Should You Tell Your Story with Animation or Live-Action Video?

Debates rage on about a variety of issues, many of them personal preferences. Some examples:

• Android vs. iOS,
• Cats vs. Dogs,
• Tea vs. Coffee,
• Ford vs. Chevrolet,
• Foreign vs. Domestic.

Here is another debate that exists in marketing – animation or live-action video?

Both are excellent options for video marketing content, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Let’s look at some of the major pros and cons of each to help you decide which option you should choose for your latest marketing video.

Animation Benefits

First, let’s look at the major benefits of animation video.

Animation Simplifies the Complicated

A great strength of animation is its ability to express complicated ideas or processes easily and quickly. Tricky procedures or long workflows can be simply expressed with an animated video. This also goes for abstract or intangible concepts, which are often difficult to express with a live-action video.

Animation Can Adopt Any Style

Any business can use animated video to its advantage. Perhaps your brand fits a friendly cartoon style, but a bank prefers a clean, professional animation to share their message. No matter your business or industry, an animation can be created to fit your style.

Animation is Easily Changed

Many intricate variations and elements can be included in animation, and changes can be made at any time. This is a huge benefit when vital information changes after an animation for your company is produced. Simply edit and change to update the information. All you need is right in the studio. No need to relocate actors and recreate settings.

An Animation Disadvantage

A major disadvantage of animation is a longer production timeline. In an animated video, everything must be created digitally. There are no ready-made scenes, settings or actors. So, your animation will generally take quite a bit longer to produce than a live-action video.

Live-Action Video Advantages

Now, let’s briefly examine some advantages of live-action video.

Live-Action Video Is Personal

Nothing is more human than a live-action video with real people. We are drawn to other people, and much can be conveyed through human emotions, facial expressions, body language and dialogue. This is almost impossible to achieve with animation.

Live-Action Video Portrays Life in Action

Nothing beats a real-world location and human interactions when your marketing messages revolve around the human condition or relationships. Real people in real settings best show testimonials, case studies and other human interactions.

Live-Action Video Brings the Tangible to Life

Real products are best shown in real life. How a product looks and works is always best shown by real people in actual settings, and not as animated images. Animating most tangible items gives them a cheap appearance that can reflect poorly on your products.

Live-Action Video Is Faster to Produce

Once your idea is understood, a live-action video can be orchestrated, shot and edited within a few days, depending on the length and complexity of your idea. The visual style and most assets do not have to be created for live-action video.

A Live-Action Video Disadvantage

Live-action video is harder to change and is constrained by the boundaries of reality. Once filming is completed, the project is basically complete. A little editing can be done for clarity, but no major changes can be made, especially later in time if information changes. Reshooting with the same actors, props, location and equipment is very time-consuming and costly.

Choose What Is Right for Your Audience

At the end of the day, choosing an animation or a live-action video will depend on several factors, the most important of which is your audience. Who are you trying to reach? What are their preferences? What do you intend for your video content to accomplish?

Both live-action video and animation are valid choices for marketing video content. No approach is inherently better than the other. Your choice must reflect what will best reach your target audience.

If you still need help with your decision, The SGNY Group in NYC is a full-service video production company with vast experience in both animation and live-action video. Call or contact us online with your questions about the next marketing video for your company.