How long should pre-production take?

Roughly a third of the schedule. On a four-week project, that is the first ten days on script, boards, style frames and animatic.

Can we skip boards for short social pieces?

You can skip drawn boards, never the structure. Even a six-second loop needs a decided beat and a decided endframe.

Creative Direction

Most motion design problems are decided before a single keyframe exists. A look at why pre-production determines the quality ceiling of any project.

April 12, 2026 · 3 min read · Alan Ambran

Animation cannot fix a weak idea, a wrong structure or an unclear message. It can only make them move.

The message hierarchy is set in the script. If two ideas compete for the same three seconds, no amount of easing resolves it.

The look is set in the style frames. Approving a direction as a still is cheap; discovering it does not work after animation is not.

The pacing is set in the animatic. Timing problems found at animatic stage cost minutes; found at render stage they cost days.

Write the one sentence the viewer should be able to repeat afterwards. Everything that does not serve it is decoration.

Produce two or three style frames rather than one — a single option is a decision, not a choice.

Cut the animatic to final length with temp sound before animating anything.

Pre-production is where the quality is decided. Animation is where it is executed.

How long should pre-production take?: Roughly a third of the schedule. On a four-week project, that is the first ten days on script, boards, style frames and animatic.
Can we skip boards for short social pieces?: You can skip drawn boards, never the structure. Even a six-second loop needs a decided beat and a decided endframe.

Send the brief, the deadline and the budget range. You will get a scoped quote with a shot list within 48 hours.