62 MSCI brand guidelines Videography - Animation/Motion graphics ANIMATION/MOTION GRAPHICS As with footage, motion graphics also need to start with a script and a storyboard. Please refer to the corporate videos section in the guidelines. CONSIDER YOUR VIDEO OBJECTIVES Consider what you are trying to achieve with this video and the points you are trying to get across. This will determine the type of animation that is most suitable. Regardless of the animation type, it should always respect MSCI’s brand attributes. THE AUDIENCE Information-led videos are a great way to share information that essentially is going to drive a rational decision or communicate something of value to your audience (stats, figures, broad data). Story-driven videos help in the emotional decision-making process. All audiences make decisions in different ways. This will need to be when making a decision about the type of the animation you choose. WHERE WILL BE ANIMATION BE HOSTED? Before commencing the development of the storyboard, consider where the animation will reside and how audiences will interact with it. Will it be a banner on a webpage? A GIF in an email? A video announcing a product launch or instructing audiences in a product’s use? Will it be hosted on social media or on a dedicated landing page? A physical or online event? All of these considerations factor into an animation. If the video is an awareness piece targeting people in their personal life via social media or broadcast advertising, something more conversational is more suitable. If, on the other hand, it is an internal training video, something a little more formal might be appropriate. If the only channel for displaying the video is via a landing page, be sure to be clear and concise in the messaging. It is advisable not to try and include all details in a 2-minute-long video. As a guidance, for a 60-second animation script, one should aim for 140 words. Below is our recommended animation length at the different touch points of an audience’s journey: ATTRACT 10 SECONDS • Social • Brand films • Culture • Explainer 30 SECONDS • Thought-leadership CONVERT 60 SECONDS • Explainers • Tutorials • Case-studies CLOSE 2 MINUTES + • Tutorials • Culture • Testimonials ANIMATION CATEGORIES The list below illustrates some of the animation styles MSCI produces: • 2D character • 2D iconography • 2D motion graphics • 2D hand drawn • Abstract • Collage • Exploding diagrams • Feature promo • Kinetic typography • Overlay • Photomontage 2.5D • User interface • Whiteboard animations CONTENT TYPES ANIMATED DEMO VIDEO According to b usiness.com , viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text. The amount of information retained in one minute of online video is equal to around 1.8 million written words. CHARACTER ANIMATION Creating an animated character to represent a product, brand or service can be as efficient as a speaker when trying to convey a message to the audience. Including a character animation in a video will also help it stand out from other videos. Animated characters can be given traits and characteristics that target a particular audience and support the overall message. CORPORATE VIDEO The main difference between a corporate video and more conventional video advertising is its audience. While in broadcast advertising commercials use broad messages for the general audience, corporate videos are more precise. The purpose of the videos can be to onboard new employees, used as part of a training process, demo how a product or service can work for a customer, show the impact of corporate social responsibility efforts or other topics. Corporate videos are more detailed than conventional advertising, which is designed to use snippets of information to prompt viewers to discover more on their own. EVENT HIGHLIGHT VIDEO