Which video treatment to choose?

Are you planning to make a video?

Yes?

Which technique will you choose from the main four?

Live-action, mixed-media, 2D and 3D.

Every other treatment fits into these main four categories as subsets. More like a mix and match of primary colours giving birth to multiple hues!

Now, you are not entirely correct if you think deciding on the technique is purely a technical call dependent on what your partner recommends.

The best method to safeguard against surprises is to ask for a reference video. The closer the reference video will be to your subject/content, the more accurately you can assess how your view will turn out.

It is your video, your audience, and your business objective. Hence you need to be able to decide or at least participate in the deliberation of the technique that will deliver the best.

I will help you understand each technique in this article and share tips on managing costs.

The Four Main Techniques

Live-Action/ Shoot:?

Often, with real people (actors or otherwise), the world is biased toward seeing humans in the video. Nothing else comes close. That is one of the reasons why full-length feature films do so well.

If you need company representation in the video, you can shoot with your company's representatives or even with actors. Audiences have evolved to know what's what, and they can often tell if it's an actor (however good they are). But that's not always a bad thing. Today's audiences welcome the message and don't judge the messenger.

It is best to work with actors if you need to showcase a fictional plot, like a story, as they are not just trained to act but show better resilience towards the demanding nature of live-action production. In such cases, directors find working with actors more straightforward and practical; hence can deliver a better end product.?

If you must shoot with your representatives, remember to invest in pre-production planning and training. Remember, they are not actors and will need to be handheld. Can you imagine your manager or CEO giving 15 takes for a single line?

Choose a live-action technique if your project has a long shelf life, has to show real people or a powerful fiction/story, and the audiences won't emote unless they see real people.

Mixed Media:?

As the name suggests, mixed media treatment has different media like photos, stock videos, shot videos, and text-on-screen. By far, a mixed media AV/ film has been the most popular technique due to its simplicity of execution and general acceptance levels. When you use the words 'corporate AV', most people assume it to be a mixed-media film. It can have a little bit of everything - footage/ videos, images, some animation executed in 2D and some in 3D.

Whilst it's amongst the oldest techniques, it requires a tasteful approach to ensure the end product justifies the purpose. Simply placing all available media back to back won't produce a satisfactory output. One has to ensure the transitions are seamless, the packaging is good, and the hygiene of basic colour correction and sound levelling is all done.?

Choose a mixed media project if you have to show your images/footage; audiences may not relate with 2D, and the narrative is such that it requires a bit of every other treatment.?

2D:?

The 2D animation technique is the most popular treatment preference for marketing purposes. Most consider it the cheapest and fastest method to put out video content.

But there's a clutter of 2D videos out there. Most brands' video streaming channels will be flushed with 2D animated videos. Why is that so? Well, mainly because most are simple to execute. Some online DIY websites and tools are also available to create simple whiteboard animated videos.

'Explainer videos' is still quite the buzzword and qualifies as the most common use case of 2D animated videos.

2D can be super effective if backed by an exciting concept and produced delectably.?

The good thing about 2D is that the art form gives much freedom. For example, when we need to show humans, we often get stumped to define the most accurate representation. Now in 2D, human characters need not have features. They can be shapes or structures that resemble humans. That allows freedom in storytelling.

Executing most 2D Animation is way faster than other techniques. Performing changes, adapting to other languages etc., are also relatively quicker.?

Choose a 2D technique if your audience accepts it; you need the film fast and cost-effectively, plan to have multiple language versions, and you can deliver the desired impact with the 2D technique.

3D:?

Executing a 3D project requires the highest levels of commitment and careful project planning. You could change the dialogues, and the actors may manage (in the case of a live-action project), but most changes in a 3D project post a particular stage are practically like remakes.?

Referencing and detailing play the most crucial role in 3D projects as against any other as we do not deal with 3D content daily.

Getting a playblast render and a final look of a few key frames goes a long way to help know-how will the result looks. A playblast render is like a blueprint. It doesn't have the light effects, the textures, the smoothness etc., but it helps you understand what will happen and how.

Choose a 3D technique if you have to want your communication to stand out and grab attention. Your script and storyboard can remain locked, and you can anticipate hardly any changes happening along the way. But most important is that you have the patience for it. Unlike in other techniques, you may not get to see too much in action all the time.

Points to manage the budgets:

Life Action:

1. Try to use as much owned media as possible. These can be images and or videos from your company's archives.
2. Using as much of available internal assets like office space
3. In the case of a fiction project, the internal staff could come in handy in case extras are required and experienced actors from the internal teams.
4. Almost always, when we see a full lineup of the film/ AV for the first time, we find faults and see our vision evolve. It is advisable to produce a scratch before expecting to see the finished product. A scratch can be made by recording a dummy voice-over and placing the entire media back to back without any effects or design. This process helps reduce the rounds of iterations post actual production.

2D or 3D Animation:

1. Art made using stock royalty-free art put together. Original art takes more time and cost.
2. Animation is simple and does not involve complex elements like character animation or graphics animation. Often, simple Animation does the job, and sophisticated Animation is not required.
3. The overall Animation is simple (like in usual 2D whiteboard explainer videos and simple camera movements in the case of 3D Animation).

Across techniques:

1. A routine/regular voice-over artist gives their voice unless the shelf life of the project is high.
2. Music comes from white-labelled copyright-free sources, and the sourcing of such tracks is done usually from many online libraries.

Few high-end choices that can drive the cost up of any project:

If 2D or 3D:

1. Specially designed characters.
2. Animated characters.
3. Seamless transitions between scenes.
4. Using high-end rendering techniques.

For mixed-media:

1. A high-end visual template which requires multiple software to produce the end output.
2. Footage and images are bought from various royalty-free sources.

For live-action:

1. Choice of actors. The more known and experienced the actor, the higher the cost.
2. Choice of higher-end in the production equipment list like camera, lenses, extent and nature of lights being used.?
3. Choice of shoot location. A commercial shoot studio drives the cost up.
4. Performing CGI and or visual effects.
5. Post-production techniques like colour correction.

For any technique:

1. A senior artist or a celebrity does the voice-over.
2. Music is specially composed.
3. A renowned artist does art, or the craft has a high price tag.
4. The overall Animation is elaborate.
5. The talent working on the project, like the creative producer, writer, director, animator or editor, has a higher fee than others.

I hope the above tips help you choose the aptest techniques and produce many successful projects.?

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