Delight Employees On Their First Day With Gamification and Animation

Everybody knows the first day of a new job sucks. This has been a fact of life for as long as anyone can remember. The only real surprise is that more companies haven’t done anything to improve the onboarding process before now. In their book, ‘The Power of Moments’ Dan and Chip Heath describe an employee’s first day on the job to highlight how new recruits can feel neglected and uncomfortable.

“The lack of attention paid to an employee’s first day is mind-boggling. What a wasted opportunity to not make a new team member feel included and appreciated.”

The fact of the matter is that most companies today do not provide an effective employee onboarding program. New HR trends show that 32% of executives say they experience a poor onboarding process and 22% of staff turnover occurs within 45 days. On the flip side, a Glassdoor report suggests companies that deliver a strong onboarding program increase employee retention by as much as 82%. According to HR Manager Michael Chung, the first day at a new job is “a powerful moment that sets up your attitude for the rest of your time there.”

Given 25% of employees leave within the first year and turnover costs can amount to between £11,000 and £100,000, UK businesses really need to rethink and reform employee onboarding and orientation processes.

Employee Onboarding Videos

Animation and gamification videos help to create a good first impression, inform new recruits of the company vision, introduce the company culture and excite new hires about working for your company. They enable you to start as you intend to go on. According to Deloitte Insights, existing orientation programs and models to measure employee engagement are inadequate. Most companies use vendor-provided software and conduct annual surveys to benchmark job satisfaction.

Whilst these programs are engineered with the help of psychologists, they are based on statistical variables and don’t help executives understand how to build a culture of engagement. The same report reveals 80 per cent of organisations believe employees are overwhelmed with information, yet less than eight per cent have programs to help them deal with it.

All these problems can be resolved with animated videos and gamification. When companies explain the culture, work processes, expectation levels and everything else through meetings and company literature, employee quickly lose interest. Visual learning, on the other hand, helps new hires to digest information without sending them into a head spin. What’s more, animated videos and gamification is a fun and engaging way for people to take in new information, learn and feel excited about working for your company.

The human brain responds better to visual cues because its main function is to process images we experience every day. The sensory cortex – in the most developed part of the brain – is practically devoted to vision, much more so than words. Quite simply, animated videos are an effective way of communicating relevant information in a format that plain words do not do justice. Not only that but the human brain records images easier than verbal communication and aids memory recall.

The Popularity of Animated Videos

Smart Insights shows that interactive video is growing in popularity. A survey reveals that 83% of marketing professionals expect to make more interactive video content because they produce higher engagement numbers. Because animated videos can be tailored to whoever is watching them, businesses can expect the same results from employee training and development that marketers are finding in marketing content. This also means that employees taking up executive positions or managerial roles do not have to experience the same orientation program and training material as entry-level employees.

It’s not a coincidence that companies are increasingly moving towards eLearning as an ongoing training method rather than instructor-led training sessions. eLearning is proven to increase employee engagement and enhance employee education at a lower cost. Adding animated videos and gamification to your employee onboarding program supports the ongoing training process employees need to perform their job more efficiently and progress through the ranks. Given employees are a company’s most important asset, it makes business sense to invest in employee education, engagement and retention from the very first day.

Not only is a quality onboarding experience beneficial to your new team members, but they also save money because they help new recruits learn quicker and stay loyal to the company. Why not make the first day for your new employees a fun and personalised experience. Animated videos and gamification are a great way of creating a memorable day and provides new hires with valuable insights to your company.

Are you are thinking of incorporating an animation or gamifying your onboarding programme? Drop us an email at info@sbanimation.com or give us a call on +44 (0)207 148 0526

We are very pleased to announce that we have won funding for the Audience of the Future programme by UK Research and Innovation through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Sliced Bread Animation will provide design and development services in order to create a commercially viable application for use within specified industry sectors. We will do this through integrating the services Generic Robotics provide into multiple hardware devices. We will seek to create a haptics-based user creation tool that supports the development of storytelling and training via Virtual Reality (VR) primarily for the pharmaceutical industry, whilst also considering other sectors that would benefit from such an application.

Our end product is expected to be a commercially viable application that can be used primarily in the pharmaceutical industry for marketers and trainers to be able to create VR mechanism-of action experiences.

The application will cater for non-technical users, removing the barrier to entry and allowing them to concentrate on building focused, product demonstrations. Quite often MoA’s get ‘lost in translation’ since pharmaceutical companies need to explain the product interactions, be that through medication or devices.

We will be working as part of a consortium which includes Generic Robotics, Numerion Software, Open University, Science Museum Group, and The University of West London. The end product will be demonstrated at the Science Museum in 2021.

The lack of ability to create rapid workflows for pharmaceutical marketing is an ever increasing problem. Complex mechanism of action (MoA) interactions that need to be shown through immersive technologies often means that there is vast volume of work to be done to support the 360 environment. This quite often prohibits pharma companies in being able to share the MoAs with patients who may be experiencing the condition, due to high costs and content ownerships.

The ability to rapidly prototype through haptic technology in 360 would greatly enhance the pharma marketing environment. An extensive library of anatomy assets should be available to end-users including biological objects that need to be explained and interacted with at macro level. Pharma marketers would be able to design their own story through drag-and-drop haptic interfaces and share the final experience with their peers, prospects and patients.

In our commercial experience hardware is also a barrier to entry, advances in standalone headsets and a significant price drop, means that access has never been easier for marketers to demonstrate their products. End users are also no longer required to assemble hardware before engaging with the experience, instead it’s a plug-and-play approach. Around 5 years ago when we first started working in the VR space, hardware was cumbersome and expensive, typically a configuration cost of single unit was around £5k, now it’s about £600. Talking to our clients and considering the cost per acquisition of new clients this price points enables them to target new prospects with affordability.

We would seek to create a VR story interface, that would allow marketers to develop their own marketing stories in immersive space using an extensive anatomy library and easy to use playback and review, integrating this with haptic technology will open up a realm of possibilities, requiring little, or no technical knowledge.

The project is funded within the Audience of the Future programme by UK Research and Innovation through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. 

 

The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund brings together the UK’s world-leading research with business to meet the major industrial and societal challenges of our time. It provides funding and support to UK businesses and researchers, part of the government’s £4.7 billion increase in research and development over the next 4 years. It plays a central role in the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy. It is run by UK Research and Innovation, which comprises the Research Councils, Innovate UK and Research England.

 

UK Research and Innovation is a new organisation that brings together the UK Research Councils, Innovate UK and Research England into a single organisation to create the best environment for research and innovation to flourish. The vision is to ensure the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.

The sense of touch is our physical connection to the world around us. Haptic technology recreates our sense of touch for the digital world. Haptics in the creative industries has primarily been applied as vibration in computer game feedback and in other niche industry areas (surgical training, flight simulators). As the necessity for touch in immersive experiences becomes clear, interest in haptics is rising.

“HAPPIE” (Haptic Authoring Pipeline for the Production of Immersive Experiences) will enable haptic content to be created faster and more efficiently and provide the software infrastructure to allow smooth and reliable content distribution.

HAPPIE will address 3 barriers to enable/accelerate haptics uptake into UK multi-£Bn creative industries.

1. Research and development of device independent haptics middleware enabling futureproof design and purchasing decisions for non-experts.

2.Research and development of device independent haptics authoring tools built on (1) to enable a new category of job “Haptic artist”.

3.Research and development of a diverse selection of exemplar haptic demonstrations using (1) and (2) above in AR/VR/XR. To inform development and validate the outcome of (1) and (2) and to inspire the UK creative industries as to haptics’ wider potential.

As the project progresses we will updating this site on its developments.

“Focus on the user and all else will follow.” ~ Google

How many times have you been left frustrated trying to find a product you want on a website, or even more commonly, trying to purchase something online?

Every interaction a brand has with a consumer has to be meaningful and offer value. To engage consumers and persuade them to buy products through your website portal, providing customers with excellent user experience (UX) on desktop computers and mobile devices is essential.

Today’s web builds have to be human-centred. The primary focus is for the user-interface (UI) to be intuitive, responsive and communicative so the user knows exactly what is happening at all times. Animation brings the user-interface to life and can also be used to help guide customers where you want them to go next. Visual cues can direct eyes, excite users and keep them informed every step of the way to the checkout.

Far too many websites present barriers. According to Shopify, two of the most common reasons people abandon shopping carts is because they are asked to create an account or the checkout procedure is too complicated. Often, when users don’t complete forms correctly, it is not always obvious what they did wrong. Likewise, when they are successful, the congratulations are so understated, customers are left in confusion.

Users want to know their status within a system in a reasonable time. Google says, “The goal of good UX is to help users do what they want to do when interacting with your business.” A website should always keep users informed about what is happening. Animation provides appropriate feedback at the right moments within a reasonable time.

Functional Animation on Websites

Functional animation can be used to fulfil multiple potentials on a website. The key objective is to provide visual feedback or encourage users to take action. Visitors to a website don’t only want to see attractive aesthetics, they want to be able to navigate the site and get to where they want to be quickly.

Elements within a UI such as buttons, bars and controls enable users to intuitively understand what is happening. UX is enhanced by using visual cues that support the expectation of users and motion cues that invite users to participate in the interaction. Animation grabs the user’s attention. It is a powerful feature that guides users to the desired outcome and can be used to provide feedback at critical points. For example, use animation to acknowledge whether the action was successful or not, and what the user should do next.

“The reason why animations are so great is that you can use them to communicate all sorts of statuses, to instruct behavior, to draw attention and to add affordance, or simply to let users see what the consequences of their actions would be.” Reference link

Examples of UI Animation

With the advancements of digital technologies, consumers demand a superior UX when visiting a website. Static pages are a thing of the past. Animated features on a website are critical. Here are a few examples of how animation enhances user-experience.

