What type of content is desired, what other solutions can be suggested?
Is there a particular visual format in mind such as 2D or 3D?
Are there examples of style and visual realism that the client prefers or references that can be shared?
Will the content be produced with another production group such as an agency or will this be produced directly with client?
Is the content proprietary or general in nature? Is a non-disclosure agreement required?
Is there a deadline? Will the project need rush development?
Message
What is the client’s objective? What is the client asking to communicate more effectively?
What has client previously used to visually communicate? What do they seem to like? What has worked or failed before?
Audience
Will the content need to be tailored for a particular group, such as technical or medical professionals, young vs. older audiences, or will it be geared more for the general public?
Is there a need to adapt the content for non-English speaking, international audiences?
Deliverables
What will Amerra be tasked with? We create: Video, Static Illustration, Interactive Media, Software, Website, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and 3D prints
Development Scope
Resource Identification
Understand what will be needed in terms of software, models, licenses, narration, technical writing, branding and style guides, fonts, legal disclaimers, reference materials and outsourced rendering support
Point of Contact & Team Roles
Identifying primary client contact – Preventing “design by committee”
Knowing everyone’s role in the project (from technical to administrative)
Amerra Development Team
Selection based on experience, familiarization, skill-sets and resource availability. How many artists/developers are needed?
Development Schedule & Cost Determination
Content milestones established, along with check points and review periods in advance
Amerra’s costs will be calculated after knowing all information
Payment and terms are defined
Amerra will submit development proposal for signature
Technical Development
Finalize Written Storyboard
A more finalized outline to help solidify desired screenplay
Narration Scripting, Recording and Other Audio Options
If the project requires professional narration, a script will need to be produced by the client. The number of words spoken per minute is around 150. Amerra provides this as a guide up front in case the client needs to have the animation run a specific length. Amerra can offer several voice options, including international selections if necessary. It is important to receive the script early in the development as it will determine timing for on-screen action. A “scratch” audio track (a rough audio track produced in-house) can also be produced as a placeholder if client is not ready for final voice selection. Client may choose a royalty-free background music track from Shockwave Sound, and is included in the cost of the production.
Graphic Storyboarding or Animatic Building
Once written storyboard and a preliminary narration script are produced, Amerra will create a sketched graphic storyboard or very rough animatic (a low resolution animated preview) as a visual representation of the “blueprint” of the production. This stage allows all parties to make decisions on screenplay, camera positioning, object characteristics, timing, interactions, layouts for on-screen text, color selections and rough texture representation
Modeling & Texturing
Creation of 2D or 3D objects, refinement of how objects will appear in the final production
Animation
Adding life to objects by defining keyframes with information pertaining to position, rotation, scale and other physical modification of objects and effects
Rendering Preview
Low resolution video previews will be generated as samples for approval, prior to sending files off for final rendering
Final Rendering
High resolution video output generated frame by frame. This step is often time-consuming and expensive (based on levels of realism and number of frames), thus we try to do this once.
Post Production
Media Compiling
Collecting rendered frames, video, audio, images, text and preparing it for editing
Editing
Assembling media assets, compositing, trimming, adding transitions, and other visual effects, essentially formatting it for preliminary output
Preliminary Output
Minor tweaks such as text and volume adjustment if necessary
Final Output
Exporting the finalized video production to a cross-device compatible format such as .mp4
File Delivery
Amerra will upload final files to Basecamp and/or other directory
Good to knows
Tips that keep projects in-line and on-time
Effective Development Strategies
An understanding of the development schedule is essential for timely reviews so all project requirements are met
A single source of feedback helps enable efficient production
We appreciate any and all reference materials, even if it’s a sketch on a napkin, to assist with development accuracy
Common Pitfalls
Scope creep (additions or changes made to project beyond original scope) can lead to missed deadlines and added costs
Extensive time periods between reviews
Multiple channels of feedback
Review Meetings
Upon initialization of a project, we’ll create a password‐protected project site in BaseCamp, which we use as our sharing umbrella (great for communication in one centralized area). For example, before all reviews, you’ll get notified about the latest content (graphic storyboards, animatic previews, high-resolution stills and more)
Once‐a‐week reviews facilitate accuracy throughout the development process
Typical reviews last 15-30 minutes based on the project life-cycle and we connect via GoToMeeting
Cost Determination
Time
How many hours/days/weeks to complete?
Complexity
How many objects are needed to be created or acquired vs. objects that may exist in our library which can be reused?
What type of rigged character motions, textures, and realism are needed for your audience?
Rendering, the final graphic output, is a major variable and affects project cost.
Licensable or Exclusive
Licensable work is content Amerra develops & can resell to other clients.
Exclusive work cannot be resold & sole ownership belongs to the client.
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