I lead the creation of a custom educational animated video series for Webster Bank. These videos outlined the step-by-step process of their mobile app and were deployed to end users and employees of Webster Bank. Their intended use was to assist during Webster Bank's system update as they switched to Malauzai as their online banking system provider. I walked clients through Murphy & Company's creative process starting with a creative brief, research, scripting, storyboarding, style frames, illustration and animation. I lead script development, storyboarding, style frames and illustration. The animation was completed by Nick Mariani and I reviewed each video before it was sent to the client.
Scripting
Before I began scripting this six video series, I studied the mobile app and took screenshots to ensure each step outlined in the script was accurate. The scripts were edited by a professional writer and sent to the client for review. They were allowed two rounds of edits to complete the scripting process. Once the scripts were completed, the client signed an authorization form allowing us to move on to the storyboarding phase.
Storyboarding & Style Frames
The storyboarding stage of the creative process was very similar to a comic book. It contained thumbnail images of each illustration, a snippet of correlating script, and animation cues explaining how the image will move. The client also receives three style frames which are digital illustrations of three thumbnails within the storyboards. The purpose of the style frames is to show how the client's branding is utilized and gives them a solid idea of how the final illustrations appear. The client received two rounds of edits during the process. An authorization form was signed to approve the storyboards and we moved into the illustration and rough cut stages of the process.
Style Frames
Illustrations
Once the storyboards were completed, I began building out all the thumbnails in Illustrator. When I completed illustrations for one video, I exported the images as PNGs and plugged them into an InDesign storyboard template. This storyboard, along with the scripts, voiceover recording, and Illustrator files were then sent to an animator.
Rough Cut Videos
The animator then created rough cuts of each video which included the recorded voiceover timed with the thumbnails. No animation was completed during the process. The purpose of a rough cut is to show the client how the finalized video will look and allows them to make any final adjustments to the digital illustrations. The client is allowed two rounds of edits during this process and an authorization form is sent to finalize the videos. Once we receive a signed form, the animation officially begins.
Final Animation
The client received cuts of fully animated videos for review. If everything looks correct, we send them a form to finalize the project. The animator creates a high quality export of the finished video.
View entire video series here: https://sproutvideo.com/playlists/7a97d3bd15f5
