Live-Action, or Animated. Which style is best?

Industry TrendsAnimationLive-ActionTips & Tricks
Written By Chris Zecco

So you’ve decided that you want to dip your toe into the video marketing deep end and produce your first video. There are so many different avenues to explore (talking head, motion graphics, stock footage, augmented reality, 360 video, explainer, PowerPoint, and many more), how do you make the choice as to which one to create that is going to get the best engagement with your audience?

For the purposes of this article, we are going to break down all of the possible different styles of videos into just 2 main categories: Live-action and Animation. Live-action videos will be any style of video that requires actually working with recorded footage (or purchasing stock footage), and animated will include all of the rest. Obviously, there can be some overlap when you get into post-production, but we’ll keep it simple.

So, how do you choose? Well, for starters, let’s outline the pros and cons of each.

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Live-Action Pros

  1. Make it human - Live-action videos are a great way of gaining some face-time with your audience and adding in some human personality to your video. It’s always good to draw on the emotions of your viewers, and when it comes to putting together a live-action video, having people in it can help capitalize on those emotions. Some studies say that more than 65% of communication can be conveyed through body language alone.

  2. Make it speedy - Keeping it bare-bones, and not going too “Michael Bay” in the editing suite, your live-action video can be produced much quicker than animated videos. Live-action videos (pending logistics and availability of talent) can be completed start to finish in the span of 3-4 weeks. This is compared to the average of 5.5 weeks for a 60-second explainer video.

  3. Cost-effective - At the very core of live-action video, it really doesn’t get much cheaper to produce. These days, everyone has an amazing little HD (or 4K) quality recording device in their pockets, and if it’s about getting your word out to your viewers fast, it doesn’t get any quicker than a Facebook Live or Instagram Live post.

    But what if you’re looking for a more polished production and need to bring in an outside agency (I think we might know one)? As always, this depends on the scope and goals of the project, but One Market Media found that the average cost of a web-based corporate video was between $2,500 and $10,000 (this doesn’t take into account broadcast productions which have added costs). This compares to the the average explainer video cost of $5,000 to $35,000 per finished minute (again, this depends on the scope and goal of the project, but seems to be an average baseline).



Live-Action Cons

  1. Everything adds up - One of the biggest cons (unless you have the budget, of course), is the potential cost. Yes, we just outlined that on average, live-action video is less expensive to produce. However, the more complex your project gets, the more crew, resources and time is needed, and those things can all add up.

    Typically the hourly cost for creating animated videos is more/less a fixed number, however live-action costs can very by your camera choice, lens choice, talent, post-production needs, crew needs, etc. When thinking of putting together a live-action shoot, make sure you hire or consult with a company that has experience in wrangling costs and an efficient crew. When getting into rounds of revisions, Animated edits can be as simple as clicking a box for “motion blur”, where live action edits can have the potential to require re-shoots and additional crew.

  2. Logistically speaking - Preparing for a live action shoot can be almost a logistical nightmare. For most corporate shoots, this isn’t necessarily an issue, but accidents happen, planes get delayed, luggage gets lost, traffic gets backed up, and then you have a crew (or just you) sitting there, waiting for talent or crew to arrive burning through the hours left in your one-two day shoot. We always try to budget an extra day on either end of a live shoot to account for any of these issues, but sometimes you don’t have that luxury, and that’s where it can get stressful.

  3. Flexibility - With animation, you can create whatever you want. Custom environments, custom characters, you can set your video on a different planet or different universe entirely if you want to. Live-action productions (for the most part) tether you here to planet earth with the available talent and available locations. This may not be an issue for most people, but if you’re working on inventing the next great Martian Vacuum that works just as well with 38% less gravity, then you may not want to go the live-action route.

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Animated Video Pros

  1. Customization - Animated video (sometimes called motion graphics, or explainer videos) has the huge benefit of customization. You can create whatever characters you want, put them wherever you want (Mars?), and have the physics of the environment allow things to happen that couldn’t (easily) be achieved with live action.

  2. Simplicity - Remember Saturday morning cartoons? Life was simple back then, sitting on the couch in footy pajamas, eating some Frosted Flakes, watching Elmer Fudd go after Bugs for the 10,000th time. No mortgage, no car payment, no student loans. Well, the simplicity of cartoons on Saturday mornings is what animated video can bring to your audience. It allows you (through the infinite customization mentioned above) to take the most complex topics and themes, and simplify them into something easy to understand and engaging. This is a huge benefit to industries like technology and medical, where a lot of topics are abstract and conceptual, but can be brought to life through animated diagrams and characters.

  3. Boost engagement - “This is a really boring dog in a cape”, said no one ever. Animated videos, through the possibilities of customization, allow you to create compelling visuals that really capture your audience. If audiences are entertained and engage, they are 65% more likely to share your content.



Animated Video Cons

  1. Who are you again? - Animated videos run the risk of coming across as impersonal. Unlike live action, where you can incorporate the human element and draw a connection, it’s just graphics on a screen (albeit, exciting ones). If this is a concern, perhaps a sort of hybrid video is a good choice for you. A live action person with an animated “whiteboard” of sorts can draw the personal connection, and still have engaging visuals.

  2. Timing is everything - According to a survey of 70 explainer video companies, the average time to completion for a 60-second animated video was 38.5 days (business days, so 5.5 weeks), with the longest being around 12 weeks2. Yes, this is because everything is 100% custom, and if that’s what you are going for, then great! But, if you have a product launch or company announcement that you need in a specific time frame, you may want to reassess your options.

  3. No real option to do it yourself - Unlike live-action, where you can whip out your phone and start recording to instantly have a piece of content. There are services and web-based software for creating your own explainers (pre-built characters and icons), but they can be limiting in terms of what you can show, and come with a monthly fee. There are also kits you can purchase from stock sites that offer a bit more flexibility, but require the knowledge of animation software such as After Effects.



So, where do you go from here?

When it comes to producing content, and getting your brand out there to the masses, there is really no wrong way to go about it. A properly done animated video can draw just as much emotion as a live-action video, and depending on your set-up, a live action video can employ just as much customization (greenscreen, motion tracking, etc) as an animated video. It all comes down to your needs, timeframe and budget. Now that you’re armed with an overview of the biggest pros and cons, perhaps you can make a better educated decision on what’s right for your company.

Chris Zecco
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