Start with the date you need the files
Tell your studio when the finished files are needed, as well as when the campaign launches. You may need time to upload files, prepare translated versions and complete internal checks before launch. A launch on Friday does not necessarily mean a Friday delivery is useful.
The production schedule depends on what needs creating, the team’s availability and how quickly decisions can be made. New characters and a new world need more development than an adaptation of an existing film. There is no reliable conversion from seconds of animation to weeks of work.
An example eight-week plan
This is an illustrative schedule for a project with a limited, agreed amount of work, not a standard Move turnaround or a quote. Some briefs need less time; more complex projects need longer. Stages can overlap, but the approvals they rely on still matter.
- Week 1: agree the objective, audience, scope and creative direction. Gather brand assets and factual information.
- Weeks 2–3: develop the script, designs and storyboard. Test the sequence and timing in an animatic.
- Weeks 4–6: produce the agreed animation, reviewing progress at planned points.
- Week 7: complete sound, finishing and agreed amendments.
- Week 8: check the master, produce the agreed versions and allow time for delivery checks.
Book the people who approve it
Put review dates in the diary at the start. Decide who gathers feedback and who has the final say. If legal, brand or a product specialist needs to approve something, bring them in at the relevant stage.
Allow a realistic review window in the schedule. If a storyboard arrives on Monday but the decision maker is away until the following week, those days need to be visible. A late approval can affect the next available production slot, rather than simply moving delivery by the same number of days.
Know what each approval means
Approve the message while it is a script, the sequence while it is a storyboard, and the pace while it is an animatic. These are the moments to ask whether the film makes sense.
For example, changing a product claim before recording the voice-over is usually straightforward. Changing it after the voice-over, animation and captions are finished may mean redoing all three. The schedule should make it clear which decisions affect later work.
What if the deadline is fixed?
Say so at the first conversation. We can discuss whether a simpler approach, fewer versions or delivering in stages would help. Agree which files are essential for launch and which, if any, can follow. Do not assume extra people can compress every stage: some decisions have to happen in sequence.
The most helpful things you can supply early are the final message, correct brand files, required formats and a single set of agreed feedback. Good preparation gives the creative work more room.
