Often the effectiveness of a video production can be enhanced with animated sequences. Everyone loves animation – probably because most of us grew up with cartoons. But epics like Disney’s “Fantasia” are hardly standard fare. Today, animation is enjoying a renaissance, as evidenced by Groening’s “The Simpsons”, Seven-Up’s “Red Dots”, and even more Disney, Fox, and Buth epics such as “The Little Mermaid”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Land Before Time”, and “Anastasia” (to name but a few).
Why? Because animation is the perfect medium for the ‘Age of Infotainment’. Graphics, specifically, animation must attract the audience enough to become interested in gaining information, then it must inform immediately.
Animation is more memorable than reality. If the medium is the message, a truly effective medium is one that is interesting enough to leave a lasting impression. Advertisers and educators say that videos with animation get noticed AND remembered. Think about it… most (not all) of the commercials you remember contained animation of some type.
Animation can show things that can’t be filmed or taped. These include simulations that depict internal, microscopic processes (such as inside the body or auto engine), or even hypothetical events (such as airplanes and microbursts and the Budweiser ‘Frogs’ and ‘Lizards’).
Animation is an ideal way to illustrate processes that flow over time and space. Animation is movement and is equally effective with real of abstract concepts.
As communication becomes more a multimedia affair with images and sound added to text and graphics – animation also is emerging as a standard part of both video and presentational communications. Today, within most web sites, you will find animated icons, movies and other special effects.
Animation adds life to inert objects; balls spin, cubes rotate and pundulums swings. Computer animation provides unique control over change; shapes, colours, and motions can be adjusted until just the effect desired is achieved. Charts and graphs better illustrate concepts with movement. Combined with digitized audio and other moving or still imagery, even mundane presentations begin to excite and inspire.