Value Displays

Value displays provide relevant information such as time, amounts and metrics. Rather than flashing a static number on the screen, animation allows numbers to tick over. This evokes expectation in users and releases dopamine in the brain – a neurotransmitter that gives us the ‘feel-good factor.’

Prompts

When you want to draw attention to particular elements, motion animation can be used to prompt some sort of interaction – especially in cases when the next move is not obvious. Small unobtrusive animation helps to provide effective communication and aid navigation.

Error shakes

When users do not complete a field correctly, it’s not always easy for them to know when there is an error. Animated shakes are a universal tool for ‘no’ – like someone shaking their head. It helps to inform users that an error needs addressing.

Narrative

Visual storytelling is an effective communication tool. Animated features that explain what is happening in periods where a wait is required, satisfy communication requirements and maintain user engagement.

For example, when you are verifying the bank details are correct at checkout, why not use an animated feature of a bank teller examining bank ID.

Demonstrate operability

Brands that sell software or technologies that require a user manual can use animation to demonstrate usability. Animation makes explanations far easier to grasp, reduces the learning time and keeps customers engaged.

Delight customers

Providing good UX empowers customers. When they can confidently use a website, they feel more satisfied – which ultimately translates into higher conversion rates.

Animation is a powerful strategy to delight users and enhance their experience when they visit your website. With more businesses upgrading their websites with a focus on UX, brands that fail to excite users risk missing out on sales and repeat customers.

Are you are thinking of incorporating an animated user experience into your customer retention and acquisition? Drop us an email at info@sbanimation.com, or give us a call on +44 (0)207 148 0526

A business is only as good as its employees. The quality and rate of output converts into profits and the potential growth of the company. However, attempts to improve productivity have failed.

A report by Robert Gordon of Northwestern University claims the productivity of many companies is weak because they are using outdated business methods and procedures.

Strategies such as open-plan offices that were supposed to enhance collaboration and increase output did the opposite. Automation tools are also failing to meet productivity goals.

Elearning has been tipped to be a breakthrough for productivity. For employees to have a source they can turn to at the touch of a button enables them to learn quicker without interrupting other team members.

In a nutshell, elearning bridges the gap for employees that lack the knowledge and skills to hit productivity targets.

A study performed by researchers in Malaysia concluded that elearning “is no just a good idea, but it is necessary.”

Boost Employee Engagement

One of the main reasons employees fail to meet the productivity levels is because they are bored and easily distracted. When people do not have an interest in the subject matter they do not learn easily.

Improving skill sets in traditional training environments has proven to be inadequate. One of the reasons cited for failed training programs is because people don’t want to be there.

Furthermore, employees rarely follow-up their training with revision because wading through a file of papers feels like they are wasting time. This invites stress. Asking their colleague is much easier but ultimately less productive for the business.

Elearning compels employees to find information they need for themselves. Incorporating visual content such as videos, animation, infographics and images is also more engaging if the content is designed to be entertaining as well as educational.

Improves Memory Recall

The human brain processes visual data easier than other formats and because elearning is predominantly visual it’s easier for employees to recall information.

The use of videos and animation on elearning platforms also encourages ‘microlearning’ which has been found to increase engagement and aid knowledge retention.

Elearning tools enable trainers to include a variety of different content that helps staff retain information. Interactive elements, gamification and quizzes have been shown to increase memory recall.

Flexible Learning

The flexibility of elearning platforms makes it easier for part-time staff or mother’s that have to leave work early to collect their offspring from school. Conventional training programs are not always convenient for employees, managers or trainers.

Managers have to adapt targets to account for missed hours, employees have to rearrange their schedule and trainers have to secure a classroom either on-site or off-site.

The logistics and costs of arranging staff training can be a drain on resources. All these issues are avoided with elearning platforms because training materials can be accessed at any time.

Customisation

Training materials created for elearning is designed to be delivered through computers and tablets. Courses can be easily customised to suit the needs of your business, but also the learning needs of employees such as Sliced Bread’s Teachers First education program which we developed for the Ministry of Education and Technical Education and is now part of the Egyptian Learning Society Program to support Education 2.0 Strategy.

It’s no secret that people have different ways of learning. Some employees learn better though gamification whilst others will retain information better by completing an evaluation exercise.

For example, the Learning Management System we developed for Risk Advisory incorporated 3D animation with a voiceover. The course records the progress of each delegate so that progress and results can be assessed and the appropriate feedback given to trainees.

The ability to personalise learning experiences for individuals makes it easier for trainers to assess which training methods employees respond to the most. This gives companies and advantage moving forward.

Personal elearning environments are supportive of lifelong learning and can speed up the learning curve of employees far quicker than traditional in-person training.

The time saved training individuals can be spent putting the knowledge and skills into practice and thus enabling new starters to contribute to the productivity of the business.

Reduced Cost

Elearning is less expensive than most traditional training methods. It’s also scalable thus enabling relevant content to be rolled out across various departments.

A report investigating the Value of Training published by IBM found online training can positively impact employee retention rates and save recruitment costs. The company also reveals they were able to deliver five times as much training for a third of the cost – a saving of US$200 million.

IBM is not alone in championing online learning. The benefits elearning offers have prompted a reported 40 per cent of Fortune 500 companies to invest in online learning tools.

Elearning tools demonstrate to employees that companies are prepared to invest in their training and development. As a result, individuals feel empowered and focused. What’s more, when they have access to information instantly, they improve their knowledge in just a few clicks. All this leads to a marked increase in productivity.

Are you are thinking of incorporating elearning into your training programme? Drop us an email at info@sbanimation.com or give us a call on +44 (0)207 148 0526

Employees are a company’s most important asset. Securing the top talent in your industry is only achievable if you have an awesome onboarding program.

The mindset of the modern workforce has changed in recent years. Salary is not the main priority. Millennials are more interested in a work-life balance and working for brands that cater towards health and wellbeing in the workplace.

Today’s employees also want to work for companies that have a strong company culture, a social purpose and invest in the development of employees.

A strong recruitment program sets the foundations that can make a lasting impression. One of the key goals of onboarding is to help new employees to socialise and feel part of the organisation.

Companies that enable employees to acquire skills, knowledge and behaviours in their earliest days with your company spend less on recruitment in the long run.

Researchers found that effective onboarding reduced employee turnover. The study found employees were 60% more likely to remain with a company for more than three years when there is a structured onboarding program.

Conversely, another study found that 15% of respondents said a lack of an effective onboarding process contributed to their decision to quit.

HR professionals are under no illusion that the next few years will bring significant changes to the onboarding process. Not only is a positive recruitment strategy required to secure top talent, the content has to motivate new starters enough to stay engaged.

Implementing an onboarding program that is educational, thoughtful, fun and engaging fosters motivation and instils a willingness to stay and succeed with your company.

Onboarding with Animated Videos

Optimising your onboarding programming using animated videos helps new employees understand your company culture and values, adopt the necessary knowledge and skills sooner and help them to become effective contributors to your organisation. These can also be integrated into an elearning programme via a learning management system (LMS).

Visual learning is more powerful than other formats because the human brain engages with images. Visuals enable us to retain and recall information much easier.

Video animation keeps content fresh and appealing. Watching a video is far more engaging than listening to a trainer speak for hours on end in a classroom environment.

The rise in video content consumed online is a strong indication of what audiences prefer. Video content is engaging, digestible and furnishes viewers with more context and understanding.

Creating a dynamic video provides a context for your company culture and makes it easier for new recruits to make the transition.

Video enables companies to convey your brand values and recreate real-life scenarios that employees may find themselves in. Being able to see situations in a visual format makes it easier for new employees to understand potential difficulties easier without having to overstretch their imagination.

Furthermore, studies have found that effective onboarding programs reduce the time it takes new employees to effectively contribute to productivity.

Research published by the Aberdeen Group found that companies with an effective onboarding process experience 54% greater productivity from new recruits and a 50% higher retention rate.

Employee Engagement

A paper published by Gallup says a primary focus of an onboarding program should be engagement. The findings of a survey showed that employees who are engaged are 147% more productive than their colleagues.

Engaged workers also have better connections with managers and colleagues. Assigning new recruits with a mentor or buddy for the first two weeks helps new starters settle in and gives them a point of reference.

However, a mentor program is only a short-term solution. Using other staff as part of your onboarding program is too costly. Employee training and internal communications have to fill the gap.

Animated video content has proven to be highly effective as a training tool and can transform interest towards your internal communications. The storytelling ability of video content is far more accessible and relevant to individuals than a newsletter delivered by email.

Video offers a dynamic solution to delivering important information in the workplace. Animation enhances the effect the content has on your audience because it is more entertaining and easier to remember.

People retain more information when it is presented in video format – especially when the information is relatable.

When there is a lot of information for new recruits to absorb, visual content plays a central role in your company’s onboarding process.

There are various ways you can use video to enhance your onboarding process.

With an increasing number of companies adopting animated video as part of their internal comms, the most important decision you make is to position video at the front and centre of your recruitment program – because your competitors are.

Are you are thinking of incorporating an animated onboarding program into your business? Drop us an email at info@sbanimation.com or give us a call on +44 (0)207 148 0526

It’s the final blog post of my internship- I can’t believe how fast the time has gone! Here’s what happened in the last 2 weeks.

Week 7

In week 7 I focused on editing my storyboards from the previous week based on the feedback I received. The main point of discussion was that the length of the shorts. In my edits, each were about a minute which was far too long- they needed to be closer to the 30 second mark. I really needed to refine some of the action and make cuts- but I did learn that It wasn’t always necessary to show each action, and that some movement could be inferred by cutting on motion to save time.

