5 Tips for Hiring the Best Animated Video Production Company

Video marketing is critical for thriving in this digital world, and engagement is the most vital metric to measure its success. 

And when it comes to b2b video marketing, the animation is the most preferred medium.

But your quality of animation content depends on choosing the right video production company as your partner.

Based on decades of experience, we have compiled the five most important criteria below to select your video agency. 

Feel free to check out the entire blog or jump right into the tip you want to know more about:-

#1 Know Your Budget & Timelines
#2 Understand Their Process
#3 Find Out About Their Relevant Experience
#4 Understand About The Company & Values That Make Them
#5 Check Case Studies & References

#1 Know Your Budget & Timelines

There are several things to consider when choosing an animated video production company.

But the most important factors are how much money you want to invest in your campaign and what your timelines are.

Producing an animated video is a complex task; it involves a lot of man hours depending on the complexity of the animation style.

So your animation style selection and the agency's hourly rate defines the total project value.

It also affects your timelines directly, but factors like team size and whether the production is in-house or outsourced add to the same.

For example, producing a whiteboard animation below takes around 4-6 weeks to deliver with efforts of 100-150 hours.

Whiteboard animation is a great way to be economical and cost-effective without compromising the video’s quality, because the animation workload is less than it would be in other styles.

This explainer video, for example, goes into the detail it needs to, without getting boring or too complicated to follow.

The art and animation reinforce the script and keep things visually interesting so that the viewer can absorb the message in detail easily.

While producing a custom 2.5d Character Animation below, it takes around 8-12 weeks to deliver the examples below with efforts of 300-450 hours.

With 2.5d animation, you get a more cinematic feel and quality without breaking the bank.

In this video for Omnivore, the visuals were carefully crafted to blend with the script just right.

It’s a complex message with many nuances, but the animation keeps things going smoothly and fresh, and exciting.

#2 Understand Their Process

Once you have determined the budget and scope of your project, it’s essential to understand each video production agency's process for completing projects.

This includes understanding the steps involved in creating a script, storyboard, animatic, etc.

We have seen decision-making varies with each company and project's importance.

Factors such as rounds of revision and feedback time become crucial for companies with more stakeholders involved.

On standard, we give two rounds of revisions at each stage and request feedback within one business day to meet our standard delivery timelines.

Also, planning is critical for any project, but agencies tend to jump into production without pre-production stages like storyboarding, etc.

You must be on the same page with the video agency in the planning phase so production runs smoothly and output matches your expectations.

Below is our video production animation process, for example:

#3 Find Out About Their Relevant Experience

Understanding the subject is very important when it comes to telling a great story.

So either you play that part of making sure your video production agency understands your message, or the agency should have creative storytellers with the understanding of the industry.

It’s good to check if they have previously worked with similar clients or use cases.

Also, apart from industry experience, you have to check the quality of work and see if it matches your brand style or any specific animation style you have selected for your use case.

Even if you don’t find relevant samples in their portfolio, you can request a proposal to see if their creative thought process aligns with your vision.

Make sure your video production company specializes in marketing animations, and it’s not a one-time gig for some extra bucks.

For example, the below whiteboard video from Fibrogen was written by our healthcare expert in collaboration with the client:

In any industry related to medical science, the challenge is explaining something as complicated as the human body in a way that’s simple enough to understand but not so overly simple that it’s too watered down to get your point across. 

We created this video for Fibrogen in the whiteboard style, using simplified cartoon-like graphics to make things more transparent and avoid unnecessary detail.

It’s not just about being minimalistic and “less is more.”

It’s critical to know what to leave out and what to emphasize. 

The subject matter is pretty complex and detailed. Still, if you strike the right balance, you can get your message across with enough nuance and information without overwhelming your audience.

#4 Understand About The Company & Values That Make Them

It’s also essential to understand the company’s history, team members, and company values you plan to hire. Whether you are planning to hire them directly or from freelancer websites.

When you plan to select your video marketing agency, it’s a long-term commitment, so I think it’s essential to scan and match each other’s personalities.

It’s an essential step in building trust, which is crucial to the success of any project.

While talking to the sales team, you can gauge things like responsiveness, attention to detail, transparency, etc.

You can also request a meeting with the creative team that might work on your project to deep dive further.

You can also check out their branded video content for more information.

Animation doesn’t have to be a bafflingly complex and painfully expensive affair.

When done right, minimal animation techniques like whiteboard can still bring your message to life without feeling incomplete.

Consider our video for The Community Builders.

Using a blend of exciting graphics and text combined with a solid script, the video takes the viewer on a journey through our client’s story and mission, quickly holding their attention and interest from start to finish.

#5 Check Case Studies & References

Honestly, in our kind of work, a portfolio speaks volumes when checking the credibility of a video production company.

But an excellent way to start researching a potential vendor is by analyzing their case studies and testimonial videos.

You can check online reviews on websites like clutch if they are available.

You can also ask people who have worked with them before if possible.

This will give you insight into how well the vendor works with others.

An excellent animated video production company will provide references from clients who have worked with them.

Ask how satisfied they were with the process and work done by the company. 

Another way to review is checking on the repeat business; if you see multiple videos done for the same brand, the client is happy.

For example, the video below is an excellent way to check customer satisfaction:

Conclusion

The five tips above are a very practical and genuine way of hiring the best animated video production company for your video marketing.

As a piece of advice, start small, maybe like a test project with your new agency, and then plan for bulk work or video series.

We might have missed some tricks here; please feel free to add to the list by commenting below. And if you need any help with animated video production.