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They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. But if that’s true, then moving pictures are worth millions. And that's a lot of words to tell your story to your audience!
Motion graphics animation gives you the opportunity to tell amazing stories that your audience can connect with.
No matter how complex the subject matter is, these videos always manage to simplify it.
You can portray even the most comprehensive ideas in an engaging and attractive manner with these videos.
Excited to know more? Interested in learning how to create your own motion graphics?
Well, you're in luck! I have scoured the internet to bring you the best motion graphics examples out there and create the ultimate guide to this fantastic animation format.
First of all, what are motion graphics, exactly?
Well, simply put, it’s a sort of umbrella term that describes a range of graphic design and animation styles that are particularly well-suited for taking a lot of information and breaking it down into simple, easy-to-digest concepts using clever visuals and transitions.
Animated motion graphics come in all shapes and sizes. And they're amazing at engaging the audience.
Before you create your own engaging motion graphics, remember that the best way to animate graphics is simply to study the best examples—and see what makes them so powerful.
So without further ado, let's get into it!
The first in the list is something we've only started seeing traction on lately: mixed media.
Don't get me wrong. This type of video content has been around for quite a long time. But it is only recently that we've seen its widespread adoption, as the trends in motion graphics are ever-changing.
The best, most effective motion graphics videos pack the perfect blend of live-action footage and animation.
Now, the thing with perfection is that it can often be subjective.
So in some cases, you might see an animated overlay running over live-action footage. But in other cases, you would find animation with occasional use of images and videos.
Depending on what works best for your company and your message, you could go for either. At the end of the day, this style is all about experimenting and finding the best fit.
But why would you go for it in the first place?
To start with, these videos stand out from the clutter. Look at social media and online video, for example. Most of the videos that you would find in your feed are either animated or live-action.
But if you end up finding a mixed media video in the lot, you would surely be aware of its existence. It would draw you in and hold your attention with its beautiful elements, visual effects and transitions.
Look at this great motion graphics video by the famous blogging platform, Medium.
The video is full of elements that date back to the early era of the internet. Since the subject of the video is the internet from its early days, there are numerous references from that era. The creators of the video did this on purpose to take the viewers back into those days.
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Notice how pronounced the animation was in this video? That was Medium's way of telling their story. For your company, the proportions of animation and live-action footage could be different.
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And the only way to find out is by experimenting as you create your own motion graphics.
When you want to educate your audience in an entertaining way, make motion graphic videos that use the infographic style.
Companies of all sizes and types, from little startups to Fortune 500 juggernauts, all use motion graphic videos. And it’s no surprise. That is largely due to the fact that these videos explain complex topics in a simple way using surprisingly advanced motion design and animation techniques paired with excellent storytelling.
Being easy to understand, these videos see a lot of engagement. This provides the companies using these videos good ROI.
You will often find tech companies use these videos to explain complex concepts. That said, they aren't the only ones using these videos to communicate with their audience.
Look at how Hootsuite used infographic videos to interact with their audience.
The narrative used in this beautiful motion graphics video is quite a simple one. We live in a digital age and almost all of us are on one social media platform or the other.
So when the video starts with “everyone's on social media these days,” you're hooked.
But it's not just what the narrator says that grabs your attention. The moving graphics design supporting the statement emphasizes it. The interplay of the two is what keeps you hooked.
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If you're a regular reader of our blogs, you would know how much we emphasize the fact that these videos use shapes.
But when you look at this video, you see animals and humans as well.
So was our statement wrong all along? No. Infographic videos use abstract shapes and objects for storytelling.
And that is something you see in this video, too. While you do see animals and humans, they aren't what the video revolves around.
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The storytelling used in the video is abstract in nature. And that is what makes it an infographic video in its true sense.
It is the use of motion graphics in this abstract manner of storytelling that makes it work.
This is why they are so easy to understand. And this is what drives engagement for these videos.
Unsure if infographic videos would be good for your business? Talk to us.
Many companies struggle to connect with the audience on an emotional level— especially those in highly technical fields that the layman doesn’t entirely understand, like tech, finance, healthcare, and crypto, to name a few.
But we all know that building an emotional connection with the audience is vital to driving conversions.
When you tell your story the right way, you can form these connections with your audience. And that is something cartoon video content excels at. When you add motion to these characters, you truly bring them to life.
The use of motion graphics to depict animated characters is what makes these videos highly relatable. When you see a character on the screen having the same problem you're facing, you relate to it.
Later, when the company's solutions help fix the character's problem, you feel like it solved your problems. And that creates the emotional connection we talked about earlier.
This builds trust and makes you more likely to make a purchase decision. And since these videos speak directly to the audience, they have a high recall value. This in turn increases the recall value of your company.
Now take a look at the video right at the beginning of this section. This one comes from Virgin Media Security.
While watching the motion graphics animation, you see many different characters that look relatable. You might go, "Oh, that could be me. And that could be my spouse. And that could be my child!"
This is what master storytellers of the caliber that work for Hollywood call “an audience surrogate,” in that the audience sees themselves in the shoes of the character. But the fancy terms aren’t important— the point is, this technique makes it highly personal and urgent for the viewer, and it doesn’t feel passive anymore.