More changes to perspective was suggested, particularly to build a sense of scale in some of the scenes- for example, in the connect short where the paper stacks fall down on top of Mind, switching between a birds eye and a worms eye view, helps to convey the sense of everything being on top of him and finally, literally being buried in work.

It was also suggested that I could include perspective grids in the boards to try and get more depth in the scenes and not make everything so flat on to the camera. We also discussed changes to the environment so that changes of emotion and feeling in the body are represented by a physical colour change- blue for sad to yellow/pink for happy. I also edited the shape of the ‘person’ so that they had softer edges- more of a suggestion of a human shape than a square robotic head.

This week I also made the switch over to editing my animatics in After Effects rather than Premiere Pro. I had always assumed that After effects was just for motion graphics and 2D animation- and I was surprised to find that it made the editing process for my animatics much easier and faster- especially when adding transitions and motion to individual frames.

Week 8

In the last week of my internship I focused on finishing my animatic, consolidating all of my work into an art development bible and finalising my storyboards and character concepts. I gathered my work together into several PDF documents, showing my bi-weekly progress and describing the changes I have made according to the feedback I received along the way. I cleaned up the animatic in After Effects, tightening up some transitions and adding in the voice over lines to get a better idea of timing and how it would match up to the animation if it was recorded.

I looked into some ideas for colour palettes and how to use colour to represent the changes in emotions over the short. I settled for keeping Mind’s area quite dark in the opening scenes- representing his gloomy attitude and the ‘closed in’ feel of the high paper stacks. The scenes with Heart would be much brighter, showing him literally bringing calm to Mind when they make their connection.

This week I also made some very simple walk cycles with Heart and Mind using some of the tutorials I did in previous weeks. I used puppet pins inside After Effects- as this was the easiest way I find starting as a beginner. I tried to show the personality of the characters in the way they move- so Heart is very bouncy, while Mind is more droopy and sad. While it is not the best (or the smoothest) piece of animation, I’m still pretty proud of it considering that I had no more than surface knowledge of the software before I started.

The biggest things I have learned during my internship here are;

• How to use After Effects for very basic animation and editing- possibly one of the bigger things I will take away from my internship. It made editing animatics so much easier, and I’m really keen to keep learning and practicing more 2D animation.
• Designing characters for a professional studio project- what is actually needed for a technical turnaround so that someone could potentially build your character. It isn’t always important to make it the prettiest thing in the world- just has to be functional.
• The importance of keeping clear naming conventions- I would often neglect to keep clear file names, which wasn’t so much of a problem for me as I understood my own workflow. But when sharing files with others for uploading.

I am so grateful for the opportunity and all the learning experiences I’ve had over my time here at Sliced Bread. I have gained some great practical experience and feedback- and I can go away knowing what skills I need to work on in order to improve even more!

Ever wondered the process on how a 3D animation is created and the pipeline behind it? Or hear the words Pre-Production, Production and Post Production, and are unsure on the terminology? Here is a quick guide for you to understand all the elements behind the production pipeline for a 3D animation.

The Idea – The first step in creating your animation is establishing the idea, the aim and main purpose to intrigue the viewer. With the perspective of the idea set in place, it’s time to create and institute the story.

Client Meeting – Having a client meeting and the forefront of the project gains a huge advantage, enabling us to understand the meaning behind the story and your animation needs.

Pre-Production

Script & Storyboard – Once the idea has been established, the next stage is developing the script, you can either supply the script to us, or we are able to write this for you, we would need to know this in the client meeting.

Once the script is in place, it’s time to put pen to paper and draw up a storyboard, which is a sequence of images, laying out the two dimensional boundaries on how to display the final animation. First dimension is time: what happens first, next and last? The second is interaction: how does voice-over and/ or sound effects interact with the images? How will it convey the story to the audience?

Top tip: It is important for the script and storyboard to be formally approved before we start production.

Animatic – Once the storyboard has had it’s final approval, this will then be created into an animatic, which lays out the story, and is not the final look for the animation. This then becomes the primary reference for the animation, the animatic is used by every team member, which will then be later enhanced by the designers in developing the final footage.

Production

Asset Design and Preparation – Within this design process, Research & Development (R&D) takes place, R&D plays a critical role within the innovation process, which can lead to greater creative designs, thus gaining a deeper understanding of the meaning and purpose behind the story.

Now the fun and creativity starts, the design process of all elements within the story. This can entail the character, environment, background, asset design and colour palette, which can be created through moodboards, model sheets or quick sketches etc, giving a clear understanding to the design team, so they know what look and style they are aiming for.

Modelling – With the designs approved, the technical production begins. Commencing with the modelling of characters and assets, the 2D design process transforms to 3D, this can be done in a variety of softwares, i.e. Maya, zBrush, Unity, dependent on the platform the project has been tailored to.

Rigging – This is the process of creating a skeletor structure, abling to move in the x, y & z axis, bringing life to the model, allowing to act the needs of the story.

Rigging is not always for a human character, it can be implemented into animals, insects, plants, vehicles, basically anything that needs to transform from one axis to another.

Animation – creates an illusion of movement by a series of pictures or frames, creating realistic motions to a high level of detail. Bringing characters to life! We will send work-in-progress (WIP) playblasts, on scheduled milestones to the client, for their feedback and approval on timings and camera movements.

Once the animation has been completed, the pre-render (which can also be referred as the final playblast) is sent to the client for final approval.

Visual Effects (VFX) would also commence in this stage of production, delivery WIP playblast for feedback and approvals.

Texturing/ Shading – is the next process, this allows the models to have colour and finer detailed textures, which would be discussed in the client meeting and asset preparation stage.

Lighting – would also happen alongside, creating the look and tone for the models and scene.

Rendering – The final production process (but not the end yet) is Rendering, which is an automatic process generating photorealistic or non-photorealistic images that are collected together. Don’t underestimate the power of rendering, this process could take a matter of days/ weeks, dependent on the level of detail.

Top tip: We cannot start rendering the animation without the final approval of the animation playblast.

Post Production

Compositing, Music, Exporting & Encoding – Once fully rendered, all elements are composited together, this process allows the final renders to be colour corrected and any other adjustments (depth of field, blur etc). In addition sound effects and music can also be included at this stage.

Delivery – Once this stage has been completed, you are left with your final animation. Your final animation can be delivered in HD renders or any other required version at your request (MP4, WMV etc.). If amends are needed to take place this can be implemented (within the agreed amount of days) and a new final version will be delivered.

If your interested and seeking for advice and/ or information about how we can help you create a 3D Animation, contact us here. or give us a call on +44 (0)207 148 0526.

Checking in again with blog post number 3! Here’s what I’ve been up to for the past 2 weeks.

Week 5

This week I began to delve into storyboarding proper. I got feedback on my script ideas along with the very rough thumbnails I had produced the week before. It was agreed that I would spend this week continuing to develop the 3 best ones- Connect, Active and Learn. 

I made 3 rough storyboards from the first passes of thumbnails- working into the feedback that I had already received on camera, staging and story points. It was important to consider the characters and environment in 3D space and be careful not to leave everything too flat on. Extra focus on the expressions and emotions of the characters also helped to convey the stories better and create a connection with an audience. Once I had drawn up and revised these ideas for a couple of iterations I asked for more feedback and we discussed my progress. 

I realised that I needed to incorporate the environment design more into the action- for example, the simple ways in which the characters climb up/down the stairs can show how they are feeling. I also needed to vary my camera angles as they were all a bit too similar and could be pushed in to better frame actions and emotions. It was agreed that I would focus on just one or two of the stories going forward, in order to make the shorts as polished as they could be. 

Week 6

Moving into week 6, I began to refine the finer points of storyboarding to be sure I was conveying character emotions convincingly. I chose to focus on Connect and Learn- as I felt that these two shorts best addressed the brief as both stand alone pieces as well as part of a larger series.

I re-storyboarded the two sequences roughly on paper initially, working on the feedback from the previous week. Once I was happy with these rough versions, I went into Photoshop and drew them up more neatly. I made very rough animatic sequences in order to better understand the timings of each short and see what needed to be cut. I went through this process several times, cutting out parts that were too long and didn’t work and replacing them.

I also began re-teaching myself Illustrator and After Effects this week. While I have very basic knowledge of these softwares, I tend to rely heavily on Photoshop- so this was a good opportunity to branch out my skill set and software knowledge. I followed a basic walk cycle tutorial from youtube to refresh my skills and then considered how I might get my character designs to work in a 2d format. This has been the biggest learning point this week- as my university experience was mainly in 3D animation. It has been a little surprising just how much of 3D carries over to 2D.

Tune back in another 2 weeks time for my final installment of my blog whilst interning at Sliced Bread, find out the finishing results for my project and for more of my learning curves!

Hello again! I’m back with the next installment of my internship blog.

Week 3

In week 3, I focused on refining my character concepts. I went through my concept sketches and picked the 4 best ones to develop further. I chose to follow the feedback I had been given about using soft brushed edges and squash and stretch – while also presenting a variety of options for features. 

I presented these options for feedback again, and it was decided that we would do a mix and match of details from 3 of the designs – to ensure that the characters were recognisable but were also fun and friendly to look at. I went away and produced another set of 3 concepts. 

This time when I presented them, we agreed on the design of Heart, but I still needed to work into the shape and pattern in order to make Mind more distinct. Again, I went away and came up with several options that I believed could work with the design for Heart. Once we had come to a consensus on a shape and pattern, I was able to move on to turnarounds.

I created one rough turnaround for each character as well as a rough set of expressions and interaction drawings. I ran into a problem with my turnarounds which were overly ‘clean’ for a first draft. They needed to show structure that a 3D modeller or a 2D animator would need to follow in order to build them. I went away and made more technical turnarounds in order to amend this. 

I began exploring environment concepts – playing around with colour and design. I would need to keep them consistent with the characters and also decide whether to keep them flat 2D or include 3D elements. 

