Motion Graphic vs. Live Video – Which one should I choose for my business?

In the left corner, motion graphic video, with its colorful graphic detail and easy-to-follow animation…aaaaand, in the right corner, live video, with its human actors and real-time footage of companies and products…ladies & gentlemen, let’s get ready to rumble!

Far from it, of course, this is not a showdown. “5 Best Explainer Video Styles” dealt with some explainer video styles, but now, it’s time to take a closer look at motion graphic video and live video. We’ll try to point out the pros and cons of them, helping you decide which to choose for your brand.

LIVE VIDEO

A live video is basically footage of a person, or persons, talking and/or performing an action to better describe the company’s product or service. It is entirely recorded with the help of a camera, meaning that it may be cheap and simple to produce. However, if your video looks too cheap, nobody will take you seriously.

Live videos are best suited for companies which want to build a personal relationship with potential customers. The videos show real people in real scenes, solving real problems. This is especially important for companies that have location specific themes.

Live videos are used mostly for humanizing organizations. In them, we can see testimonials of employees, ranging from the description of their position in the company, to how it has affected their families and lives. Also, viewers get a full picture of all of the personnel in the business, and so can always attach a friendly face to the list of names popping out on a website.

A side product of live videos are live action videos with track elements, that is, with animation which complement what is seen or heard, giving the feeling as if it’s “tracking” the video for places to pop up. In other words, live videos with integrated 3D animated elements. With videos such as these, possibilities are endless.

The downsides of live videos are quite numerous: first of all, as already mentioned, if made with a low budget, they will likely seem unprofessional and won’t do you any good. Secondly, the emotional connection depends entirely on the person, or persons, in the video. If they aren’t charismatic, no one will find your video interesting. Also, the video dialogue has to be planned out very carefully to convey the message properly, but at the same time the flow shouldn’t seem too scripted for fear of sounding like a robot. Furthermore, as the whole video is dialogue based, it requires much more attention from the audience, which is really at a minimum as a number of studies have shown.

MOTION GRAPHIC VIDEO

Motion graphic videos are elegant and engaging. They are more likely used by serious companies, like financial institutions, which are launching exciting new services, products and ideas, and want to better explain the novelties to viewers. They capture the audience’s imagination with an audio-visual explosion! They are also used by companies who have complicated products, and would like to visually explain them to gain the trust of potential buyers. If it’s done in 3D, the better, as this makes the video more impressive.

Motion graphic videos have great SEO, and a very positive thing about them is that theit design is actually in tune with Mother Nature since humans are genetically wired to pay closer attention and notice object in motion more than static ones.

And, of course, as they are computer generated, you can do virtually anything with them.

Here’s a con of motion graphic videos. As every little detail counts, you might end up waiting longer than expected for a finished product.

Upon first glance, a motion graphic video may seem like a better option than live video. The animation in them convey messages more quickly and can control emotions with greater ease using emotion cues, while in live action videos, everything depends on the actor and his canniness. Also, motion graphic videos have a longer shelf life – changes on them can be made more easily as opposed to live videos.

On the other hand, live videos can convey the human connection better since nothing can replace a warm smile immediately kindling pleasant emotions.

It really comes down to how you want to present yourself: if you want to market your brand as edgy and technologically savvy, go for a motion graphic video; if you are looking for a human touch, then a live video might be better.

What do you think, can motion graphic and live video live beside each other, or was this an actual showdown? Let us know in the comments below. And don’t forget to share!

If you’d like to learn more about explainer videos, go ahead and download our ebook!