Motion Design videos are a great way to explain and illustrate abstract concepts in a visually appealing way - like in this video about "DISC". Before the designer can commence work however, a motion design project requires thorough planning. The narration text needs to convey the message in accordance with the visuals, and the style needs to address the target audience.
Every step of the process builds upon each other and there is little room for correction after the fact. Subject-matter experts and designers have to align closely with each other with the help of some methods and important milestones during the process.
Milestones:
Video Project Info Sheet
The message, the goal and the desired impact of the video, as intended by the client, need to be outlined clearly. The info sheet helps to analyze relevant factors and align upcoming creative decisions. You can manage expectations by clearly understanding the clients' motivations. The goal of the final product can be illustrated even further by outlining the relevant metadata. Formulating a title and description in advance, as they would appear on the target platform like YouTube or Instagram, helps to imagine the vision more clearly.
Discussing these factors renders the following process highly efficient. It reduces potential mistakes and provides a secure feeling of being literally "on the same page" with clients and co-workers.
Download the info sheet for the DISC video:
Text and Content
In the case of this video, a narrator explains the ideas and concepts, audible to the viewer. It provides the line of thought to convey the content, and it structures the viewing experience. When writing the text, the subject-matter expert (SME) focuses on the didactics and information that need to be taught. The motion designer, on the other hand, makes sure that the narrative structure is maintained and invents visual concepts. Sometimes during the video, an information and its visual representation may inherently rely on each other. So both the SME and the motion designer need to collaborate closely together and integrate their ideas with one another. The goal is to make the audio and visual complimentary.
Narrative structure of the DISC video
1 Exposition and Context | 2 Concepts and Action | 3 Resolution |
|---|---|---|
0:00 - 0:35 | 0:36 - 2:13 | 2:14 - 3:26 |
Examples of interpersonal conflicts | Four personality types of the DISC-model and team dynamic | Solutions to tackle conflicts |
Download the narrator text for the DISC video:
Storyboard
Once the text is finished, the motion designer can create a storyboard. At this stage, these sketches do not determine the look of the video, but they serve to understand how the theoretical concepts will appear visually.
A "mockup" is a low-quality version of the video, incorporating the storyboard images, a draft of the spoken narration, and music of choice. With this mockup, the client can get a feel for the pacing and approximate length of the video. At this stage, some adjustments to the visual ideas or the arrangement and sequence can still be made.
Styleframe
The styleframe is a higher-quality representation of a few selected images from the storyboard. In this final step, the motion designer and the client determine the scheme and balance of colors and the appearance of graphical assets.
Info sheet, text, storyboard and styleframe. Once these pre-production milestones are achieved, the designer has everything needed to produce the motion design video.
DISC is a behavioural model to categorize personality types. It helps to solve interpersonal conflicts and collaborate better in a team by understanding oneself and others better.
My Roles:
Concept • Writer • Narrator • Illustrator • Motion Designer
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