Styles
Switch Video produces 4 different styles of explainer videos. These include:
Switch Animated
Switch Animated videos are created from script and image concepts, created in conjunction with the client.
Our illustration team designs different styles for the characters that will be in the animated video, as well as a variety of styles for elements like text and backgrounds.
After our scriptwriters complete the script, a full storyboard is created. A storyboard is a series of rough sketches that outline the actions that will happen onscreen while each line of the script is read.
Switch Video uses Flash to animate the style of drawing selected, adding music, sound effects and voice-over. While we do use the Flash program to create motion, keep in mind that before it gets to that point we must draw every single frame of action. It’s a very labor-intensive process (that we love!), and it’s the reason the animated video creation process is a full five weeks.
To preview some Switch Animate styles, please check out the following videos: Telesight, HomeAway.com, World Food Program, and Tweet Up.
SwitchBoard
A blend between live-action and digital animation, SwitchBoard starts with an illustrator and a blank whiteboard.
We then record every step of the way as the illustrator draws what eventually becomes a very large mosaic. On average, we end up with about two days’ worth of footage.
At this point, the footage is handed to our post-production team, who make the appropriate edits, ramp up the speed, and time it to the narration.
In post, we don’t only ramp up the speed and make edits, but we also bring certain elements to life on the whiteboard. A good example would be if the illustrator draws a sun with some clouds, we might animate the clouds so that they look like they are being blown by the wind.
To preview some SwitchBoard styles, please check out the video we completed for Rypple.
Digital SwitchBoard
Digital SwitchBoard is complicated to create, yet the end result is very flexible and modifiable because it is entirely digital. Digital SwitchBoard is created using vector based software such as Flash and Illustrator, meaning it is extremely scalable which allows us to be more creative with transitions as we are not limited by pixel count.
The flexibility of Digital SwitchBoard also allows for us to easily make changes at a later date, if necessary, which is much more expensive and harder to do with regular whiteboard video, which needs to be redrawn. Lastly, Digital SwitchBoard also allows us to easily add in colour to compliment a client’s branding.
To preview some Digital SwitchBoard styles, please check out the video we completed for Georgian College and Mokafive .
Switch Claymation
Claymation videos are one of many forms of stop motion animation and each animated piece in the scene is a clay figure. Each movement/motion is a new shot and all the shots are recorded on film or digital media and played back in rapid succession.
Claymation videos are incredibly time-consuming to produce but the end result is memorable, powerful video.
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