We fulfill motion graphics packages for LED companies that install new videoboard displays. Each project typically contains a “Content Package” of elements that come with a new LED video display.
Here are some helpful tips and FAQ’s about the process.
OVERVIEW OF PROCESS
Our Creative Services Department delivers customized content for your new Uber Displays LED product, specifically designed for your display. Our goal is to provide exciting animations that enhance the viewing experience – and to provide useful graphic components that make your display as effective as possible.
STEPS FOR DELIVERY:
- Identify specific needs and goals the client has for each display
- Determine the in-house capabilities the client has for manipulating, modifying and executing content we can provide.
- Identify a list of deliverables according to production hours available.
STEP 1 – CONTENT KICKOFF CALL
The first step is to conduct a kickoff call with the client, including all stakeholders that have approval scope in what content is desired. This call is critical in identifying the clients needs and goals, and is very helpful in revealing production methods and capabilities.
WHO SHOULD BE ON THE CONTENT KICKOFF CALL?
STAKEHOLDERS – There are 100 Production Hours included in this package, so any/all stakeholders that may benefit from these credits should participate.
PRODUCTION EXPERT – We will need to cover technical details, production equipment in your control room, and cover details on your production workflow capabilities, so we request that your “tech guru” be on board for this call.
APPROVALS LEAD – As we generate artwork we will need timely approvals to sign off on the delivery / fulfillment of content. This person should have authority to approve artwork aesthetic, design, content and brand guide compliance. This person does not need to have technical experience in codecs/formats — we will take care of the complex technical details with your production lead.
HOW LONG DOES THE CONTENT KICKOFF CALL TAKE?
Typically we can get this done in :30 minutes. Our first priority is to understand YOUR vision on what types of content we can deliver to make your LED presentation as good as it can be. Secondly, we need to carve out the roles of who’s-talking-to-who (ordering content, technical details, final approvals). Third, we get in to “Creative Discussion” on the aesthetics, look and feel, etc. — and that can take longer than 1 phone call.
WHAT KIND OF FOLLOW-UP CALL IS NEEDED
We suggest a 2nd call take place 1-2 weeks after kickoff to insure that everyone has followed up on their homework assignments from the first call. Typically this 2nd call is more specific to technical and marketing topics, and senior management is not needed. After this 2nd call, it’s basic business of fulfilling the Deliverables, done by our Creative Team and your Tech/Approvals contact person(s).
TYPICAL QUESTIONS WE ASK ABOUT CONTENT & ANIMATION CREATION
1. What was the original “vision” for purchasing new LED Displays? In that vision, are there animations that come to mind? What can we create that will fulfill that original big idea?
2. Are there multiple groups/entities sharing these Production Hours? (Ex: The building management company gets 50% and the tenant hockey team gets 50%).
3. We build most of the inventory using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects. Is your production team able to use, open, modify, and build additional elements using our master files? Or will we need to focus on delivery “playback ready” artwork?
4. Is there a “look” that is already set for the overall aesthetic of what we will build/deliver? If so, please send examples, style guide, etc. so we can work on building emulative designs.
5. If there is not a set “look” – we can provide examples of design ideas. We have an online library of design styles to inspire ideas, and additionally we can provide portfolios of other projects that might help inspire a desired look and feel.
STEP 2 – SPECIFICATIONS
Our Creative Services team can help identify the proper settings based on the video playback equipment you plan to use in production. We can provide a helpful list of questions to identify proper specifications.
STEP 3 – DELIVERABLES
Each project includes a specific amount of production hours included in the job. We will need to identify a list of specific elements for delivery according to this projects allotted production hours.
COMMON QUESTIONS / FAQ
Our Creative Services team will help identify the proper settings based on the video playback equipment used in production. We can provide a helpful list of questions to identify proper specifications to follow.
WHAT TYPE OF MOTION GRAPHIC CONTENT CAN YOU PROVIDE?
We specialize in formatting logos, messaging, stats and data to uniquely shaped displays. This means we can develop virtually any type of message-graphic that fits your needs. Our speciality is motion graphics for sports teams, including complicated motion animations that use your team colors and logos to create energetic sequences that really pop. We also can animated simple logos, create call-to-action slides (ex: Get Your Tickets Now!) or build sequences of sponsor logos and messages in a loop.
HOW ARE “PRODUCTION HOURS” MEASURED? WHAT IS PH VALUE?
Every delivery needs a system to track deliverables – we use a credit system of production “hours”. This terminology comes primarily from RFP language issued by many consultants.
On the Content Kickoff Call we will discuss what elements your facility needs us to produce and develop a mutually agreed list of deliverables. Each of these deliverables will have an estimated Production Hour Value, or PHV – (how many production hours a specific element requires to create and deliver).
We will create and share a spreadsheet for you to see where your credits are being used. Some elements have a higher PH Value (complicated animations) and others are simple – especially if we develop a templated style that makes additional animations quicker to produce.
HOW LONG DOES THE DELIVERY OF MOTION GRAPHIC CONTENT TAKE?
We can typically delivery 2-3 weeks from receipt of logos, assets and establishment of deliverables list. The Client controls a lot of the initial process by equipping us with information, instructions and pertinent assets. Once we get to work the process goes fairly quickly. We will seek approval of initial elements before finalizing delivery.
WHAT INFORMATION DO YOU NEED FROM US TO GET STARTED BUILDING AN ANIMATION PACKAGE?
We need to understand your overall goals/vision for how content is created and displayed on your new videoboards.
- To understand what type of content you are capable of creating in-house
- To learn what types of animations we can create for you
- To determine if you can (in-house) use Adobe software (Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects) to continue to develop, modify and manipulate these animations on your own once we have delivered them
- Establish a Deliverables list of elements using allotted production hours
- We will need your brand guidelines and all logo files in EPS/Vector/Illustrator format
WHAT IS EPS / VECTOR / ILLUSTRATOR LOGO FORMAT?
There are various kinds of logo formats. Some we can use, and some will be too low resolution. The kind we prefer are “vector” based logos, meaning they can be enlarged and not get fuzzy.
If vector logos are not an option, we can do our best with JPGS and PNGS.
IMPORTANT RULE OF THUMB: We cannot use logos that have been saved off of websites with “right-click-and-save” as they will be poor resolution quality for a videoboard.
Here is a helpful video on this topic: LOGOS 101
HOW DOES THE APPROVAL PROCESS WORK?
We need to establish a point-person on the client-side that is responsible to signing off on content we create. This is an important step to insure that we’re meeting expectations and fulfilling our responsibilities – we want all of our clients to be very happy with the content!
HOW DO YOU DELIVER GRAPHIC CONTENT TO US?
We typically use Dropbox. We send you an easy download link that has all your content in a folder that’s easy to view, approve and download.