6 steps to create a motion design video

Media recognized as the most impacting, video has invaded social networks, websites and business shows. Motion design is on the rise because its illustrated universe gives full freedom of creation, while embodying your brand.

Based on the concept of storytelling, a motion design video is a great way to get your audience on board in your story and make an impression. However, creating a video has a cost and follows a rigorous method.

By following these steps, you can make your video smoothly and avoid many round trips.

1. The brief & the scenario

A video must have a clear purpose:

- a better understanding of a product

- the teasing of an event

- promoting a novelty

- the presentation of a company.

To sum it up, simply answer the following question: what is the message to convey? 3 things that people have to remember.

The more detailed your expectations, the more the motion designer will create a powerful video.

To do this, you must also indicate the target audience you are targeting. The visual universe must both embody your graphic charter while being legible and credible for your target.

The scenario is then a first projection of the unfolding of your story. It is built starting with a catch or introduction, a roll and a fall or conclusion.

3 scenario examples:

> The life of a user: a problem / a solution / your offer

> A chronological history in time

> An argument with figures and statistics

At the end of this step, you should have started to set the graphical universe and the desired duration, between 30 seconds and 3 minutes maximum.

2. The script and the voiceover

Before being a video, your story will be a narative. At this point you will need to write a written script that traces the unwind and red thread of your video. This text will be the basis of the voiceover.

Our advice

Make sure you keep the information as clean as possible and adopt a spoken language.

The recording of the voiceover is done once the video is made to best fit the visual, by an independent actor or via wholesale platforms like VoiceBunny. Remember to add subtitles for more accessibility or in the case of diffusion in other countries.

3. The storyboard

This is the first visual step where you start drawing. The objective is to materialize by a drawing, each scene of the video, like a comic strip. This first sketch drawn by hand, must be faithful to the unfolding of your final video.

The storyboard also illustrates the sound effects and transitions between each scene. The graphic style and the characters are represented.

Some examples of graphic styles of your video:

> neutral background or landscape

> hand tracing (scribing) or forms

> a geometric style or rather blurry watercolor style.

Finally, it is helpful to write the voiceover text below each thumbnail.

4. The layout

Here, it's about creating the forms that will be used in the video: a house, a man, a dog, a factory, a car, etc.

We must not think static but dynamic by breaking down each object with different shapes. For example, the character will have to move his mouth and eyebrows to reinforce his expression. This work is done in Illustrator and Photoshop or Gimp.

Finally, the graphic style must be consistent throughout the video.

5. The animation

It is now that all these elements will come alive to create the story described precisely in the storyboard with software like Adobe After Effect or Cinema 4D. It is possible to 2D or 3D depending on the graphic style chosen.

All the steps prior to the animation are essential. Indeed, any structural change will be very time-consuming at this stage. Make sure you have validations from all actors before moving to the animation.

6. Sound design

To reinforce the dynamism of the whole, a soundtrack will be added to the video.

It can be tailor-made to perfectly emphasize the sequences of the story. You can also choose royalty-free music or buy some. It is necessary then well to stall your transitions and the sound effects on the music.

The images are better than a long speech. Nothing could better illustrate the motion design videos : fun, original, and simply effective!