What to know
Technology has evolved significantly through the years, giving businesses new tools to reach their audiences more easily. Today, animation is one of the most powerful ways to create visuals, tell stories, and send messages about your brand. With several animation styles to choose from, the sky’s the limit with the outputs you can produce! However, before you can start thinking about the details, your first concern will likely be commercial animation pricing.
How much does commercial animation cost? It is always the big question that business owners consider when investing in a video production. However, it is not easy to give a straightforward answer because price always depends on many factors. Get to know more about these factors to help you estimate how much you might need to spend on a commercial project.
Factors Affecting Commercial Animation Costs
So, what are the key factors that affect commercial animation pricing? Here are some of the biggest and most important decision points you need to make when investing in a production:
Animation Style
As mentioned earlier, there are several animation styles to choose from today. The more complex and detailed the style, the more expensive it will be. For commercial animation projects, these are the common styles used:
- 2D Animation. 2D is one of the most popular choices for commercial videos since it gives you wide design flexibility but is still on the more affordable side. You can use typography and vectors for a more simple production and character-drawn animations for a more expensive production.
- 3D Animation. 3D animation has been growing steadily, thanks to the improvement in technologies. It is particularly useful for projects like training videos, where you may want to simulate real-life scenarios for employees to get an immersive experience. However, 3D projects are significantly more expensive, with costs ranging from $10,000 to over $100,000.
- Stop Motion Animation. Another fun animation style is stop motion, which involves showing the movement in objects by capturing them frame by frame. Animation costs are usually priced per finished minute, but you can expect them to range from around $1,000 to $10,000 per minute.
- Motion Graphics. As its name suggests, motion graphics is a style that creates the illusion of movement in a particular graphic design. It can make use of 2D and 3D animation, and price will range from approximately $1,000 to $5,000 for a 60-second video.
Company and Services
What services will you need help with? The reputation of the production company you choose, as well as the services you get, will affect how much you need to pay. If you want the professional studio to handle the whole production, the process will include strategy concepting, scripting and storyboarding, voiceovers, and audio and sound effects. Naturally, it will be more expensive when you get more services.
Video Length
Another big factor affecting commercial animation pricing is your video length. Animation can be a tedious and time-consuming process, so every second has an impact on the overall price. The appropriate length will ultimately depend on what you intend to do with the video. For example, explainer videos are usually brief and straight to the point, ranging from 60 to 90 seconds.
Post-Production Revisions
After the animation studio goes through the production stages and sends you the output, you might want to get revisions done. If so, these will also come with additional costs due to the extra work that needs to be done. For example, if you want some changes with the storyboard after it has already been made, you will need to pay for this. Prices will usually get higher as you go further along the production process since revisions will have a bigger implication.
Overall, it is difficult to say how much a commercial animation project will cost for sure. Prices can range from as little as $3,000 per minute to more than $100,000 per minute depending on the complexity and detail that you want in the video. As a result, it is important to estimate how much you expect to get as a return from your investment to determine how much will be worth spending on it in the first place.
If you need quality commercial animation, contact us now at AustinVisuals.com
