Live Action Videos vs Animated Videos: What’s Best for Your Business?

When planning to create a video, you will have a lot of different video types to choose from. Normally, your choice will fall under two major categories: live action videos and animated videos. Your choice of video will depend on a lot of different factors you need to consider.

Videos have now become an essential part of marketing for your business because of how effective and versatile they can be. To fully reap the benefits that come with creating videos, you need to make sure to create those that will achieve specific goals and objectives you want your business to achieve.

Creating videos just for the sake of riding with the trend can be troublesome if you are not able to set clear objectives and messages for them. That is why you have to carefully plan out and choose what type of videos you want to create.

These categories both have more specific types of videos under them and have their own specific advantages and disadvantages. This article will tell you all you need to know about these two major video categories, from how they are made, the factors you need to consider, their pros and cons, and their video types and examples.

Why You Need to Create Videos For Your Business

1. Video is one of the best types of content for generating engagement.

If you are looking to garner engagement with potential customers online, then video is a great way to reach them. Biteable reports that 49% of marketers say that video helps them in engaging with their audience.

78% of people are watching online videos weekly, and 55% watch videos every day. (HubSpot)

Video can be very effective with engagement. This is because of how entertaining they can be for your audience, especially if they are watching on mobile devices.

92% of mobile video viewers share videos with other people. (Small Business Trends)

Whether you are posting your video on popular social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram or posting on your own website or blog, having a well-made video can help put your brand in front of a wider online audience. Having more exposure can then lead to more engagements and interactions with your brand.

2. Videos improve customers’ information retention and recall.

Since videos have the element of visuals, the key message that you want to communicate will most likely stick in your audience’s mind much more strongly compared to just using text or images.

Viewers retain 95% of information when seen in a video, compared to only 10% when reading it in text. (Insivia)

Having voice overs, a creative soundtrack, a dynamic and colorful background, and an entertaining story can all help make your messaging memorable.

While it may be easy to create a video that everyone can watch, it is a much more difficult task to create a memorable video that your audience will remember you for. When done right, videos are a better way to gather high recall from audiences compared to other types of content.

3. Viewers are more likely to buy from you after watching your videos.

People are much more likely to purchase your product or services if they found your online videos to be entertaining. Statistics show that almost half of users act after viewing a video advertisement that they liked and that enjoyment of video advertising increases the intent to purchase by 97 percent.

Video is a high-return endeavor if you are able to plan everything correctly. You need to target the right audience and communicate a key message that would resonate with them. Having a video with these in mind can help you convert potential customers and even turn some into repeat customers.

4. Video is the most shareable type of content.

Video is shared more than blog posts, articles, photos, and texts. This makes their potential for reach, awareness, and engagement to be so much higher compared to other content.

Social videos generate 1200% more shares than text posts and image posts combined. (G2 Crowd)

What makes video so effective is that it provides long-term benefits for brand awareness and sales because of its shareability.

While videos that promote a sale or a discount or anything related to a direct purchase can lead to an immediate sale, it may not get as many shares as a video with an engaging and relatable story. It’s important to vary the type of videos you have to keep your audience entertained and wanting more from you. This leads to more shares and a greater reach and awareness for your business.

5. Videos are personal.

The magic of videos is that you do not always need to create videos about your company, product, or service. If you offer the best to your customers, they will give positive feedback and reviews by creating their own videos. Consumers normally place a higher value on reviews made by other fellow consumers and there is an even higher value if they create video reviews about you.

These videos are normally posted on the most popular video platforms and reach a wide audience of those that follow the video creator and those that are interested in your brand. Having a video creator give you positive feedback about your product or service to a huge platform can really help most users when it comes to their own decisions on purchasing your products.

6. Videos bring in revenue.

Videos have been shown to increase the revenue of all types of businesses regardless of size and industry whether your goal could be increasing awareness, engagement, or even conversions. Also, because of the advancements in technology, the video creation process has never been cheaper.

Recording a video can be as easy as using your smartphone camera and even these raw videos can perform well on social media if planned right. Investing to create the best type of videos possible will definitely yield a great return even if you hire a top video production company.

What Are Live Action Videos?

Live action videos are videos that use footage of real life people, animals, places, etc. These types of videos primarily use photography during video shoots. These will normally involve real actors in actual locations that will appear in front of the camera.

What Are Animated Videos?

Animated videos use animation which refers to using and manipulating drawn figures that appear to be moving. Most movements in animations are being done through computer-generated imagery nowadays. These videos allow for more opportunities that may not be possible to do in real life.

