We love creating our own videos, but sometimes it's just as awesome to sit back and admire someone elses' creative work. We've compiled our top three favorite examples of stop motion animation (for the time being--these can change at a moment's notice). Regardless, here they are in no particular order:
1. Marcel The Shell (with shoes on):
While this video didn't become a viral hit based on its creative use of stop motion animation, there's no doubt that the filming technique contributed to its success. Funny, unassuming and extremely shareable, Marcel The Shell (with Shoes on) is our first favorite stop motion animation of the moment. Moving forward, we'll coin this term "FSMAOTM" for easy reference. Oh, and there's a sequel too. Enjoy!
2. Game of Thrones Intro:
Besides being an incredible show, the Game of Thrones intro is a great example of a stop motion animation video done with computer software. It creatively illustrates three things: The premise of the show, the fictional setting and the analogy to a "game." For fans of the series, we can't wait to see how this intro will develop as the seasons continue.
3. Her Morning Elegance / Oren Lavie:
This came out several years ago, but it still represents an incredibly creative approach to stop motion animation. Not only does this video demonstrate an innovative filming method (there's symbolism and plenty of creativity abound)--it also sports a catchy tune AND establishes itself as a great piece of content to send to an impatient individual. What do we mean by that last part? The next time someone is being impatient, send them this video and reference the girl. How patient do you think she needed to be to pull off this awesome video? Virtue-level patience.
That's our top three. What are your current FSMAOTM's? (To refresh, that stands for "favorite stop motion animation of the moment"). Submit yours in the comment field below and we'll include yours in our next update.
Be sure to check out our very own examples of stop motion animation. If you'd like to get started developing your own stop motion video, be sure to download our FREE idea guide by clicking the button below:
People are often discouraged that their brand new, super-awesome video isn’t getting the traction that was expected. Well, optimists, we’ve got some news for you: unless you’re an Old Spice spokesman or an adorable animal doing some anthropomorphic activity, there’s a good chance that the video you made isn’t going viral.
But you know what? That’s perfectly fine. In fact, some might find it comforting. Why, you ask? Continue below to learn the secrets!
Creating viral videos is like trying to predict the next fashion trend. It ain’t gonna happen. So instead of pulling a mama sea turtle and abandoning your offspring (i.e. video) right after it hatches, we recommend trying to nurture it a bit. You know—the whole nature versus nurture thing. Here are some tips to get started:
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Optimize Accordingly:Just like a webpage, it’s important to make a video search engine friendly.
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Keyword Phrase: If your promotional video solves a problem, consider researching low-competition keyword phrases that match your message. Example: “How To Make a Promotional Video – Alnimation Studios”
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Tag it up: YouTube (and other video platforms) allow you to add tags to your videos in order to further classify them. Why do this? These tags help YouTube classify your video for site search results AND in the related videos tool. The latter displays your video alongside other, similar videos while a user is browsing the site, resulting in even more exposure.
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Utilize Multiple Platforms:YouTube is great, but there are other platforms where your video can be uploaded for even more exposure. Some additional platforms include:
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Vimeo
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Viddler
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Blip.TV (Note: this is more focused on webseries rather than one-off videos)
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Invest in a Paid Video Campaign: Nobody wants to pay extra money after they’ve just paid to have a video created, but sometimes it helps to push your video out to the masses. YouTube has a robust and user-friendly video promotion platform for facilitating this, so it’s sometimes best to test and see results. This can be an effective way to bump up views and social sharing. Keep in mind that here at Alnimation Studios, we help you optimize and promote your finished video for a flat fee of $100. Remember to visit our services page to review the full list of our stop motion animators services.
Haven't made a video yet? Download our FREE brainstorming guide to get the ball (and camera) rolling on your next video project.
Creative ideas are the fuel that keep a video project running. They employ a sense of excitement, mystery and motivation that feeds the desire to create.
Unfortunately, (more often than not) creative ideas tend lose steam in the midst of the video production process. As a result, the entire project suffers upon completion (assuming it does get finished).
Why does this happen? There are plenty of reasons, but they seems to fall into several unique buckets. This objective of this post is to help you anticipate and identify these roadblocks in order to help you avoid them.
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Unrealistic Expectations: This one seems obvious, but is always overlooked and never acknowledged before it's too late. To get a better idea of this pitfall, pretend creativity is like a campfire-- you need to tend it to keep it going, but if you feed it too much, you're likely to scorch the whole campsite. The excitement that comes along with a brilliant video idea can easily overshadow the logical question, "can this actually be done?" Before pouring kerosene on that creative campfire and letting your inner firebug out, be sure to ask yourself if the time, resources and budget all fit into the scope of the project. If not, you'll probably want to take a step back and re-evaluate expectations. It's difficult to turn down or modify a great idea, but it's a whole lot better than not delivering after you burn through resources (pun intended).
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Balancing Creativity and Purpose: Creative promotional videos can mean nothing with an unclear purpose. Likewise, videos with a strong focus on purpose can lack creativity--resulting in an unmemorable piece of media. It's a constant balancing act that occurs throughout the entire video development process. Here's how we propose you deal with it: First, get creative. It's arguably the hardest component of the creative promotional video. Once you have the idea, circle back to point #1 above, and make sure the creativity is within scope. Next, make a point to identify the purpose of your video. Whether it's to sell something or promote a service, keep it written down and DON'T CHANGE IT. Revisit this idea often throughout the production process to make sure you're still on track. The reason for this is that creativity is a fickle aspect. Inspiration and innovation frequent feed it, forcing it to morph. Oftentimes, this will deviate from the purpose of the video, so it's important to keep both in check. If you feel as though creativity is pulling you away from the video's purpose, stop an re-evaluate why. Creativity should never change the underlying purpose of a promotional video.