Finally I began planning and drafting very rough story ideas and working out roughly how long I wanted each episode/ advert to be and what information I wanted to include. It was important to be able to convey both characters personalities and tell a compelling story in a limited time.  

Week 4

At the halfway mark already – this week I began to refine the story ideas and begin the storyboarding process. 

I created some technical turnarounds for both characters, so that we can see the ‘inner workings’ as a reference for how someone might build and animate them. I also made some extra reference sheets for key eye, hair and limb poses- demonstrating how they should and should not be deformed.  

I worked into my script concepts and began some very rough thumbnailing to see which ideas worked and which ideas needed a bit more refinement. I also made several more detailed concept sketches demonstrating key expressions and environment designs for each of the shorts.

Check back in another 2 weeks for the next installment of my blog, and see how my project progresses from here!

A Playblast and a Render are both important processes within any animation production pipeline, without these we are not able to visualise any content. Both these processes have similarities, however, one is produced throughout a project and another when all the animation processes (animation, texturing/ shading, lighting etc.) have been completed. Can you guess which one is which?

Stuck? Find out the answers below! 

Playblasts (also known as a pre-renders) are produced throughout the animation production stages. We use playblasts when we want to show the client our work-in-progress (WIP) or for animations final approval on timings. 

Playblasts are either grey or in blocked colours, this is because it is a quick preview of the timings and camera movement for that specific shot, providing a realistic idea on what the final face of the animation will be, whilst running in real time. Clients and all stakeholders need to take into consideration that this is not the final animation. 

The benefits of a Playblast is that it produces a faster output, which saves on time and costs on both sides. 

They are shared with clients, so they are able to review, feedback and approve certain shots and/ or elements within a scene. The benefits of a Playblast is that it produces a faster output. If changes are needed, the artist is able to amend these relatively swiftly, from this, we are able to export a new Playblast in the same day (dependent on the effort), allowing the client and stakeholders to review and feedback again.

Below is an example of a Playblast (pre-render) from MTR Health and Safety Animation (3D), which can be viewed on our Sliced Bread Animation Vimeo channel.

But wait, you might be thinking, “I haven’t seen what the final look of the animation will look like?!” No need to worry about that, alongside delivery of the final playblast animation, we will deliver a varied selection of look dev (development) images, which is a snapshot to visualise a real representation on what the final render will look like. 

Renders are produced when all the animation production processes (animation, texturing/ shading, lighting, compositing etc.) have been completed and have been approved by the client and all stakeholders. Rendering is an automatic process converting 3D models into 2D images, which can either have the effect of looking photorealistic or non-photorealistic. We will only start this process once the final playblast animation (and look dev) has been approved by all parties. Renders are the final animation, which are supplied in HD or any other required version, if necessary.

Below is an example of a (final) Render from MTR Health and Safety Animation (3D)

So there you have it, the difference between a Playblast and a Render. If you have an idea for an animation project or seeking advice, you can contact us here, drop us an email at info@sbanimation.com or give us a call on +44 (0)207 148 0526.

It’s true, technology has revolutionised our world. It has created amazing tools and resources from incredible communication inventions to medical procedures. Through these new and innovative technologies like bionics, it can help the everyday life of people and rehabilitative people.

Open Bionics are an award-winning bionics company that have developed a multi-grip bionic hand called the Hero Arm, it detects muscle movement resulting in intuitive life-like precision, and it being one of the world’s first medically certified 3D printed bionic hand. 

The creation of the bionic hand is through 3D scanning, modelling and printing, and it can be created in just a matter of a week, this new piece of technology is light, functional and affordable.

The bionic hand can create many types of actions, for example, grab, pinch, making a fist, a thumbs-up, an OK sign, high fiving, the list is endless. The technology behind these robotic movements are generated through picking up signals from the users muscles. There are tiny sensors within the bionic arm which pick up the users muscle movements, which allows the hand to open and close, therefore helping the user achieve everyday life movements with confidence, precision and style. 

Technology is going above and beyond and it is fascinating what it can do now in the 21st century. Bionic prosthetic hands are rapidly evolving and are gradually becoming in high demand, it encourages and inspires technologists for the next craze but most importantly, enhances the everyday life of others, physically and mentally. 

Another piece of technology that is changing people’s lives is Virtual Reality (VR), a computer-generated (CG) environment that allows users to immerse themselves in an artificial world that feels real to the sensory perceptions.

This high demand piece of technology was predicted decades ago, to be precise in 1935 by Stanley G. Weinbaum in his science fiction novel Pygmalion’s Spectacles – A character explains about an idea of a pair of goggles that lets the user experience a fictional world through holographics, smell, taste and touch.

Here’s an extract from Weinbaum’s book; “But listen—a movie that gives one sight and sound. Suppose now I add taste, smell, even touch, if your interest is taken by the story. Suppose I make it so that you are in the story, you speak to the shadows, and the shadows reply, and instead of being on a screen, the story is all about you, and you are in it. Would that be to make real a dream?” Uncanny how representative Weinbaum’s ‘fictional’ prediction is now fiction and how technology has evolved to today! 

From Weinbaum’s prediction in the 20th century to now, today in the 21st, we are starting to see a wide scope of industries embracing VR technology, for example, industries such as medicine, architecture, automotive and travel, amidst many others. This innovative piece of technology is changing peoples everyday ways of life, especially for a girl called Maisy. 

Maisy lost the majority of her sight due to a brain tumour, and is limited to only a tiny blurry circle in her right eye. Thanks to technology rapidly advancing, Maisy was able to see and read again with the help of GiveVision goggles from SlightPlus, they help visually impaired and low vision people see clearly again by using contrasting and magnifiers to highlight outlines of objects, amplifing the users remaining vision.

Watch Maisy’s reaction of being able to read again at the Hay Festival 2019 here.

Virtual Reality is maturing as a piece of technology with aspects that would have not been believable decades ago, with it heightening senses and breaking the boundaries of what technology can give. It encompasses surgery planning, education training, workforce training and health and safety. 

Another piece of technology that has been developed and has advanced in the technology industry is Haptics. Haptics stimulates the sensory sources of touch and motion through computer simulations – from tactile touchscreens on the latest technology devices to envisioned full body VR suits (with multiple haptics points), haptics can be used in physical rehabilitation, education, navigation, communication and can you believe it, even online shopping!

Haptics is the science of touch and it’s how we interface with the world in many aspects. The basic idea of haptics primitively existed in applications such as video games, the controller would vibrate for example, after a shake/ release of a weapon or if the user was doing something wrong. 

Haptics technology is constantly being developed further, giving the user a sense of presence, tactile, vision and proprioception with various mechanisms and sensations, achieving that ‘full touch’ simulation.

Video games and Virtual Reality are starting to take the concept of touch to the next level, allowing the user to experience different senses and communicate to objects through the sensation of holding and touching things they would in real life, for example, reaching towards a cup of coffee – feeling the shape of the mug, weight and temperature. Turning reality into real life.

Haptics is another way artificial intelligence and new technology plays a growing role in peoples everyday lives. It showcases how technology can improve the entertainment aspects of peoples lives, as well as productivity and safety. The future of technology really is at our fingertips.

At Sliced Bread we are always excited and intrigued about current and future developments of technology. If you are interested in talking to us about technology or Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality or Haptics, feel free to give us a call on +44 (0)206 148 0526 or contact us here.

Hi there! My name is Sarah and I recently graduated from Escape Studios with a degree in 3D animation, where my specialism was character design and storyboarding. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to intern here at Sliced Bread for 8 weeks over the summer, which was a great chance to gain some practical studio experience. It has been really interesting (and busy!) so far, seeing how the core team manages many different client projects at once. 

Over the next 8 weeks I will be working on a character design project, focused on mental health first aid. I will be planning and designing a suit of 5-10 light, fun and educational short films that provide suggestions and support for those dealing with negative mental health and its side effects. It is important to remember that one solution won’t work for everybody, so a ‘kit’ of multiple suggestions can help to cover a wider audience.

Week 1

I began by researching NHS articles and current media trends for coping with mental health. Nowadays, the importance of maintaining good mental health is far more prominent- with meditation apps like Calm and Headspace more popular than ever. 

The NHS and many other mental health charities recommend five main ways to help deal with mental health; connect with others, be active, keep learning, give to others and take notice of the world around you. 

Maintaining good physical health can also have positive effects on mental wellness. Solutions such as balanced diet, a good night’s sleep and cutting down on alcohol/ caffeine/ cigarettes can help to improve the way you feel.

The next stage of my research focused on existing character and environment design. I was given a few videos to start, which had existing animation and design styles we liked such as the Headspace animations and Pixar’s Inside Out. 

From this I started on my own early concept sketches both on paper and in Photoshop- as this was quite an open brief in terms of design I began with loose, simple shapes- playing around with squash, stretch and basic expressions- in order to think of some ideas and potential directions I could go. 

From my initial concepts I developed 6 different basic concepts, with different themes. I presented my ideas and got some feedback. We agreed that some of these concepts were either too complex or overused and ran the risk of not being relatable enough for an audience to connect with.

I narrowed these 6 options down to my favourite 3 ‘Mood Birds, Heart & Mind and Blobs’, and so I went forward with developing these concepts in my second week.

Week 2

Moving into the second week, I thought more into how the world design would work as well as producing more detail in these 3 character concepts.

I presented my developed work again in order to narrow it down to just one concept. We agreed that Heart & Mind were the favourite concept- but we wanted to try and combine this idea with the softer, looser edges on the blobs as well as the exaggerated squash and stretch which is more interesting for animation. 

I then set about exploring various different styles to represent a heart and mind- from ultra simplistic shapes to more realistic looking designs. 