The Live Action Video Process

Here is an overview of the process of creating live action videos:

For the whole video production process, you can hire a video production agency to help you out. These agencies are especially important if your business is not experienced in holding video shoots. For the process of producing live action videos, there are typically three main stages: pre-production, production, and post-production.

During pre-production is when you typically plan out everything you need for the video shoot. This includes choosing a video idea, target audience, and key message. Pre-production also includes scripting and storyboarding to properly visualize and simulate your video.

Then once everything is planned out, the production stage can now take place by filming your corporate video. This is where your video production agency will do their excellent work in shooting your video. When you have finally gathered all the film footage you need, you will now enter the post-production stage. This includes editing the video to include audio, graphics, effects, and adjustments to make your video look like what you planned it out to be.

The Animated Video Process

Here is an overview of the process of creating animated videos:

The process of creating animated videos has a slightly different approach and again, you can hire a video production agency to help you out if you do not have much experience creating these animated videos. Just like with live action videos, you first have to plan everything out from the video concept and idea, to the key message, and which audience to target.

Then onto the scriptwriting and storyboarding which will be a bit more crucial compared to live action videos. This is because you really need to plan out and see how your animated video will look before creating the animations. You have to check if you can animate the things you want to show up in the video.

Once you have a rough look of how the animated video will flow, the process of animation can now take place. Your chosen video production team or freelancers are in charge of animation. The animation is typically done through graphic design programs. Once the animation is done, music, sound effects, and voice overs can now be added to complete the video. All that is left is to review the animation before uploading.

What to Consider When Choosing the Right Type of Videos for Your Objective

When it comes to choosing between live action videos and animated videos, there are certain factors that you need to consider, here are three of those that will play a huge part in choosing which type of video is the best for your business:

What are you looking to promote through video?

Your video may depend on what you are trying to promote or to what industry you want to promote to. Even though both animation videos and live action actions can be applicable to most cases, it is still useful to ask just to make sure.

Live action videos tend to be more appropriate to industries that rely on real life interactions like for hospitality or for business. While animated videos can perform better for other industries like healthcare or technology or any other industry that wants to simplify their complex products or services.

What is your budget for the video?

Another important factor to consider is the budget you are willing to allocate to create your video. For live action videos, you will be paying for actors, equipment, and locations, and for animated videos you will be paying for animation services which can also be a considerable amount.

One would think that live action videos may be significantly more expensive, however animated videos may also be expensive if you want to be assured that the video will be of high quality. It is crucial to figure out the right balance of getting the best quality of videos at a budget range that you can afford.

Check out our pricing guide here.

What is your timeline?

Figuring out how much time you are willing to take to make a video is important when it comes to choosing what type you want to do. The process of creating animated videos may take some time because of the animators having to create all the elements in graphic design and then animating all the frames together.

However, live action videos can also be time consuming considering you have to sort out everything from the location, the crew, and the cast. The process of shooting the video can also be unpredictable and may take longer than expected especially if things are not planned out perfectly.

Pros and Cons of Live Action Videos

If you are thinking about creating live action videos, here are some of the pros and cons that come with making them:

Pros

1. Live action videos possess a more human element.

The most impactful benefit of live action videos is that it includes a more human element to your video. Seeing real people and places can make it easier for audiences to relate and engage with the video’s key message.

2. Live action videos allow you to portray more authenticity.

Live action videos naturally have a sense of authenticity attached to it simply because of the use of real people. These videos are the closest thing that can simulate our human experience and it helps show that side of a business.

3. Live action videos can be more accessible.

If you are looking to create raw looking videos, you can even take one using a smartphone which everyone has nowadays. You can easily film something quick and as long as the message and execution is clear, it can still perform well online.

4. Live action videos can be quicker to make.

Live action videos can be quicker to create if you are able to plan it out appropriately and have a simple production and concept behind the video.

Cons

1. Live action videos normally cost more to make.

While it is normally more convenient and affordable to go for raw looking videos, businesses will normally want to have a high level of production to create a high quality video. This means more significant costs that covers actors, equipment, set locations, and editing.

2. There may be a lack of flexibility in filming and editing live action videos.

Having to change your video either through removing or adding additional scenes during your shoot can be very tedious because it will alter all the planning and scheduling you have done beforehand. Having reshoots consumes too much time and will have you spending even more money.

Pros and Cons of Animated Videos

If you are considering using animated videos, here are the pros and cons that you need to look at when you are making them:

Pros

1. There is no need to hire actors.

You will not have to hire people that have to act in front of a camera. At most, all you will need to get is a voice over artist who can narrate your animated video.

