Monday, March 7, 2016

Are Animated Videos the Way to Go?



In short, I think yes. After exploring the videos produced by Kindea Labs, I think an animated video might be the best way for us to communicate our ideas.
Why do I think this?

Statistics are easily displayed. Rather than having to orally announce every part of a statistic, you can display extra information and just hit the highlights.
Visuals help the viewer's understanding of the point we're trying to make. The drawing and animation is fascinating to watch because the viewer gets to see something being created and that is engaging.
Another great thing about the animated videos is that there is often music playing in the background that's kind of subtle but catchy at the same time.
We can make history look really cool. Since we don't have much real footage or  photos of anything pre Civil War, animation is the best way to make history look cool and interesting. I'm reminded of John Greene's Crash Course videos. They're interesting and engaging and almost completely animated.


Of course there are draw backs as well. If we do a poor job with the animation and narration this could be really bad. There can't really be any stumbling over words or any poor animations. But I'm confident in what I've seen that this is a creative, interesting and effective way to present our ideas. 

5 comments:

  1. I really like how you say that animated information makes things easier to apply and understand. I think that yes when information is simplified and represented with a picture it is easier to comprehend than if it were just words read off.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree! I watched a selection of informational videos on teacher tube, and really enjoyed the animated videos. Although there were a few that were poorly done and caused me to loose interest within the first 30 seconds, most were really engaging. I think that the ones with subtle music in the background and engaging images that changed every so often were the most captivating.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Before we decide to go this route I think we need to ensure we have the artistic and technological capabilities to make this happen. Like you said, if an animation is bad, it's bad. Dr. Burton mentioned this option is realistic, but I wonder what we have to work with.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm also a little wary about the idea. We should see what we have to work with.

      Delete
  4. I like this idea too, but I just hope that we don't lean too heavily on the animations and slack in the actual information/oral presentation. I am a big podcast listener so I really appreciate the power of projecting ideas just through voice.

    ReplyDelete