Having never produced a client concept pitch before I had overestimated the amount of concepts I needed to present. This proved to be a good learning curve however, as I was able to look at previous examples of design work done here and get a better idea of what was required. I will now be producing 3 more cohesive character concepts ready for presentation next week.

If you want to keep up with my progress, I will be blogging here every 2 weeks. Stay tuned to see how my concepts work out and what progress I make with the brief.

Whiteboard animations are brilliant for explaining processes and complex thoughts, while bringing your story to life at the same time. In a whiteboard video a narrator talks the viewer through the information while a hand draws the visuals on screen. Presenting a story in this way engages viewers through the hand drawn style and warm approach, and promotes understanding and retention of details and facts.

Are you considering producing a whiteboard animation, but are unsure about the animation production process? Keep reading to see what you can expect when creating one with Sliced Bread.

Client meeting

In the client meeting we learn about your objectives, project requirements, and animation needs. We have produced a variety of whiteboard animations for learning purposes, corporate internal communication, and many more other use cases – there are no limitations.

Script

A good script is fundamental for the success of your animation and to get your message across. You can either supply a script to us or ask us to help you develop one.  This can be discussed at the beginning of the project, in the client meeting.

Schedule

Once we know the objectives, scope and your deadline, we create a detailed schedule which highlights the key dates and milestones for deliverables, client reviews and approvals.

Storyboarding

A storyboard is a visual representation of your content. The script gets broken down into scenes, and we develop visual ideas for all the messages that you need to get across – we also determine the look and feel, e.g. character styles and colour, look of icons etc.

If you have existing designs or assets that need to be incorporated into the piece we will work with these, and align any new design so that everything is cohesive.

Voice-recording

On approval of the final script we will record the voice-over (VO). The VO narrates the content and sets the pace for the animation, so it’s essential that this is done before we start animating.

If you’re unsure about the style and tone you would like for your animation, we can guide you and supply a variety of different voices for you to choose from.

Animatic

Up next is the animatic, this is where the storyboard panels are timed to the VO, as a video. This helps us visualise the animation and plan animation timings correctly.  Please note that an animatic is not the final animation – it’s more a blocked out version.

Asset preparation

This is the preparation of all designs as animateable assets, often as vector graphics. We won’t bore you with technicalities, but it’s all about preparing everything neatly and laying motion paths that will reveal each individual drawing.

Animation

Now we crack on with the actual animation. At this stage the drawings are drawn up in sync with the VO, by an animated hand. Sometimes we also like to mix the hand drawn style with some traditional animation to emphasise certain parts of the story and to add a bit more personality.

Compositing, Encoding & Delivery

Nearly done! Now we composite the animated scenes and elements together and overlay some music or sound effects, and deliver it in your preferred format.

Contact us today to find out more about how we can create a Whiteboard Animation for you or your company, contact us here or drop us an email at info@sbanimation.com. Alternatively give us a call on +44 (0)207 148 0526, we’d love to hear from you.

Most people today have heard of Augmented Reality (AR). AR, not to be confused with VR, allows users to experience interactive virtual elements displayed over the top of their real world environment. A huge number of brands and companies have already made use of AR in their marketing and as a workplace tool, however for most people the release of Pokemon GO in 2016 was their first time experiencing the technology.

One of the big problems with using Augmented Reality for business or consumer facing experiences is that up until recently it relied on users downloading and installing an app, and using markers to trigger content. Being confined to apps creates a barrier between the AR and the user as it is just one more step required for them to complete before accessing an experience.

So what is WebAR, and how will it change things? Put simply, WebAR is Augmented Reality that takes place inside your browser. It removes the need for downloading specific apps – users can go to AR-enabled websites and experience the same functionality and features. This advancement in the technology will increase the potential reach for a consumer experience massively, as using Augmented Reality apps will become as easy as clicking a link sent to you by a brand, friend, or employer.

WebAR began with allowing users to place static objects in their real world and interact with them. This in itself was a big leap forward in browser technology, and gave a real taste of the possibilities for creating web based AR content. Since then there have been huge leaps forward in the capabilities of WebAR, with some really engaging experiences being released to the public.

Most recently Sony Pictures released a WebAR experience for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which allowed users to interact with a 3D character, take photos, and share their pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social channels. The whole experience can be accessed in browser, with no need to download a separate app.

But Web AR is more than just fun and games – it will completely revolutionise the retail sector. Consumers will be able to see a product in 3D from the comfort of their own home, without the need to jump through the hoops of installing a dedicated app and making an account.

Most of us turn to Google when we are looking for something new and specific to buy, be it a new coat, car, or sofa. When Web AR becomes widely available we’ll be able to not only search for what we are looking for, but see it, rotate it, inspect it, make an informed decision on whether we want to buy it or not. This will ultimately have a positive impact on purchasing decisions and drive sales, and minimise returned items.

Take furniture shopping for example – the most common reasons for returns are that products are not the right size, or don’t look right in the customer’s room. If a store gives you the opportunity to see how it will look and fit in situ, it will give you the confidence that you are buying something that will really work in your home, making you less likely to need to return it. This in turn allows for a really positive and meaningful experience with that retailer, encouraging repeat visits and purchases.

In the last few years we have seen Augmented Reality become widely adopted within large corporations, with use cases ranging from employee training and everyday work tools, to fun activities and communication devices for internal events.

A usual stumbling block for corporate AR applications is the often complex process to get the apps onto employee smartphones. Most corporations have a centrally managed organisation app store that pushes the applications out to every user device, which means that any update to an experience or tool needs to not only be wrapped into the app, but it also needs to go through various stages of publishing to get it to employees.

Web AR will effectively streamline this process as approved updates can be rolled out to a website, so there won’t be an application to update. Users can then simply access the experience online and automatically see the latest updates that have been pushed to the site. There will be no need to worry about memory space on work devices – there is nothing to download as experiences will take place in the user’s browser.

At Sliced Bread we have been really excited to follow Web AR as it has developed, and are already working on converting some of our AR existing projects, such as Virtual Vortex, for use in browser.  If you are interested in talking to us about what you could do with Web AR for your brand or business, feel free to give us a call on +44 (0)207 148 0526.

Virtual and augmented reality is having a profound impact on modern businesses. Capable of delivering a fully-immersive experience, users can live out real-life experiences in safe environments.

The potential to improve corporate videos across the board are limitless. From staff training to presentations and advertising campaign, VR and AR have the power to engage viewers and help stimulate memory recall.

Studies have shown that immersive and experiential nature of virtual reality helps engage the brain. People learn more by doing. Because VR technology provides users with first-hand experience their spatial memory is enhanced.

VR Mitigates the Learning Curve

The investment corporations currently plough into staff training yields very little ROI. It is believed around 10% of companies have formulated an effective training program.

In contrast, other studies demonstrate that virtual reality fosters a more efficient way of learning because it prompts behavioural changes. The technology works on the premise of creating a virtual world which allows users to interact with it as if it were the real world.

When students and trainees are immersed in an interactive environment, they are more motivated to learn than they are when learning via traditional paper and video methods.

The virtual world not only provides trainees with an impression of physical reality, but it also evokes emotions. The brain actually believes it is in a new environment and is thus more engaged.

Employee Expectations

Almost half of today’s workforce is made up of millennials. Over the next 10 years, Generation Zers will also be seeking employment. The expectation of these new generations of workers revolves around technology.

Millennials expect to work in ‘smart offices’ and if technology in the workplace does not meet their expectations, 42% say they will leave a company.

VR and AR enhance training programs and provides you with unlimited solutions. You can, therefore, create environments which foster a collaborative learning experience or a personalised experience on demand.

You can also encourage remote working and overcome the challenges experienced with web-based tools such as Skype, FaceTime and Zoom etc. Real-time video conferencing will be more interactive and generate a life-like experience.

Employee Onboarding

In meeting the expectations of millennials and Gen Zers, VR and AR encourage the best candidates to work for your company. Why not use the technology to promote your company to prospective employees?

VR allows you to project a positive impression of your company. You can give them a virtual tour of your business, meet key players and provide them with an insight into their day to day activity.

Using VR as a first touchpoint to your company boosts the confidence of candidates and evokes excitement about working for your company. The promise of a highly-engaging work experience is what young people want.

Furthermore, when employees are introduced to their teammates and already familiar with their surroundings – virtually or otherwise – it helps to make them feel more confidence and comfortable on their first day.

Boost Training

Simulation and repetition are extremely valuable for training purposes. Virtual environments provide employees with real-world experiences which prepares them for all manner of scenarios they may encounter during their job.

VR is proving to be a critical component across numerous industries, particularly in fields where life-threatening situations play out on a daily basis. Creating a virtual world enables educators to assess the physical capability and the mental stability of trainees.

Because virtual training programs prepare employees for specific situations, they are better prepared and feel more confident when they have to perform the task in real-life.

When it comes to staff training, companies of all sizes are recognising the value in VR training models. And it’s not only industries such as the military, aerospace and medical professions that can benefit.

For example, customer service professions can see how new employees cope under pressure during busy periods or how they deal with awkward customers and complaints. Their responses and attitudes can be adjusted accordingly.

Corporate Marketing

Advertising is becoming increasingly more competitive and difficult in the digital age. Not only is there a limited visibility in the internet haystack, but consumers are also beefing up with ad blockers and have lower attention spans.

VR enables companies to publish immersive and interactive content that connects with customers on an experiential level. Furthermore, the format can be used across multiple platforms, including mobile devices, desktop computers and outdoor advertising displays.

Consumers expect brands to create engaging advertising experiences to enhance the customer journey. We are already starting to see the impact 360-degree videos is having on the web.

Imagine how much more you can enhance the customer experience with a virtual reality simulation?

Video is the dominant format in the digital space. VR and AR take corporate videos to the next level. And the technological solutions are no more than the upcoming generations will expect from modern businesses.

