quickly as possible \u2013 the earlier the better, so you can bounce ideas around and check what is achievable for your budget. If you\u2019ve seen animations you like, definitely share those with us (or any studio\/ animator of your choosing) so that you can establish a brief for the look and feel.<\/span><\/p>\n

Writing for short animations is harder than it first appears. You need to employ the utmost brevity to tell a story in a minimal yet impactful way. Provide raw content around key themes, characters and take-aways at the start of the project ahead of the scripting and editing process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Animations need to behave like movie trailers \u2013 all the best bits of a project or report, cut together in an exciting way that makes audiences crave more. <\/span>This book <\/span><\/a>by Karim Zouak is great for understanding how short ideas can be made to work well onscreen. Keep it snappy, and when we say snappy, we mean between 30 \u2013 90 seconds. Max. Here\u2019s a tip: we test the length and efficacy of scripts by recording a scratch voiceover at a moderate pace, repeatedly timing it and cutting it back. Here\u2019s another tip: we might divide your script into \u2018what is said\u2019 and \u2018what is seen\u2019 to prevent us from packing too much visual information into the voiceover.<\/span><\/p>\n

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— National Housing Federation (@natfednews) May 22, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n