You Get What You Pay for with ‘Cheap’ Whiteboard Animations

Like so much in business, when it comes to whiteboard animation, you really do get what you pay for. What looks like a great deal on paper can often be full of shortcuts and surprise fees.

In paying less, you may end up with a marketing or training video that you or your customers find embarrassing, sloppy, or inaccurate. It may even be money wasted, if you spend hundreds or thousands on the development of a video you never want to use or for the public to see. Or worse still, one that is seen and harms your brand.

There are some very real problems that can arise when you pay less and video companies try to cut corners to compensate for their cheap prices.

1. Unskilled or Sloppy Employees

Though the result of animation is often fun and creative, even when it is its most informative, there is a lot of work that goes into creating a completed video.

For the best quality whiteboard animation, the animators must be professionals. They should have both an education and training in the field and a work ethic that will not allow them to cut corners. People with this kind of skill and dedication do not offer their services at a cut-rate price, so if the cost is too good to be true, most likely these will not be the animators working on your video.

One of the first ways a company will try to save economically is by paying their employees less. Artists who have spent time and money earning a degree in animation or who have years of proven experience will not be tempted by a meager salary. As a result, these whiteboard video companies employ a high number of new and unproven animators. These animators will not be as skilled, and they may rely heavily on recycled art.

At Cartoon Media, we only use experienced, professional scriptwriters, cartoonists and voiceover artists to ensure that your custom-designed video is of a premium quality throughout.

2. Quantity over Quality

Even skilled animators can only do so much when they are rushed to complete multiple projects in short time, and that is yet another common tactic that allows whiteboard animation companies to offer lower rates than their competitors. For these companies, time is money. In the time it would take to professionally produce a single animation, these companies will often make their employees churn out multiple videos, leaving very little time for editing or polishing.

Rushing animators to complete multiple projects simultaneously may allow a company to produce more videos, but their quality and originality will suffer. Not only could rough drafts be the only draft, but animators may resort to clip art or stock images. The end result is a video that looks nearly identical to many others in your field, so is more likely to bore your audience.

At Cartoon Media, we typically spend 4-5 weeks producing a 2-minute Whiteboard Animation video, or 5-6 weeks producing a 2-minute 2D Cartoon Explainer video. We believe that quality takes time, but if you need your video completed more quickly, then we will advise beforehand if this would result in a noticeable drop in quality.

3. Lack of Control

You are the person paying for this animation, so it seems natural that you would have some level of control over the final product. That is rarely part of the price of a cheap whiteboard animation video. If the company you hire must keep its animators on a tight clock to justify their low prices, you shouldn’t expect much say in your finished project.

If you have the option to revise or ask for changes to the video, don’t expect the opportunity to do it often or fine-tune the project to perfectly meet your vision. A company that is cutting corners on cost will not spend additional employee hours after the project is “completed” to make it perfect.

Cartoon Media will allocate your own Project Manager who will ensure that all of your queries are answered, and will liaise with you at each step of the project for your feedback on the work in progress.

Unlike most of our competitors, we also work on an Unlimited Corrections basis. Once the script and storyboard have been agreed, we will ensure that the voiceover, images and animation match what is specified. But if you disagree, we will make the required corrections until you are happy that your original vision has been met. Click here to see our proven production process.

4. One-Dimensional

Sometimes a cheap whiteboard video is cheap because its employees are skilled only in animation. They may know very little about writing a script, particularly one with a marketing or business perspective. If you are lucky, they will tell you this up front and they will leave all decisions up to you. This means that you must develop the script for your animation or hire an entirely different team to write one for you. This is not an easy task for the average business owner. While you may know your business better than anyone else, marketing can be a tricky world to navigate, as the best methods and messages are constantly changing. And writing thoughtful, entertaining scripts can be challenging for almost anyone with no prior experience.

If you are unlucky, the company will not tell you of its shortcomings. You may believe you are getting expert advice on your marketing or script approach from people less experienced in the area than you. If they short their marketing department, your video may completely miss its intended market. If they have no experienced writers on staff, you could find yourself with a video that makes you cringe.

At Cartoon Media, we know how to make videos that engage, convert and sell. At the start of each project, you will see from our client questionnaire and our follow-up script/storyboard consultation call how we can get you thinking more deeply about your business and product/service, and what you want your video to achieve, before we even start the scriptwriting process. We usually work backwards from the ‘Call to Action’ at the end, to create an entertaining and educational Whiteboard or Cartoon video that will persuade the viewer to take that call to action.

5. Hidden Extras

What sounds like a great deal may not be when you are done. Some companies approach making videos as an a la carte experience. They will quote you a price for their animation services, but if you seek additional edits, script writing or marketing assistance, those extras can cost you. By the time your video is complete, you may find that you have spent more on your “budget” animators than you would have on a “too-expensive” animation company.

Many of the more costly whiteboard animation companies, like Cartoon Media, approach the project as a whole. They are with you from the beginning to the end to ensure that you have a product that conveys your message, is entertaining and unique, and will get you the right kind of attention in your market audience.

Creating a whiteboard video is not easy, and it takes plenty of time to create the animation. Here at Cartoon Media, we want to help you achieve better conversions on the products and/or services you are selling. We will customise and properly design a whiteboard video for you at the best possible price.

We regularly aim to make our whiteboard animation videos look effortless, and provide an engaging, entertaining experience for all viewers. Our videos are built to get people to notice you, understand you believe in you and buy from you.

Here are a few examples of our Whiteboard Animation videos:

Need help? Call us on:
1-800-345-2064 (US / Canada Toll-Free)
or +44 (0)800 019 8522 (UK/Rest of World)

We can provide you with a quality, great value Whiteboard Animation video that will convert more visitors into buyers, or make your training presentation one to remember rather than quickly forgotten.