One of the greatest features of animation is the ability to reuse and repurpose existing assets. From the characters, to the backgrounds and every prop or transition in between. Looking to update your training videos, but cannot find an opening to film the trainer? Simply recreate them as an animated character and you officially have unlimited access and freedom to add their character in current and future training videos. The accessibility of reusable assets also translates to reduced production over time, as each new update or video iteration is taking advantage of previously produced content and assets.

Animation Companies have Little Delay to Production

As we touched on above, with animation there is no need to book shoots, film or arrange talent. This allows animation companies to produce training videos with little delay, which also means you can push your video budget while optimising your turn-around time. Furthermore there are many complementary options for animation including text-to-speech. With text-to-speech there is no need to record a voice artist, which benefits both the production of new training videos and the updating of existing training videos. The reduced delays in production also results in more motivation to keep the material up-to-date. Especially when working with the same animation companies, as each extended supplier relationship results in further proficiency in future production.

Animation is Perfect for eLearning

eLearning is consumed as streamed content through a learner management system. Depending on the online learning environment there could be a couple hundred to a couple thousand people accessing the training material at the same time. That puts a lot of strain on the hosting servers and system, which is where the content medium’s can positively influence the performance of the LMS. By turning your eLearning material into animation, you are also creating content that is considerable better streamlined for online performance. Animation sports much smaller sizes for files and optimised compression, which means as a medium it plays much better with the learner management system. Especially if you consider the widespread application and use of the training material.

Animation is an Incredibly Versatile Content Medium

Animation is by far the most versatile content medium. From a training video perspective, it is fantastic to work with assets that can be repurposed and updated, however this advantage can extend much further than just training content. With a properly planned content strategy you can take your training video animation content and available assets and repurpose them into marketing, corporate and even sales material. This can only occur if you plan your content with your animation company in advance. We have had content production projects where two days of filming was turned into ten videos, and projects where 2 days of filming did not even result in a finished video. The difference was the client’s overall planning and content strategy.

Animation companies have mastered the art of creating captivating content that engages viewers. This is exactly what corporate businesses need for their training materials. Animated training content is versatile, dynamic, and more engaging than traditional training materials like PowerPoint slides. In this section, we will explore tips from animation companies for producing effective and engaging training content that will help your employees learn and retain information faster.

Create a storyboard

Creating a storyboard is an essential part of the animation process. It allows you to visualise the content, sequence events, and add elements that will make the content more interesting. Similarly, creating a storyboard for your training content will help you to outline the key points, structure your content logically, and identify any gaps in your content. Your storyboard should also include visual assets, such as images or diagrams, to make the content more engaging. A strong storyboard bridges the creative gap between the client and the animators, especially when the project involves multiple parties. When reviewing a storyboard make sure all key members are involved as it saves valuable production time to have each phase of production approved before moving onto the next.

Keep it concise

One of the main advantages of animation is that it simplifies complex ideas and concepts. Similarly, your training content should be kept simple and precise. Avoid using jargon or technical terms that may be unfamiliar to your employees. In the case where the terms are essential, provide break downs to ensure there is no ambiguity in your training content. This will make the content more accessible and easier to understand, which will improve your employees’ learning experience.

Tailor your content

Another critical tip from animation companies is tailoring your content to your audience. Your training content should be relevant, relatable, and resonate with your target audience’s needs, interests, and level of expertise. For example, if you’re training a sales team on a new product, you’ll need to focus on the features, benefits, and competitive advantages of the product. By contrast, if you’re training a team on new safety protocols, you’ll need to emphasize the importance of complying with these protocols to prevent accidents and injuries. Animation companies use personas and scenarios to create content that speaks directly to your audience and makes them feel part of the narrative.

Prioritise Interactivity and engagement

Another tip for producing effective training content from animation companies is emphasising interactivity and engagement. Interactive content invites your audience to participate actively in the learning process, rather than just passively consuming information. Examples of interactive content include quizzes, games, simulations, role-playing, and branching scenarios. By contrast, non-interactive content tends to be boring and uninspiring. Animation companies use gamification, microlearning, and personalised learning paths to create content that is engaging, fun, and promotes long-term retention.

Review and feedback

Finally, review and feedback are essential for producing effective training content. Animation companies always review their content and seek feedback from clients to improve their work. Similarly, you should review your content and seek feedback from your employees. This will help you to identify any areas that need improvement, and to refine your content to make it more effective.