2. There is no need to scout for expensive filming locations.

You do not have to find expensive set locations for shoots. With animated videos, you can be updated and see the progress of your video through the convenience of your own screen. 

3. Animated videos can simplify complex topics.

Animated videos can help make complex topics more digestible. They can simplify a topic and reimagine it in a way that is easily understandable to a general audience. This can make the information more engaging.

4. Animated videos allow for a more creative treatment.

Since you are not bound to the rules of reality when creating animated videos, you are allowed to have a more creative treatment to your video. You can let your imagination run wild so that you can communicate your message in a more effective way.

5. Animated videos can be more budget friendly.

Normally, animated videos will tend to be more budget friendly since there are a lot less elements to consider when it comes to costing them. You will only have to focus on hiring graphic designers and even animators for your video.

6. Animated videos can have a longer shelf life.

You have the ability to update animated videos over time if your product or goal is changed or updated in the future. It is easier to adapt the script to add or remove something in a way that is not possible with live action videos.

Cons

1. Animated videos may feel less personal.

Animated videos have the potential to feel less personal to some viewers. This may depend on specific situations and audiences but to make sure these can perform well for all is to adapt certain animations for specific audiences.

2. Animated videos may take a longer time to produce.

Animated videos have to be built from scratch. Every element that is needed has to be planned, designed, animated, and reviewed to make sure they are perfect for the video. The thing with this is that it takes time for all of these to work and high quality animated videos need all the time to make what is best for you.

Live Action Video Types and Examples

There are some video types that work well as live action videos along with some examples:

Testimonial Videos

Testimonial videos can play a critical role for those consumers who are already interested in making a purchase and are just looking for one more push. These videos allow you to highlight the positive experiences that your loyal customer has had with your business.

These videos work well because of the human element involved in the video. Seeing the person tell their actual story about their experience with the brand in the video adds a level of authenticity that written reviews don’t have.

Here is an example of a testimonial video from HP:

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2lroMr0miI

Interview Videos

Interview videos or Q&A videos can be effective in engaging with your online audience as you can answer their questions. You can feature a prominent thought leader or industry expert and have them answer questions about the industry or their business.

These videos work better as live action videos as it is more personal and engaging to see them address their questions in a physical setting.

Here is an example of an interview video from Wired:

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWBlN9o6Azc

Company Culture Videos

Company culture videos are a great way to showcase all the employees that are working hard behind the scenes to create the best product or service to their customers. You can display your office space, employees, and office activities that your audience will find interesting.

Obviously, showcasing these in real locations with real people through live action videos is vital to the success of these videos.

Here is an example of a company culture video from Plaid:

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGvdiXrjEnQ

Animated Video Types and Examples

Explainer Videos

Explainer videos help educate your audience on how your product or service can be beneficial to them. They can help solve problems about their product or other issues related to it as well. Since it is easier for people to learn through videos, explainer videos will have a stronger impact than text, photos, or infographics.

These explainer videos can be more effective as animated videos because animated videos can address complex topics or problems in a more simplified manner. They can also make it easier for your audience to visualize what your product or service will look like.

Here is an example of an explainer video from Security@me:

Video Link: https://vimeo.com/376364430

Tutorial or FAQ Videos

You need tutorial or FAQ videos if you have a product or service that requires a lot of attention and action. These videos will teach the viewers how to use their product and answer common questions that people are asking about using the product.

These can be made as animated videos because they can easily show how the product looks like especially if this product is in the tech or software category. Also, you can easily tweak these animated videos to accommodate new or updated questions that may arise while people are using the product.

Here is an example of a tutorial video from Sony Playstation:

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9cb_Jj5e7o

Product Demos

Product demo videos are meant to showcase a product or service and its unique features that will appeal to consumers. These give a brief overview of how everything works and how they can help those consumers that are interested.

Product demos work a lot better as animated videos especially if they are software or technology products that need to show the interface of their product. Showing the actual way the product works through animation can provide a clearer picture to customers.

Here is an example of a product demo from Zendesk:

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buRG1eGuPIs

Conclusion

Choosing between live action videos and interactive videos can be tricky if you do not have a solid plan for your key message and target audience. If you have both those ready, you should never go wrong with choosing either video.

You have to consider the important factors and weigh the pros and cons of each so that you can finalize your choice as soon as possible. If you are looking for help from a video production agency that can help you out with this choice, then fewStones is here to help.

Our team at fewStones can help guide you throughout the whole video production process. It also helps that our videography services provide live action videos and animation (2D and 3D) videos so we are ready to help you out either way.

You can check out our website to see our past works for live action videos and animated videos and see our other services like corporate photography. You can also get an instant quote from us for free.

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