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Everyone knows about the risks associated with not having a proper cybersecurity system. But how many of us actually go ahead and do something about it? How many of us even understand the basics, for that matter?
Watching this video hints at the problems you might face because of that. And it motivates you to take some action about it. Since the information is being provided by the company, you are more likely to buy their solution.
But the real reason is that you can relate to the characters shown in the video. Such emotional connections are best formed using cartoon videos.
Whiteboard is a style of animation so fantastic, so versatile, that there’s simply not enough room to go into it in depth here. So if you want to learn more, do check out the blog we wrote on the types of motion graphics videos here.
If you're reading this, you’re probably eager to learn how to make motion graphics for your company.
This is a big step because making videos is not easy. It takes a lot of time and effort to make a video that both you and your audience would love.
But don't worry, we know the right tools for your needs. And we've created a list of these tools for you!
Excited? Let's check out the tools you need for the type of videos you picked!
Assets used in mixed-media videos include live-action footage. It could also be images. And you need both of them in perfect shape to make them a part of your animation & motion graphics projects.
Want to learn how to create motion graphics yourself? You might be intimidated at first. But remember that animation software is just a tool to help you, as a graphic designer or animator, make amazing ideas come to life. Remind yourself that this is more art than science, and that there’s no one magic formula or universal template that’s perfect for every video as you make your own motion graphics.
At the core of any motion graphics project is imagination, creativity, and clear communication– and that comes from your mind. Whatever software suite you use as your motion graphics maker, all it really does is simply help you make your vision real through the process of motion design. Put another way, software helps create motion out of your graphics, but it’s your script and message that turns motion into emotion as you start animating— specifically, an emotional impact with your audience!
So let's take a quick look at how to create animated graphics using these powerful, industry-standard tools– from free animation software like 3D modeling and animation suites, here are the best high-quality motion compositing and animation software out there to help you in your own design process and video production.
Want to go deeper and learn about more tools? We wrote a pretty detailed guide on the best free motion graphics video tools which you can read here.
Production Studio: BUCK
Engagement Rate: 4.7
When you look at this video for the first time, you wouldn't think it's mixed media. Except for a few shots in the latter half of the video, there aren't any live-action images or videos.
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So what is it that makes it a mixed-media video? As you can see, the video is a montage of different videos BUCK made for IBM. If you look closely, you will notice that you're looking at different styles. And that is mixed media.
In its truest sense, mixed media is a type of motion graphics video that uses more than one medium. So if you see a video that makes use of 3D animation along with cartoon animation, it's mixed media.
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And this video uses varied media without making it look like a bad potpourri. This is what makes this video one of the best mixed-media videos I’ve ever seen.
Production Studio: Studio Pigeon
Engagement Rate: NA
Many mixed-media videos that you would come across on the internet are either heavy on text or images. Watching them, you might think that choosing one is the right way to go.
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But this video changes that. It has the right amount of text for the story to be coherent. At the same time, it isn't text-heavy. So it strikes a balance between text and visual imagery.
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And that isn't all. The video manages to maintain a balance between animation and live-action footage too. This ensures that the viewer isn't overwhelmed by either in the video.
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Its ability to tell a powerful story while maintaining balance is inspiring. This ability is what helped the video find a spot on our list.
Production Studio: Ordinary Folk
Engagement Rate: 7.6
If you've been following us for a while, you probably already know how much we love this video. Everything about this video is simply perfect– the motion graphics design, the transitions, the script, all of it.
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The strongest part of the video is its script. Ordinary Folk has left no stone unturned to come up with the perfect script. You might be wondering why I say that it's perfect.
You might even want the right formula. Fret not, for I have the formula for writing an amazing explainer video script! You could consult that.
Moving on to the visuals, they're amazing too. The way they've used colors to complement the script is great. These colors set the right tone in the minds of the audience.
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The way they use the motion graphics, colors, transitions and overall animation in the video was awesome. With the voice-over and sound effects, watching this is a treat.
Production Studio: Giant Ant
Engagement Rate: 5.4
Regardless of whether you're in the medical industry or not, this video is a treat to watch. From visuals to transitions and the artistic use of kinetic typography, the infographic video has everything on point.
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What I especially like about the video is the way it has used sound effects. It's not something you'd see on a daily basis. But this video did it perfectly. It used the entire sound stage to deliver sound effects that enhanced the experience.
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The transitions used in the video were very intuitive. And yet every transition wows you. Giant Ant truly did a great job of making this video as engaging as possible.
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My favorite bit of the video is when the narrator says "sensationless". That was the moment I realized that I'm never going to forget this video.
The way everything went silent at that moment was a testimony to an amazing execution of the script. There’s so much more to motion graphics than I could cover in just one blog.
So to find out more, why not check out our best motion graphics videos blog?
Motion graphics videos can do wonders for your brand—if only you use them the right way.
And I hope you have a clearer understanding of what the right way looks like for your brand. As with every other list of ours, this isn’t final.
I’ll be updating it as and when I come across something awesome that you should be seeing.
So stay tuned and keep checking this blog out! And let me know if there’s anything you want me to cover in the comments below!
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