Get a quote









    Send a message

    We'd love to hear from you, send us a brief message below.





      What’s the difference between an animatic and an animation?

      What’s the difference between an animatic and an animation? Well, an animatic is the stage which sits neatly in between the storyboarding and actual animation. The animatic cut allows us to view the script as the most basic form video. Discover our animated video services.

       

      The script is accurately timed to the images through a guide voice over. We can easily record and cost free at Liquona HQ.

      A piece of music can also be put to the storyboard as well allowing directors, clients, and other key stakeholders (including LIQUONA’s animators) to get a feel of the pacing, flow and rhythm of the video.

      Importantly, changes at this stage, rather than mid animation, are 10x easier to make rather than unpicking a complicated project file! In case of the latter, it can become tricky to amend without changing the outcome of the overall videos.

      So, in short an animatic checks the following:

      Reviewing the Flow

      Waiting to get a first draft back before you see anything is an option and can be a cheaper route IF you nail the script first time. However, more often that not cut 1 shows lots of areas which need improvement.

      Amends and major script changes at the animation stage can be costly, especially if the script isn’t hitting all the notes it should be. That’s why it’s best to iron out any issues with the script and narrative at animatic stage, prior to the production starting.

      Mercy Ships Animatic Cut

      We recently completed a fantastic 3D animated TV advert for Mercy Ships UK. To ensure the voice over matched with what the viewer was seeing on screen, and to make sure that the pacing and flow on the animation was in line with the script, we created an animatic cut. Check it out below.

      What happens if you miss out this stage?

      Queue tears falling down the faces of all animators across the land…

      Not really … missing the animatic cut stage isn’t the end of the world, it just adds a slight increase in risk to the project.

      The main risk occurs if there are any larger script issues that weren’t picked up when written on paper. This means our animators will have to retrofit content in, unpicking a carefully woven web used to create cut 1 which can be time consuming and costly.

      Unfortunately, we’re not magicians and can’t predict the outcome of undoing technical work. So, this could bring up issues with the flow of the video, making it less engaging, totally distracting from the extra points being added in in the first place! To avoid this, we suggest accounting for animatic stage!

      Some Useful Links

      Check out our blog on sound design, with insights from our Senior Animator and Design Lead.