For more information about how animation can help your business contact us here or feel free to give us a call on +44 (0)207 148 0526.

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) animation are among the most dynamic technologies impacting the business world at the minute.

We are now at the stage where AR and VR are finally reaching the tipping point into the commercial space, disrupting industries such as medical institutions, finance, security, health and fitness, education, travel, real estate and the music industry.

Facebook Business IQ says AR and VR are the technologies of the future. Google, Microsoft, Apple and IBM show they echo this sentiment by investing heavily in VR over the last year.

We are also starting to see the evolution of VR and AR as numerous industries capitalise on the ability of animation to improve efficiency, build strategy and enhance user experience.

With an ever-increasing interest and reliability on digital technologies, can businesses afford to ignore VR and AR animation? Probably not. On the other hand, early adopters have more to gain.

1. Multi-Platform Content

Augmented reality is a device-agnostic technology that can be used with iOS, Android, and Windows via a smartphone or desktop computer.

Animation brings more creativity and captivating features to live video streaming, whiteboard presentations, screen sharing, training videos and advertising campaigns.

One of the features that makes augmented reality an ideal solution for many businesses is the ability to overlay digital content on an actual view of the world in real time.

All the user has to do it point their camera at an object or space and use AR to position an object. For example, shoppers can see how an item of clothing will look on them, or whether a wardrobe will fit into an allocated space.

2. Defines User Experience

As AR and VR become more integrated, the technology is being used by businesses to enhance training and improve the skills of employees in a quicker turnaround.

With VR, you are able to reconstruct any environment and create any scenario using 3D animation software. AR enables you to add people or objects.

Therefore, you can recreate real-life situations in a virtual dimension that provides employees with an accurate representation of what they can expect to experience and feel whilst doing their actual job.

Because trainees experience scenarios first-hand, the motions they go through are recorded by the brain and muscle memory. Instructors can also gauge the emotional response of trainees and assess their mental stability.

3. Reduces Costs

Because VR and AR provides clearer, more intuitive instructions during training, less errors are made once employees perform their role in real life. The bottom line is better results and more productivity earlier on in the game.

The technology can also save businesses money on travel costs, machinery or equipment, renting conference rooms or whatever other costs you ordinarily spend to train staff.

You can also expect accrue a better ROI in advertising campaigns thus reducing the cost of your marketing whilst simultaneously improving customer loyalty by enhancing your customer service.

4. Enhance Customer Experience

VR and AR animation enhance promotional strategies, provide information in a profound way and leave a lasting impression that makes it easier for customers to recall your brand and product.

Advertising campaigns that use this disruptive technology promise to create a buzz and generate more social media coverage for your brand, product or event.

With VR you can take your customers on a virtual tour of your store which will increase the quality of the shopping experience and prompt decision making. You can even bring your products and packaging to life with rich content that provides an insight into real life experiences.

Brands that intend to attract customers from out of town can even combine promotional content with interactive maps, transport suggestions, accommodation options and restaurant tips by transporting your customers to nearby businesses.

5. Animation Help Patients Through Rehabilitation

Animation is being used by healthcare professionals to help rehabilitate patients that have suffered a stroke. Virtual rehab uses gamification techniques that improve the neuroplasticity of the brain and helps patients heal quicker by encouraging the brain to repair itself.

Because VR and AR technology is interactive, it gives patients the opportunity to perform repetitive exercises in a fun and enjoyable way. Healthcare professional are able to communicate movement information in an engaging way whilst making repetition less psychologically intense for the patient.

Virtual reality and augmented reality animation is projected to generate $34 billion over the next four years. The rapid growth means businesses that procrastinate risk getting left behind by their competitors.

On the other hand, brands that are first to the party can penetrate the market and capture the giant share of customers.

If you would like to discuss how you can integrate VR and/ or AR into your projects contact us here or give us a call on +44 (0)207 148 0526.

Looking to make your own Augmented Reality (AR) application, and would like to integrate 2D and 3D into your application but unsure on how to create Target Images? Vuforia Developer is the software for you.

Now what is Vuforia Developer you say? Vuforia is an augmented reality software development kit (SDK) for mobile devices that enables the creation of augmented reality applications. It recognises Image Targets through computer vision technology, in real time, processing information and data creating a 3D model and placing it in the real world. Basically magic.

Vuforia can be very straightforward, only if the specific requirements have been met. Vuforia recognises the distinct flat target image/ shape in an environment, and will set up in the x-y-z coordinates, then renders on the virtual 3D model. The user will be able to view the 3D rendered object from almost any angle, whether being near or far away from the radius of the trigger, whilst the user moves around with the device. This creates an illusion and feeling that the user is now part of the environment, successfully merging real life and computer-generated imagery together.

Below is a step-by-step process on how to create the whole process of an Image Target trigger.

You will first need to create a Vuforia Developer account, please visit here to sign up and register.

Creating a Database

Click Develop and navigate to Target Manager.

To create a New Database, this creates a folder for where your specific target will be stored and easily accessible and editable.

• Tap ‘Add Database’
• Name: Give your database a name (this can be changed later)
• Type: Tap ‘Device’
• Tap ‘Create’

After the database has been made, you are able to upload your trigger images to be processed and stored within the database.

Creating a Trigger Image

To create a Trigger Image, which is an image that Vuforia engine can detect and track, resulting in showing your desired 3D object – for this tutorial we are focusing on only a Single Image target, for more information about other target types, click here.

• Select the desired database by clicking on its name in the Database List, within the Target Manager page
• Click the ‘Add Target’ button
• In the ‘Add Target’ window which appears, use the following settings:
  • Type: Single image
  • File: Tap ‘Browse’ and select your image file (JPEG or PNG format) or drag and drop. Note: .jpg or .png (max file 2mb)
  • Width: Enter the width of the target in the scene units. (The size of the target shall be relative to the size of the augmented virtual content.)
  • Name: Enter a name for the target, this name must be unique within the database.
• Tap ‘Add’

Once the image has finished uploading you will see your newly added target in the Target list for the selected database.

Top Tip: For a good Trigger Image, the more detail in the image the better. 

Vuforia detects the images based on it’s features, basically the level of detail. Vuforia creates a rating system for the image, ranging from 1 – 5 stars. The richer the detail, the higher the star rating however, with missing points of contrast and less repetitive patterns, the lower the star rating. Nonetheless, all stars are trackable, the higher the rating, the 3D object will be clearer and not ‘wobble’. The lower the rating, the harder to track and the 3D object will begin to wobble as lose focus. 

Image above shows a 5 star rating image, rich in detail, good contrast and no repetitive patterns.

Image below shows a 0 star rating image, points of contrast are only focused on the middle and low contrast, may possibly create a wobbly effect.

To view the feature details of the target image, click on the image and below should show a ‘Show Features’ button, click that and it will show the image in black and white with yellow points, indicating the level of detail.

Read more here, about star ratings and tracking stability.

Downloading Target Database

• Navigate to the Target Manager page, select the database which contains the target you wish to download.
• In the target list for the database, check the box next to the desired target.
  Note: Only a single target is checked, tap the ‘Download Dataset’ button above the target list.

• Choose ‘Android Studio, Xcode, Visual Studio etc.)’ as the Development Platform and tap ‘Download’.

• ‘Compiling Database’ will appear with a progress bar. Once compiling is complete, this will save into your downloads. With the naming convention of your Database name, if you are downloading more than one target, naming conventions may consist of Database name (1), Database name (2) etc. Keep in mind what the targets are and save coordinately.
  Note: To avoid this, set the destination folder and file name, your browser download preferences will control this process.
• This download will create and save the .zip archive, this then can then be uploaded to your application software you are using for you augmented reality application, seen in the image below.

If you’re interested in how we can help you create an Augmented Reality application, contact us here.

Heather Bellini, a managing director of global investment bank, Goldman Sachs says she expects virtual and augmented reality to turnover US $80 billion by 2025.

She’s not alone in estimating that immersive technologies are the lighthouse that will help guide ships of industry to undiscovered territory.

The UK government is so convinced immersive technologies are the future that they are prepared to invest more than £150m to help pioneer the next generation of creative products and services.

It is expected that by pushing immersive technologies into the public consciousness, it will spark a wider uptake of the technology and shape the perception and behaviour towards virtual and augmented reality.

Investment banks are well-positioned to drive the adoption of immersive technologies by enhancing customer experience on digital platforms. Not only is VR and AR beneficial for financial institutions, it’s also a solution for your business clients.

Immersive Technology Improves Efficiency

New research reveals that VR/AR solutions help deliver better efficiency, drive productivity and improve security. According to the report, 82% of companies trialling AR/VR confirmed the technology exceeded expectations.

Thanks to the ubiquitous smartphone, trends in mobile banking are accelerating at a rapid pace. According to a study performed by Citi, banking apps offer convenience, speed and financial insights.

Established financial institutions are also coming under increasing pressure from fintech startups that have the agility and technical know-how to transform traditional banking standards.

A report commissioned by Immerse UK concluded that immersive technologies have the potential to help drive the UK economy. In the wake of Brexit, UK companies will look to AR/VR to overcome the productivity gap.

Investment banks now find themselves in a position where consideration has to be given to audiences of the future and commit to delivering solutions to key sectors in both the personal and public space.

How Investment Banks Are Integrating Immersive Technologies

Google anticipate there will be a mass adoption of augmented reality over the next three years. With millions of mobile devices calibrated to AR, the banking and finance industry has the opportunity to enhance customer experience and employee engagement.

Engage and Inform Customers

Engaging customers is a challenge the financial sector struggles to overcome. The challenge to convince new customers to invest in your products is becoming increasingly difficult in a competitive where customers distrust investment banks.