Animation companies have a wealth of expertise in producing dynamic and engaging content. Incorporating these tips in your training content will help you to create effective and engaging content that your employees will enjoy. Remember to create a storyboard, keep it simple, use visuals, add some humour, and review and seek feedback. These tips will help you to produce training content that your employees will be excited to learn from.

Corporate training can often be dry and monotonous, making it difficult for learners to remain engaged. This can result in a lack of retention and poor uptake of subject matter. One approach to making training more engaging is the use of animation. Animated videos provide an entertaining and visually stimulating way to present information, significantly increasing information recall and engagement. In this update, we will look at how to make your training content fun with animation.

Get to the point quickly

When creating an animated training video, it is essential to get straight to the point. With animation, you have the advantage of using visuals to explain complex concepts concisely. A good approach is to use storyboards to visualise the most critical points. Choose a relevant and relatable topic and stick to the key learning objectives. This will ensure that the video has a clear and straightforward message that learners will take away. Make sure you also break up your lessons with quizzes and assessments, this turns each topic into a smaller section making it easier to consume.

Make it fun with humour

One of the best ways to make training content enjoyable is to add humor. Create animated characters that are relatable, and use funny situations to emphasise learning points. Humour can effectively break the tension and provide a memorable moment for the viewers. However, be careful with humor so that it does not distract from the learning objectives. The trick with adding humour is to use it as a contrasting element, so look for lulls in your training content and break them up with some lightheartedness.

Use creative techniques

Animation provides you with the creative freedom to make your video distinctive. Inject your personality into the training content and make it more engaging. Trailers, teasers, and snippets can help promote the video and generate excitement. Use visual metaphors and analogies to provide a comprehensive understanding of complex ideas. One way of getting creative with your content is to create a character that interjects topics to add additional content and points. Once the character is created they can easily be applied to additional lessons without the need to build additional animated assets.

Keep it visually stimulating

The human brain processes visual information much faster than text. Therefore, it is essential to make your video visually stimulating. Use an engaging color palette and high-quality graphics to make the video stand out. Integrating motion graphics, sound effects, and animations can help enhance the learner’s experience and retain their attention.

Shorter is better

It is best practice to keep your training content concise. Avoid long monologues and, instead, try to package information into bite-sized chunks. This approach ensures that learners remain engaged throughout the video and can retain relevant information quickly. This is a great method of adding complementary and supplementary content to your training material, as they become optional. This method ensures you do not potentially frustrate any learners who fully understand the lesson at hand.

In summary, animation is an effective tool that can help make training content fun and engaging for learners. With creative thinking, you can transform a tedious subject matter into a video that learners will love. Animation provides an opportunity to present information simply and visually, making it easy for learners to understand and remember. Incorporating humour, choosing appropriate topics, keeping the video visually stimulating, using creative techniques, and keeping the video short are all strategies that you can use when creating an animated training video. By taking these steps, you can make sure that your animated training video is not only informative but also enjoyable and memorable.

Within the realm of enterprise education, animation stands as an instrumental medium, marrying captivating narratives with impactful instruction. However, integrating animation into training brings its own set of complexities, particularly when partnering with animation companies. Here’s how to adeptly navigate these challenges:

Vision Discrepancies with Animation Companies

One of the primary concerns when outsourcing any project is the potential for the final product to deviate from the original vision. In the context of training, a misalignment during the briefing phase with animation companies can result in animations that don’t hit their intended mark, leading to ineffective training sessions.

Solution: Regular and frequent consultations throughout the production process can ensure that there’s tight alignment with a client’s vision and training objectives. Collaborative storyboard reviews and iterative feedback processes can keep both parties on the same page.

Striking the Entertainment-Education Balance

Training materials, especially those that lean heavily on animation, run the risk of overemphasising entertainment. This can overshadow the core educational message, reducing the efficacy of the training module.

Solution: Meticulous design and scripting processes can help. Collaborating closely with subject matter experts and instructional designers ensures that the narratives not only engage but also educate. Testing the material with a small group before full deployment can also provide valuable insights into its effectiveness.

Uniformity Across Modules in Animation Companies

Different departments within an organisation have varied training requirements. Crafting bespoke training modules for each department while maintaining a consistent brand voice and visual identity becomes challenging.

Solution: One approach is to adopt a uniform branding and design template adaptable to diverse narratives. This ensures content remains consistent in appearance, even while the narrative differs. Regular workshops with animation companies can also ensure alignment with brand guidelines.

