Animation - CIM Software
This is how we created the CIM Software explainer animation -->
The first step we take with every project is creating a design brief. This is a document that captures the purpose of the animation, from format, to visual style, to distribution. We also research what other competitors are doing and how we can stand out from the crowd with our designs. Finally, we create personas, which are customer profiles of the most important type of audience the animation aims to reach.
We then created two style directions for the animation. We outline colour and texture aspects, typography and general illustration style, and then compare our design to our brief to make sure we best serve the audience we discussed in the brief. This is style 1.
We ended up choosing style 2 as it fit more with our audience. It has an industrial feel as well as technology in mind. It feels modern but also clean and professional, making it appropriate for both business owners, and newcomers alike.
The next step is storyboarding, this is where we apply the style to the sketches that outline the narrative visuals. The purpose of storyboards is to get a clear view of how the animation will play out, and make any adjustments at this stage as it's very easy to replace concepts, ideas and assets.
Once the storyboard is signed off, we start creating the assets needed for each scene, including textures, icons and typography.
We move on to sound design, where we select a soundtrack for the piece and add the voiceover if there is one. In this case, we recorded the voiceover in the studio.
10 second sample - in order to protect both our time and the client's budget, we created a 10 second sample as a test for how the entire animation will play out. This is where we check things like 'does the style work?' 'Do we like the transitions?' 'Does the music fit?' 'Is the pace okay?'.
This is the final chance for us to tweak any aspects of the animation.
First cut - this is the bulk of the work, where we animate a first version of the entire animation.
Final cut - after finishing the first cut, we all have a watch and gather any final feedback that will help us fines the final cut. And voila! The animation is completed.
We also created a couple of 35 second shorts that would work on social media based on the main 3 minute animation. They act as an incentive to click and watch the main animation on CIM's website, driving traffic to their landing page.
Zoe
She / her; green / blue. Zoe is a designer, daydreamer and self-anointed snack queen. Once described as “so awkward she’s charming” by a friend, there isn’t a day that goes by without her accidentally slipping in an innuendo. In winter, she hibernates in a blanket of books and netflix, but by late spring emerges with her trusty birkenstocks, ready to go on photography adventures and socialise with the neighbourhood cats. If she were a pokemon she would without a doubt be Pikachu, but a buzzfeed quiz has determined her to be a Magikarp. She’s a firm believer that buzzfeed quizzes cannot be trusted, under any circumstances.
Matt
He / him; yellow. Creative jack-of-all-trades, Matt is "dangerously knowledgeable" in almost every facet of marketing. His favourite field is branding, and he loves developing inspiring, daring brand identities for organisations who are ready to do something different. But he's equally talented at front end web development and developing digital strategies. He's also the front man and guitarist in local parody heavy metal outfit Evil Scarecrow, plus a huge fan of music, eating in nice restaurants, and going on holiday.
Iulia
She / her. Iulia is Rusty Monkey’s animation, illustration and 3D expert. Responsible for making everything beautiful, she also dabbles in graphic design and UX design. Among her credits is an animated music video for local parody heavy metal band Evil Scarecrow. A talented artist, she showcases her work on her Instagram channel. She usually spends most of her time in some random corner of the house with a drawing tablet and a pen, scribbling away. Cat obsessed. Professional house plant killer. Autumn lover. Maker of things.
PROJECT TIMELINE
THE CLIENT
CIM Software is the UK’s leading provider of ERP software solutions for manufacturers using Sage 50 and Sage 200. Their solutions are designed to streamline manufacturing processes and maximise efficiency for manufacturing businesses.
THE GOAL
CIM were looking to produce a series of animations to help their customers understand how to use their software and the benefits the software will bring to them. Success was measured by how well the customers and partners respond to the content and an increase in interest, enquiries and orders.
THE SOLUTION
A modern and industrial style that appeals to professionals within the manufacturing industry. We wanted the animation to leave the audience feeling inquisitive, reassured and understood. CIM Solutions had to appear as a no brainer solution for the particular challenges manufacturing business owners face, making them question their current systems.
THE TEAM
Our animator Iulia and graphic designer Zoe, supervised by Matt, our creative director.
THEY SAID
'We're very happy with how the project was managed. We had total visibility of where we were in the project and the weekly sprint calls were great for verbal updates.
Iulia, Matt and the team have been great and have brought our ideas to life. The videos they have created for us are unique and creative and totally different to a lot of the other explainer videos you see online. The communication throughout the project was brilliant and nothing was ever too much trouble. Highly recommend!'
Becca Martin, CIM
THE OUTCOME
An engaging and informative animation that helps communicate a clear message to its audience + a set of assets to be used for social media, marketing and more.
Looking for animation services?
Get in touch to find out how animation can help you send the right message to your audience.
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