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Bigger Isn't Better: The most simple pitfall but the most overlooked. This is especially a nuisance when you're making a project for someone who has the "bigger is better" mindset burned into their brain (lots of fire analogies, no?) The way to combat this is to evaluate individual sections of the video and ask yourself first if it's in line with the purpose of the video. If it isn't, it can go. If it is, scale its importance on a 1-10 basis (1 being least important, etc.). If anything is a 6 or less, get rid of it. Sure, it might hurt, but it's for the good of the video. And, so you won't get burned in the long run :-)
We hope these tidbits of advice are valuable. If you have any additional ones, please share them in the comments section below!
Having trouble with getting started on your own promotional video? The Alnimation Studios team can help! Click the button below to sign up for a FREE hour of creative video consultation with the Alnimation Studios team!
We’ve told you why your business needs a creative promotional video, but what about the actual assets that go into it? Creating a stop animation video that’s on caliber with high profile productions (e.g. Wallace and Gromit) is an expensive undertaking. Why? Here are a few reasons:
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You’re going to need a studio with proper lighting
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You’ll need cameras (multiple) to properly capture film from different angles
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Computers and hardware and software—oh my!
Before you know it, these tools can put you back several thousands of dollars—not to mention the required skill to design the art, film the animation and actually produce the video. The accumulated price tag can end up making your head spin (which isn’t a good tendency for one who wishes to develop a stop animation video).
Although you’re probably not going to be making a feature length film, you still need to be careful about how you pick the tools (and people) to help create your film. So before you invest several “Benjamins” in procuring these assets, consider our guide on doing this “bootstrappingly”
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Who Needs An Expensive Camera? While professionals insist on the proper camera equipment and lighting, you can get away with a surprisingly crisp video by just utilizing an HD FlipCam (pictured below). Okay, we know that Cisco stopped making them, but that doesn’t mean finding one is hard. Or expensive. On Amazon, they’re going for around $50 - $150, depending on the memory capacity and model type.
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Who needs an actual studio? Renting a place to do filming can be quite an investment. Your best bet for creating your own stop motion animation video is to just clear out a room in your house that has no (or very few) windows. Setup a table or desk and adjust your lighting by using modifiable lamps around your workspace. These don’t need to be fancy either—if you don’t have any sitting around the house, swing by IKEA and pick up a few that suit your tastes. You’ll get a feeling for when the lighting is right.
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Who needs those fancy film editing tools? Most simple stop animation videos (not to mention other types of video) can be simply made using Apple’s iMovie program, which comes free with any new Mac computer. Sure, FinalCut may have all the bells and whistles that make a really fancy movie, but it’s not very intuitive for the layman and can end up be an expensive piece of software.
We’ve given you the tips for setup, but what about the actual video? If you need a kick-starter idea, just Download our FREE brainstorming guide by clicking the button below:
A promotional video is a damn good way to convey a memorable, visual message that describes the brilliance behind your product or service. Think about it-- what other medium allows you to consistently show the benefits of your business to a large audience in a clear, striking way?
Rhetorical question aside, there really is no substitute for what a remarkable web video can provide. Unless you've got the perfect elevator pitch (not to mention the time to continually "pitch" it), creating a promotional video is a great way to convey and spread your business's message.
Remember those italicized words in the first paragraph? Those are the four reasons why your business needs a creative promotional video. So, without further ado, here they are:
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Consistency: The beauty of online platforms like YouTube, Vimeo and Blip.TV is that once you've uploaded your video, you can show it as many times as you want. To as many people as you want. Plus, if you've got a good social video marketing strategy (another service us wonderful folks here at Alnimation provide), those numbers can climb real nice.
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Large Audience: This dovetails nicely with the first point of consistency. Earlier this year, YouTube was clocked in at experiencing 3 billion video views per day. To give some perspective, that's an increase from 1 billion views per day in 2009. It's quite apparent that more people are watching web videos much more frequently. The internet is your oyster and a web video is your pearl.
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Clarity: A carefully conceived promotional video can really get your message across in a memorable, tactful way. Once created, a web video needs no rehearsal (like an elevator pitch) so you don't need to be concerned with mucking up your delivery. Keep it short, sweet and clear, and your video will go far.
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Striking: Videos don't get shared for the sake of being shared. Sure, they'll needs some TLC (i.e. a video marketing strategy) to get spread around the web, but there's always an underlying reason why videos gain popularity. Whether they be creative, edgy, or funny, viral videos are prevalent for a reason. Here at Alnimation Studios, we believe this element is crucial to a video's success. That's why our creative consultation comes first--we take the time to ensure we've nailed the key messaging in a clear, creative way to produce a video that is striking.
Considering the opportunities and benefits, creating an innovative (striking!) promotional video is a great strategy to clearly and effectively spread the word about your business to a growing audience of viewers.
Have additional insight? Share in the comments section below.
Want to get started? Sign up for a free script consultation to see how Alnimation Studios can help your business develop an effective promotional video.