AR provides financial services with an exciting tool that can be used to educate and entice customers in an entertaining way. For example, the National Bank of Oman has developed an app that uses augmented reality to showcase the latest deals and offers as customers walk down the street.

Enhance Customer Targeting

The Halifax has incorporated immersive technology to target customers that are buying or selling property. Their AR app provides rich data about the property market, historical information, price advice and current listings among other things.

As investment and capital growth trends emerge in other financial verticals, AR can be used to provide individuals with key information in a fun and engaging way.

Financial Education

The introduction of new technologies that are reshaping the financial landscape can be confusing for employees and customers. AR and VR are ideal solutions for teaching people how to use new systems in a safe environment.

Customer Service

Immersive technologies are being used in a variety of ways to enhance the customer’s banking experience. From AI-powered VA’s to mobile wallets, banking is evolving at a fast pace to meet the demands of customers.

AR is having a significant impact also. So far banks have used technology to help customers locate the nearest ATM and see a visual representation of their balance.

Recruitment and Training

The millennial workforce is more interested in career prospects and job satisfaction than monetary compensation. Firms that provide immersive technologies to improve training and working conditions are favoured by leading candidates.

Companies across numerous industries are using AR to recruit, train and entertain employees. Immersive technology is being used to deliver inductions, provide staff training and encourage employees to read internal communications.

The Technology Turnaround

The adoption of immersive technologies within the financial industry is still in the early phases. Just because the technology is there, it doesn’t mean you have to use it across every faction of your banking services.

Consumers or employees, on the other hand, have rarely experienced banking solutions they have embraced. AR is proving to be an exception.

AR provides more touchpoints for investment banks to interact with customers and enhances analytical data to help improve performance. When the technology is used appropriately, there are huge benefits for employees and customers.

If you would like to discuss how you can integrate VR and/ or AR into your projects  contact us here.

Mixed reality has the potential to become the next life-changing technology in a business world dominated by disruptive tech.

With the capacity to combine the best of both virtual reality and augmented reality, real-world objects can be dynamically integrated into virtual worlds.

The concept provides numerous enterprises with the opportunity to transform how you conduct business activities.

In a nutshell, mixed reality enables you to create a visualisation that recreates natural environments or bring big data to life.

With the ability to see how something will work before investing in a physical prototype, enables businesses to reduce time and money in creating new products.

Several industries including engineering, construction, architecture and urban design are already reaping the rewards of mixed reality concepts.

But there are dozens of other sectors that can also benefit from mixed reality technologies.

How Does Mixed Reality Work?

Mixed reality brings the benefits of both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) into one dynamic scenario.

VR recreates a real environment in the virtual world. AR replicates real-world objects and allows you to place them in the virtual world using hand gestures.

Subsequently, MR gives you the vision to see the world around. Essentially, it enables you to create a real-world environment and overlay the digital image with physical objects rendered in animated form.

Like VR, MR involves the user wearing headgear such as the Samsung Odyssey and Toshiba dynaEdge AR Smart Glasses. The 3D-enabled goggles are able to canvas the geometry of an area and create immersive content by enabling users to select virtual objects.

For example, if you are planning a public event, you can use VR to replicate the room, and augmented reality features to help you determine where you will position, stalls, chairs, TV’s, lighting and anything else you needed.

You can even insert holograms of real people.

Mixed reality, therefore, gives you the ability to explore every dimension of the physical world in the virtual world. Not only that, but you can manipulate animated objects and see the virtual world from different angles and perspectives.

In addition, users are able to interact with objects and experience the sensations they would in the real-world.

This gives numerous businesses the opportunity to create real-life scenarios for training purposes – but without the risks. The major benefit of this is that employees learn how to do their job in a safe environment.

Virtual worlds, therefore, not only provide users with engaging experiences, they can be used to condition cognitive responses and train muscle memory.

What Can Mixed Reality Achieve?

The short answer to this questions is anything you allow your imagination to realise.

In a business sense, you can bring big data to life by creating a visual representation of abstract data that is beyond the limited cognitive abilities and perceptions of the human brain.

The value of mixed reality for businesses encompasses design, productivity and training. We’ve listed some real-life example below.

The Australian airline Qantas deployed mixed reality to reduce the time it took to assess and repair grounded aircraft that had been struck by lightning.

The mixed reality solution superimposed electrical wiring onto the MR goggles so that engineers could immediately identify the problem without having to undress damaged areas of the plane to find the fault.

In the medical field, augmented reality can be used to help train medical staff at all levels. More recently, mixed reality has been used to help rehabilitate patients that have suffered a stroke.

The system creates virtual games with an objective of increasing the intensity of training but combining an element of fun. This makes the process of recovery less laborious and demotivating whilst maintaining the required level of energy.

A more bizarre use of mixed reality recreate rituals conducted in the ancient worlds of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome. The program is intended to provide initiates with a strong visualisation of traditions used in ancient mystery schools.

It’s easy to see how this same concept can be used in the travel industry to transport travellers into a holiday destination. People can experience elements of their holiday before they even pack their case.

Mixed reality provides businesses endless possibilities that will save time and money, increase productivity, employee and customer experience and much more. Bring the best of both worlds to life.

If you would like to discuss how you can integrate Mixed Reality or AR/ VR into your business contact us here.

Globally, there are around 450 million people that currently suffer from mental health or neurological disorders. It is estimated that one in four people experience mental health issues at some point in their life.

A report published by the World Health Organisation last year asserts that standard procedures for treating patients with mental health conditions is inadequate.

Today, therapists are exploring the possibility of using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) as an alternative treatment.

VR is being used to treat patients with a wide range of mental disorders including anxiety, ADHD, psychosis, pain, behavioural conditions and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Early results suggest virtual worlds can make a significant and positive impact for treating mental health. Studies reveal that patients report satisfaction with VR-based therapies and find the technology is more acceptable than traditional methods.

The USC Institute for Creative Technologies has already won an award for their VR simulation used to treat ex-soldiers with PTSD. The award was presented by the American Psychological Association for outstanding contributions to the treatment of trauma.

Why VR Works For Treating Mental Disorders

The majority of treatable mental illnesses are caused by irrational fears. Although many of these phobias are initially caused by a physical experience, the mind recreates the trauma even when a threat is not present.

Subsequently, exposure therapy has become the gold standard for treating mental health disorders. When patients are positioned in a situation that causes distress, they are able to relinquish the fear by learning how to think, feel and behave constructively.

Ordinarily, therapists would have to take patients on a field trip and orchestrate an ad hoc therapy. Not only is this time-consuming, there is also a high possibility that something could go wrong and prompt a setback in the patient’s recovery.

The capacity of VR and AR to recreate a virtual world in a safe environment eliminates the current challenges of exposure therapy. Therapists can create a powerful simulation that tackles psychological issues without having to leave the office.

A virtual environment immerses the user in a world they can interact with. VR activates the motor and sensory parts of the brain to such an extent that the parallel reality translates as a real-world experience in the mind of the patient.

The sense of presence in VR is facilitated by sounds, smells, and touch which activate multiple senses and enables the user to interact with the virtual environment.

There exists, therefore, huge potential for the patient to adopt a different belief system which impacts their behaviour and feelings. When the subconscious mind is reprogrammed in the virtual world, the perception of the patient will transfer over to the real world.

How VR Is Being Used To Treat Mental Disorders

VR paradigms have the power to teach patients experiencing emotional distress to overcome irrational thought processes. Although the technology has mostly been used to treat phobias, anxiety and PTSD, therapists are looking at other users for the technology.

Some dynamic VR simulations are programmed to react to the actions of the user. This allows patients to interact with the virtual simulation in a natural and intuitive way. Eventually, the user will be able to generalise their experience in the virtual world to the real world.

VR has also be used to help reduce pain in post-operative patients. When immersed in a virtual environment, the mind is closed off from the real world and effectively acts as a distraction from pain.

Full sensory VR therapy has much more potential than the technology is currently being used for. Essentially, therapists can program any scenario you need to customise treatments for any patient.

VR simulations are created by adding elements by using 3D graphics or augmented reality. The additional elements act as the trigger to stimulate the patients condition and help make them become accustomed to the situation in a safe environment where there is nothing to fear.

VR treatments for neurological conditions such as autism are also being investigated. In one test, children interacted with a simulated character and a facial recognition app was used convey emotions with verbal cues so the children could understand how a facial expression reveals a feeling.

What’s next for VR

Although more research is required, VR and AR are being explored to treat other psychological conditions that are prevalent in today’s society, such as depression, obesity and drug abuse.

VR has the power to alter the way in which a patient perceives themselves. This enables them to assess their behaviour in a rational way rather than simply relying on remembering how they felt whilst immersed in a VR simulation.

It may not even be long before we can conduct VR therapies from remote locations whereby therapists will be able to treat more patients from their own homes.

As scientists understand more about the mind and how we can embrace technology in medical environments, VR has the potential to be a game-changer.

If you would like to discuss how you can integrate VR into your projects  contact us here.

If you’re honest with yourself – really honest – the content published on your internal communications channel is not very exciting.

It is. That’s why nobody’s reading it.

Yet companies need its employees to read internal communications so that everybody is singing from the same proverbial hymn sheet. In the modern climate, internal comms is more important than ever.

Communication defines a workplace culture. Effective internal comms ensures the organisation is working together as a single cell trying to evolve and multiply. Everybody has to strive towards the same goal.

And with technology changing the workplace at a fast pace, businesses and your employees have to be adaptable.

The problem is, humans do not like change. We prefer to stay in the bubble of our comfort zone. So when technology is prompting your business to change your modus operandi, why not use technology to help your employees adapt to changes.

Animated Videos

Videos are an excellent tool for communicating with your staff. The format is being used by senior executives and managers to address remote workers and deliver internal comms about changes to the business. Videos help to keep important news personal and emotive.

