So, you’re a motion graphic designer and have just received client approval on a brilliant animation you’ve created.
Then just when you’re about to hit the sack, your phone beeps.
The client wants some changes and wants them urgently. Another all-nighter is in store, it seems. Sound strangely familiar?
All motion graphic designers would agree that editing an animation can be laborious. It really isn’t as easy as it looks. It hardly matters whether your client is looking for simple motion graphics or a full data-driven video – altering even the most straightforward element will require more of your time and manual effort. Time you’d rather spend sleeping, doing yoga in a panda suit or whatever it is you do in your spare time.
The first solution that comes to mind is using an After Effects motion graphics template for simpler animations. Easy, right? But that requires the client to have software access and experience – a rare scenario at best.
And when it comes to editing data-driven animations, today’s mass production solutions do not allow user interaction. Given the technicality, it takes a well-experienced (and more importantly, motivated) designer to save the day in the time required.
So, how do you effectively tackle these two problems and prevent that last-minute change ruining your evening?
The answer is *drum roll…* Pavilot.
Pavilot – Paving The Way For Designers And Clients
Pavilot’s cloud-based video automation tool works with reusable animations created in After Effects. In other words, designers can now breathe a sigh of relief.
So, how exactly does it work?
Pavilot is all about ease of use. You start by designing your After Effects composition, then use the Pavilot extension to export the animation in just two clicks. Afterwards, it’s time to refine the animation using Pavilot Portal. Here, you set default values, create sliders, dropdown menus, buttons and chalk out text areas, and use colour, audio and image pickers. And then, you’re done!
Now you can move onto Pavilot Client, our simple video editing interface where you can create your new animation and every stunning variation you’ll need.
With Pavilot, all you need to do is create a reusable After Effects animation. Pavilot will handle the rest.
What’s Reusable Animation?
Reusable animation is a new, improvised process that uses After Effects expressions and a host of advanced effects to render different variations of the same animation. Yet while reusable animations are easy to tweak, they’re not so easy to design.
Once the designer creates a reusable animation, it addresses the problem of clients demanding simple alterations. But it does leave the designer with another issue: rendering personalised videos that require user input.
That’s where Pavilot comes in.
How To Create A Reusable Animation for Pavilot?
Hinging on animations created in After Effects, Pavilot simplifies tedious workflows into accessible controls for the end-user. Setting up reusable motion graphic templates allows you to craft base graphics that your clients can tweak using Pavilot Client. To have Pavilot handle some of the technical functions, you’ll have to use expressions and effects to create the base animations. These will appear as super simple user-friendly versions in Pavilot Client.
Check out some of these controls and functions.
Dropdown Menu
Perfect for modifying multiple layers with multiple transformations at once. Get unlimited variations with just one click; styling, theming, etc.
Displayed as a list of buttons or dropdown menu depending on the number of options.
Colour
Seamlessly link colour effect to multiple layers to change all colours at once; perfect for theming.
Ability to predefine colours for quick selection and enable colour-picker for 16M colours
Slider
Easily make quantitative changes like position, scale and rotation opacity.
Reflects as a number input or defines min/max values for conversion into a visual slider.
Checkbox
An alternative for the dropdown menu control when there are only two options.
Shown as a toggle button and with labels.
Now, let’s see how layers are managed in Pavilot Client.
Slider
Option for a single line text or full paragraph. Users can also easily change text font and colour.
Image
Predefine image options or allow users to upload their portraits.
Audio
Option to upload one audio track. Get creative with various predefined alternatives or allow users to add their own backing audio.
Rundown
Pavilot is a revolution in the motion design space, laden with features that simplify life for designer and client alike. With its simple, customisable web-based user interface, everyday users can now create an array of videos with just a few clicks.
With Zapier, Pavilot seamlessly connects with 2,000+ applications and has zero need for coding. It is a cost-effective, time-saving marketing tool for your clients that also provides effective account management system for better project management.
Whether you’re a motion graphics designer or client, switching to Pavilot is proving to be the smartest move you can make!