Scaling Quality with Animation Companies

The more training content you produce, the harder it can be to maintain quality. With the increasing volume, there’s a real risk of diluting the standard of the animations and the messages they convey.

Solution: It’s crucial to choose seasoned animation companies that come equipped with not only advanced tools but also dedicated teams who are experienced in scaling production without compromising on quality. Regular quality checks and client feedback loops can ensure consistent quality across all modules.

Language and Cultural Localisation

For multinational corporations, training content must be accessible and relevant across different languages and cultures, which can be difficult to manage with a single set of animations.
Solution: Partner with animation companies that offer localisation services, enabling animations to be adapted with culturally specific cues and translated accurately. This ensures that the core messages in the training material are conveyed appropriately across the board.

Keeping Content Current Amidst Industry Evolution

Industries are in constant flux. As they evolve, so does the knowledge required to remain competent. Static training materials, however visually appealing, can become outdated, failing to address new challenges or capitalise on fresh opportunities.

Solution: The inherently dynamic nature of animation can be a boon here. Specific sections of a video can be updated without necessitating a complete overhaul. Regular reviews and updates, in collaboration with the animation company, ensure that training materials stay current and relevant.

Cost-Effectiveness Versus Quality in Animation Production

Budget constraints can significantly limit the scope of training modules, often resulting in a compromise on the animation quality. When working with animation companies, there’s always a concern that cost-cutting measures may lead to a subpar educational product.

Solution: Establishing clear budgetary constraints from the outset is essential. Animation companies can often provide various tiers of service, which allows for flexibility in pricing without a drastic impact on quality. Additionally, investing in a modular animation framework allows for reusable elements, which can decrease production costs over time while maintaining a high standard of quality.

Adapting to Different Learning Styles

People learn in different ways; some may prefer visual aids, while others benefit from text-based information. Ensuring the animation caters to a diverse set of learning preferences can be a challenge when producing training modules.

Solution: Incorporating a blend of animation styles, like kinetic typography for those who are text-oriented and dynamic characters or scenarios for visual learners, can cater to a wider audience. Engaging with animation companies that understand these nuances and can provide multi-faceted educational tools will enhance the learning experience for all employees.

Integrating Animation with Other Training Tools

Animations need to work in concert with other training methods to provide a comprehensive educational experience. Isolation of animated modules from the broader training ecosystem can reduce their impact.

Solution: The key is integration. By utilising animation as part of a blended learning strategy, companies can ensure that these tools are complementing other training resources. Work with animation companies that are willing to collaborate and integrate their products into your Learning Management Systems (LMS) and other educational frameworks.

In today’s rapidly evolving corporate landscape, the role of animation transcends mere aesthetics. It serves as a nexus where creativity meets functionality, optimising the training process. Collaborating with specialised animation companies not only elevates the quality of training material but ensures that it remains engaging, relevant, and resonates with the intended audience. By understanding and addressing the intricacies of this collaboration, businesses can harness the full potential of animation, driving effective learning and fostering a culture of continuous growth.

The future of animation in corporate training extends far beyond the realms of VR and AR, encompassing a myriad of innovative approaches and technologies. As businesses continue to embrace digital transformation, animation companies are poised to play a pivotal role in reshaping the training landscape.

Integration with Emerging Technologies

The future will see a deeper integration of animation with emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). These technologies can personalise learning experiences at scale, adapting content in real-time based on individual learning patterns and preferences.

Microlearning and Mobile-First Strategies

With the increasing use of smartphones for professional development, animation companies are focusing on microlearning – short, focused training modules that are easily accessible on mobile devices. This approach caters to the modern workforce’s preference for on-the-go learning and accommodates the decreasing attention spans in digital consumption.

Gamification of Training Content

The future of animated training also leans heavily into gamification. By turning learning modules into interactive games, companies can significantly increase engagement and retention rates. Animated training that rewards progress, challenges learners, and provides instant feedback will become increasingly common.

Data-Driven Content Creation

The use of analytics in training will go beyond just tracking engagement. Animation companies will leverage data to predict future training needs, identify skills gaps, and continuously update content to remain relevant and effective.

The future of animation in corporate training is one of innovation and adaptability. Animation companies are set to offer holistic training solutions that are engaging, personalised, and in tune with the latest technological advancements. This evolution will not only enhance skill development but also foster a culture of continuous learning and growth within organisations.