Motion Graphics
Motion Graphics Production
Kinetic type, explainers, data animation and the titles that make every other video look like it came from the same company. Built once as a brand system, then applied to everything you produce after that.
Motion graphics
What are motion graphics used for in business?
Motion graphics are animated design elements: type, shapes, icons, data, interface screens and logos, moved with intent. Nothing is filmed. That makes motion graphics the right format whenever the subject is an idea, a process or a number rather than a person or a place.
Most business motion graphics fall into two groups. There are the standalone pieces, such as an explainer or a results animation. Then there is the motion furniture, meaning the titles, lower thirds and end frames that appear on every other video you make.
The second group is where the money is. A brand motion system built once and applied automatically is what stops fifty small assets from looking like they came from fifty different companies.
| Studio, per project | Freelance motion designer | Shootsta | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Quoted per project | Day rate | Fixed monthly fee, set number of video credits |
| Brand handling | Reinterpreted per engagement | Depends on the individual | Templates built once, applied every time |
| Source files | Often withheld | Usually handed over | Always yours |
| Capacity ceiling | Small studios book out | One person, one lane | Editors added to the queue |
| Rush charges | Common | Overtime instead | None |
Read the ten criteria for choosing between motion graphics studios
What we make
Six motion graphics formats
Nearly every business request lands in one of these. They differ in what has to be designed before animation can start, which is what drives both the cost and the lead time.
Kinetic type and data motion
Words, numbers and simple shapes animated to your brand fonts. The fastest format to produce and the right one when the message is the content. Typical turnaround is one to two weeks.
Explainers and process animation
Illustrated scenes, icons and diagrams animated in sequence. This is the workhorse of business motion graphics and it covers most product walkthroughs and process videos.
Titles, lower thirds and end frames
The motion furniture that makes every other video look like it came from the same company. Built once as templates, then applied to everything you produce afterwards.
Interface and product animation
Screen recordings cleaned up, paced and annotated with callouts. Often the whole film for a software product rather than an addition to it.
Logo and brand stings
A short animated signature for the top or tail of your video. A small asset that gets used more than anything else you commission.
Character and 3D work
Designed characters or modelled objects where form and story carry the meaning. Design and rigging happen before animation, so these need longer lead times.
What brand motion looks like
A logo sequence produced for Aristocrat. This is the kind of asset that becomes a component of a brand system, which is why the source files matter as much as the render.
A motion graphics brand sting produced by Shootsta for Aristocrat, built as a reusable brand system component rather than a one-off asset.
How a project runs
How does a motion graphics project work?
Five stages, and the one that decides the schedule is the second rather than the fourth.
- 1
Brief and brand assets
You send the message, the deliverable list and whatever brand assets exist. Fonts, palette, icon set and any previous motion work all cut design time, so send everything.
- 2
Script lock
The script carries the meaning, so it gets signed off before a frame is drawn. Changing a word here is free. Changing it after animation starts means a re-render and another review cycle.
- 3
Style frames
Two or three static frames setting the look: palette, type treatment, level of detail. Approving these is how you avoid an unwelcome surprise at first draft.
- 4
Animate and review
Animation runs in passes, from rough motion to detail to audio and captions. Review happens against the locked script rather than against personal taste.
- 5
Deliver
Every aspect ratio you need, captions and SRT files, and the source project files so the piece can be updated later without starting again.
Why buy motion graphics as capacity?
Motion design is the hardest video skill to hire for, and it is the most common gap we are asked to fill. Almost no in-house team produces enough motion work to justify a full-time motion designer, and almost every one of them needs motion work most months.
Buying it per project solves the skills problem and creates a new one. Every job carries a quote and a scoping call, so the small useful pieces never get made. The lower third that would tidy up forty videos does not survive an estimate.
Shootsta prices motion graphics as capacity instead. A fixed monthly fee covers a set number of video credits, where one credit covers one finished video. There are no per-project fees and no rush charges, and unused credits roll over inside the contract period. Across the teams we work with, that lands 50 to 60% below what a traditional agency charges for the same volume.
FAQ
Motion graphics questions
What are motion graphics?
Motion graphics are animated graphic elements: type, shapes, icons, data, interface elements and logos, moved with intent. Nothing is filmed. Everything on screen is designed and then animated. That makes motion graphics the right format when the subject is an idea, a process or a number rather than a person or a place.
What is the difference between motion graphics and animation?
Motion graphics are a subset of animation. Animation covers everything made frame by frame, including character work and 3D. Motion graphics specifically means animated design elements rather than animated characters or narrative. In practice most business animation is motion graphics, and most studios that do one will do some of the other. Ask rather than assume.
How much do motion graphics cost?
Cost follows complexity and what brand assets already exist, not run time. A 30-second piece built from an existing icon set and brand templates costs a fraction of a 30-second piece that needs a new illustration style designed first. That is why the second and third projects with the same supplier should be cheaper than the first. Shootsta prices motion graphics inside a fixed monthly fee covering a set number of video credits, with no per-project fees and no rush charges.
How long do motion graphics take to produce?
One to five weeks for most business work, depending on the format. Kinetic type and data animation sit at the short end. Illustrated explainers sit in the middle. Character and 3D work run longer because design and rigging come first. The stage that swings the schedule is script approval rather than animation, because a word changed after frames are drawn means a re-render.
Do we get the source project files?
Yes. You own the footage, the finished video and the working project files. This matters more with motion graphics than with filmed video, because a motion piece is usually updated rather than replaced. Without the source files, every future change goes back through the original supplier at their price. Ask any studio this question directly before you sign.
Can you work with our existing brand guidelines?
Yes, and the more you have the cheaper the first project is. Fonts, palette, icon set and any existing motion work all reduce design time. If your brand exists only as a logo and two colours, the first motion graphics project builds the system, which costs more and takes longer. Treat that first piece as an investment in templates rather than as a one-off.
We already have a designer in-house. Why would we use a motion graphics service?
Because motion design is a separate specialism from graphic design, and it is the hardest video skill to hire for. Most in-house designers can build a beautiful static layout and have never rigged a character or worked to a broadcast loudness spec. A motion partner extends the team rather than replacing it. Your designer keeps the brand judgement and the direction, and the animation hours flex with the calendar instead of with headcount.
Start with one piece, keep the system
The first motion graphics project builds the templates. Everything after that is faster and cheaper because the system already exists. Tell us what you need to explain and we will tell you which format fits.
Get a Free ConsultationRelated: animation video production, how to choose between motion graphics studios, animated video production cost and how to write an animation brief.