5 things I learned directing animation
Since the early 2000s, I’ve been working as a designer, Illustrator and animation director. I’ve directed animated content for a broad range of clients including Goodyear, Citizens Advice, and WWF.
Since starting to produce animated content, I’ve learned a few things along the way.
1. Trust is crucial
Without trust, every step of the animation process can feel like trudging through mud.
I try to establish trust early on by demonstrating expertise and creative vision as well as clearly explaining the route we will take to producing the final animation.
Many of the clients I have worked with have never created animation in the past and this can feel intimidating for them. A good animation director lets them know they’re in safe hands through good communication and by clearly explaining what to expect from the process.
2. Keep it snappy
I am frequently approached to make “a three-minute animation”. This arbitrary figure seems to have entered people’s consciousness as the “normal” length for an animation. The reality is that clients don’t want to make a three-minute animation, what they actually want is a piece of content that will inform or inspire the viewer and get them to take action, whether that be to buy a product, join a campaign or sign up to a newsletter.
Generally, my advice is to make the shortest thing you can. People on the internet have short attention spans and aren’t going to hang around for a call to action at the end of a long animation. Keeping things short forces you to create something clear, concise and ultimately effective.
3. Know it all
I’ve always been a generalist. Being a specialist at anything requires you focus on one skill, to the detriment of all else. For me, it’s about finding a balance and having a good understanding of every stage of the process without dedicating all of your time to any one thing.
It’s not to say that specialising is a bad thing — far from it, many people have had great careers perfecting one aspect of their talents but for me, as a generalist, I find that having a broad view of everything helps me to be more creative and plan a project or campaign from beginning to end.
4. Don’t believe the brief
When you receive a brief, it’s easy to get carried away and give the client exactly what they’ve asked for. My attitude has always been to give the client what they need, not what they want. That may sound a bit arrogant but often people struggle to write briefs, they write what they think they should be doing or they may not be experienced in creating video content. I always take the time to challenge the brief and get to the root of the problem and clients generally appreciate being challenged when it’s done in the right way.
5. Keep challenging yourself
When you start getting good at something and find that you’re being successful, it’s tempting to try and optimise your way of working. For someone directing animation, this can be a real pitfall. Whilst you want to optimise some of the tasks you find yourself repeating, it’s important to not try and optimise your creative process as it can make the work predictable and lacking in energy. This is bad for your clients because they don’t end up with an original piece of work but it’s bad for you because you’ll spend your life making the same thing over and over. The best projects I’ve worked on have been the ones I’ve had no idea how to make at the start.
Get in touch: wes@jolt.studio
