Services
We offer scripting, storyboarding and animation at competitive prices, as well as graphic design.
Animation
Why science animation?
Science animation is a fantastic way to communicate scientific or medical concepts to new or established audiences, whether they work in research or not.
Animation is more time-consuming to produce than film. But it offers the advantage of communicating concepts that are difficult or impossible to capture on camera, from medical diagrams to subatomic particles. It can be used for
- creating video abstracts of new research
- offering a video alternative to Patient Information Sheets in clinical trials
- teaching fundamental science or health concepts to students or the wider public
- making visual aids for audio content such as podcasts or music about science
- encouraging people and policy-makers to interact with your work
At Cloud Chamber Studios, we offer a variety of animation and design packages to suit different budgets. The animation process and current pricing levels are explained in detail below.
Pricing
Our work is priced at a daily or half-daily rate. Quotes are estimated based on the project brief and may not always reflect the final project cost. We work closely with our clients to ensure that the project brief is accurate - this keeps additional editing to a minimum. If you have a specific budget allocated for an animation, we can also suggest a project design that can be achieved for a fixed rate. For a full explanation of different animation packages, see our Portfolio page.
Quotes
Services
What we offer
We specialise in creating visual narratives in collaboration with your audience of choice. At Cloud Chamber Studios, we can offer anything from a basic animation package through a co-produced suite of animations and visuals, evaluated according to your specifications.
Patient centred co-production
We specialise in creating animations alongside relevant patient and public groups, for maximum impact and clarity.
Scripting and storyboarding
We collaborate with you to produce scripts and storyboards, which act as the core reference for the remainder of the project.
Illustration and style frames
Illustration includes the production of final artwork to be included in the animation. Style frames are snapshots of the art style.
Animation and animatics
2D animation is carried out using industry-standard software Adobe After Effects. Animatics are draft clips for review.
Editing and captioning
This includes creating content for the video's final location. Captions make your video more accessible.
Analytics and evaluation
We can work with you to analyse video metrics and evaluate the impact of your animation with your given audience.
For anything other than short animations (less than one minute), we may request an upfront deposit of up to 50% of the project cost. Where institutions require payment on delivery, we may as an alternative invoice for scripting and storyboarding costs in advance of delivering the full animation.
Case studies
Want to see some examples?
Our Portfolio page provides examples of animations, original graphic design and project bundles.
Process
How the process works
A good graphic design or animation piece is founded on clear communication between researcher and creator throughout the project. We appreciate that when starting out, the animation and design process may be as unknown to you as your research is to us. This section details our basic workflow, so that you have a better idea of what is involved.
1 - Project brief
The brief describes what you would like to achieve from the project. We can work with you to create a good brief that we can use as a reference. Things to think about include:
- The information you want to communicate and your primary audience
- Whether you would like to co-produce your animation with patients or public groups
- How long the animation will be or what size the graphic needs to be
- What styles, colour schemes and font types you may want to use
- Where the final product will appear (e.g. website, class tutorial, exhibition) and anything required to give context
- How you plan to share your work (e.g. via collaborators, social media, festivals)
We are happy to advise on any aspects of the brief as necessary.
2 - Script and storyboard production
We will work with you to generate accessible scripts which draw on your scientific expertise and our communication skills.
The storyboard acts as a bridge between the project script and visuals. It maps out each scene, the key movements and any transitions between scenes.
3 - Style frames and illustration
Once the script and storyboard have been agreed, we will produce some style frames for review. These are still artworks to indicate the feel of the final piece.
If you are happy with one of the suggested styles, we will develop the illustration required to bring the storyboard to life.
Detailed feedback on the style frames will allow us to create a final animation which best suits your needs in the shortest time possible.
4 - Animatics and animation
Like style frames, animatics are quick drafts to demonstrate what the final animation will look like. We focus on animatics of the most technically complex parts of the storyboard, to ensure that you can review the work for scientific accuracy.
The time it takes to animate the illustrations fully depends on the length and complexity of the content.
5 - Editing and captioning
We will submit the video to you for a final review and editing before it is published. Unless the content is subject to non-disclosure agreements, we upload creations to our own YouTube channel. We can also supply the video file to be uploaded elsewhere.
We provide closed captions in English as standard for your video. If you want to reach a global audience, you may want to work with a third party to generate subtitles or voiceovers in other languages.