However, live action video doesn’t work for every message. For example, changes in the workplace often include new processes, or perhaps a new product. A splash of animation can really liven up this type of content.

Animated videos give you permission to remove lengthy talks and replace them with engaging images that can explain abstract concepts in a fun and memorable way.

You can also make animated videos interactive – whereby they transform into a tool for learning. Throw up a multiple choice to quiz employees on the information they have just heard and you cement the right message.

The options are endless.

Virtual Reality

If training is your objective, there is no better technology than virtual reality (VR). You can also use VR for staff development and marketing – more of which you can learn in this article.

You can also use VR to great effect in your internal communications. Let’s say you are bedding in a new recruit and showing them an introductory video. The key messages you want to get across here are your company values.

It can be quite difficult for new employees to grasp the culture of a company and understand your vision in a meaningful way. It’s also difficult for them to gauge what their day-to-day duties will be like unless they have prior experience in a similar job role.

Virtual reality enables you to create simulated environments which mimic the real world. But not only that, VR headsets transfer the user’s eyes and ears from distractions in the real world and create an immersive environment in the virtual world.

This means you can actually replicate a real-world experience that gives new employees a real-life experience of what life is like working for your company.

You can even include real people in virtual reality videos, so why not give new recruits a virtual tour of the office and meet key people they need to know about – and all without having to leave their seat. If that doesn’t get your employees motivated then nothing will!

Augmented Reality

Employees need to access a range of data – most of which is not very interesting even though it may be necessary. Augmented Reality (AR) adds engaging visuals to otherwise dry content. As a result, employees are more prepared to interact with the content.

In an age where a large percentage of the workforce are visual learners, AR provides a solution that enables employees to connect dots quickly. A report published by PwC indicates that AR is a cost-effective means of leveraging emotion, empathy and understanding.

Like VR, AR helps to convey complex information because it enhances the narrative of the content and visual elements make it easier for people to recall the information later on. Visual communication is a tried and tested method that has proven to be timeless.

Gamification

Gamification uses design elements that are typically associated with video games. Thus its greatest advantage is to engage users and create behavioural change.

Businesses are using gamification to promote healthy competition, nurture loyalty and encourage employees to interact with the company. If you need a hook to reel employees into your internal communications forum, tie it to a gamification concept.

Effective internal communications lead to improved efficiency, more productivity, better quality and first-class customer service. Investing in internal communications is an investment for the future success of your company.

For more information about how animation can help your internal communications marketing contact us here.

Success in any walk of life requires the ability to learn and apply knowledge in creative and effective ways.

Whether you’re providing education in a school, university or business setting, developing the cognitive function of your students is your number one priority.

Yet many of the educational environments today are insufficient. The learning process provided by traditional methods does not stimulate students and makes learning laborious.

It’s well-known that students are more capable of learning when they perform tasks for themselves. Yet most education exercises are given orally.

Whilst visual images and oral instructions can be a useful way of providing information, they are not highly effective tools for learning.

The human brain is only able to retain a small percentage of information – even less when the student is not stimulated. As a result, the best method of learning in the current paradigm is repetition.

“VR gives us the power to scale and make learning more dynamic and engaging. A relatively small VR device can even act as a whole science lab.” – Adobe

What Does VR do to the Brain?

Scientific research in the fields of neuroscience and psychology has revealed the brain creates a mental map of an environment from information that is absorbed through the five senses.

The information subsequently becomes our perception of reality and the more information we take on-board the more our cognition develops. When we see something that is familiar, the brain predicts what will happen next.

However, when the brain does not have any practical experience of a situation, what prediction will it make? The reaction will be based on information that is stored in the memory.

VR has the ability to rewire the brain and enhance neural connections that are needed for learning and memory. In a simulated environment, the brain is seeing and doing exactly what is required – it is not filling in the gaps.

As a result, students and trainees can learn quicker and more effectively.

“VR technology can enable more effective learning at a lower cost and in less time than many traditional learning methods.” – Deloitte Insights

VR headers are designed to totally immerse users in the virtual simulation. Their sight, hearing, smell and touch are absent from the real world thus the brain thinks the virtual world is real.

Because of this the cells take in information and create “schemas” that impact how students will react to a real-world environment. Furthermore, new synapses are formed which could help students improve how people learn in other areas of their life.

VR Enhances Memory

In the 1880’s, the eminent German psychologist, Hermann Ebbinghaus showed how difficult it is for people to retain information. He called his hypothesis ‘the forgetting curve’.

In educational environments that use oral and image-based learning methods, the average person will forget 50% of the information within the first hour.

By the next day, we have forgotten 70 percent of the details and, without recitation, we only remember 10 percent of the information after a month.

One of the most significant attributes of VR is the ability to prompt emotional reactions. Because the brain believes a VR simulation is a real-life situation, the emotional reactions that are triggered heighten the user’s capacity for learning.

Studies into the role of emotions and memory have discovered that we recall situation easier when emotions are aroused, and not how significant an individual considers the event. The benefits of VR for learning are therefore clear.

Researchers at the University of Maryland confirmed that a virtual environment enables people to improve the amount of information they recall.

The study involved 40 participants that were asked to perform a task using a VR headset and again by using their own co-ordination. When participants used VR headsets, the results engineered an 8.8% improvement in memory performance.

Immersion Makes Users “Present”

A study performed by the Department of Psychology at the University of Regensburg found the most effective methods of teaching using VR was when the user’s emotions are aroused.

Researchers also made a connection between learning curves and how present, or involved, users were during their experience. Students that are not engaged retain less information and are less prepared to apply the knowledge they do have to real-life situations.

VR simulations are enhanced to be interactive so that users are more present. Essentially, immersive learning optimises the efficiency of training and enhances the learning experience.

With the ability to transport students and trainees into real-life situations without any risks, science has shown VR has to be the way forward for educational institutions and industry.

The world needs experts that perform their roles to the highest standards. VR helps to develop expertise.

If you would like to discuss how you can integrate VR into your projects  contact us here.

Heather Bellini, a managing director of global investment bank, Goldman Sachs says she expects virtual and augmented reality to turnover US$80 billion by 2025.

She’s not alone in estimating that immersive technologies are the lighthouse that will help guide ships of industry to undiscovered territory.

The UK government is so convinced immersive technologies are the future that they are prepared to invest more than £150m to help pioneer the next generation of creative products and services.

It is expected that by pushing immersive technologies into the public consciousness, it will spark a wider uptake of the technology and shape the perception and behaviour towards virtual and augmented reality.

Investment banks are well-positioned to drive the adoption of immersive technologies by enhancing customer experience on digital platforms. Not only is VR and AR beneficial for financial institutions, it’s also a solution for your business clients.

Immersive Technology Improves Efficiency

New research reveals that VR/AR solutions help deliver better efficiency, drive productivity and improve security. According to the report, 82% of companies trialling AR/VR confirmed the technology exceeded expectations.

Thanks to the ubiquitous smartphone, trends in mobile banking are accelerating at a rapid pace. According to a study performed by Citi, banking apps offer convenience, speed and financial insights.

Established financial institutions are also coming under increasing pressure from fintech startups that have the agility and technical know-how to transform traditional banking standards.

A report commissioned by Immerse UK concluded that immersive technologies have the potential to help drive the UK economy. In the wake of Brexit, UK companies will look to AR/VR to overcome the productivity gap.

Investment banks now find themselves in a position where consideration has to be given to audiences of the future and commit to delivering solutions to key sectors in both the personal and public space.

How Investment Banks Are Integrating Immersive Technologies

Google anticipate there will be a mass adoption of web based augmented reality (web ar) over the next three years. With millions of mobile devices calibrated to AR, the banking and finance industry has the opportunity to enhance customer experience and employee engagement.

Engage and Inform Customers

Engaging customers is a challenge the financial sector struggles to overcome. The challenge to convince new customers to invest in your products is becoming increasingly difficult in a competitive where customers distrust investment banks.

AR provides financial services with an exciting tool that can be used to educate and entice customers in an entertaining way. For example, the National Bank of Oman has developed an app that uses augmented reality to showcase the latest deals and offers as customers walk down the street.

Enhance Customer Targeting

The Halifax has incorporated immersive technology to target customers that are buying or selling property. Their AR app provides rich data about the property market, historical information, price advice and current listings among other things.

As investment and capital growth trends emerge in other financial verticals, AR can be used to provide individuals with key information in a fun and engaging way.

Financial Education

The introduction of new technologies that are reshaping the financial landscape can be confusing for employees and customers. AR and VR are ideal solutions for teaching people how to use new systems in a safe environment.

Customer Service

Immersive technologies are being used in a variety of ways to enhance the customer’s banking experience. From AI-powered VA’s to mobile wallets, banking is evolving at a fast pace to meet the demands of customers.

AR is having a significant impact also. So far banks have used technology to help customers locate the nearest ATM and see a visual representation of their balance.

Recruitment and Training

The millennial workforce is more interested in career prospects and job satisfaction than monetary compensation. Firms that provide immersive technologies to improve training and working conditions are favoured by leading candidates.

Companies across numerous industries are using AR to recruit, train and entertain employees. Immersive technology is being used to deliver inductions, provide staff training and encourage employees to read internal communications.

The Technology Turnaround

The adoption of immersive technologies within the financial industry is still in the early phases. Just because the technology is there, it doesn’t mean you have to use it across every faction of your banking services.

Consumers or employees, on the other hand, have rarely experienced banking solutions they have embraced. AR is proving to be an exception.

AR provides more touchpoints for investment banks to interact with customers and enhances analytical data to help improve performance. When the technology is used appropriately, there are huge benefits for employees and customers.

If you would like to discuss how you can web AR can benefit your business, contact us here.

There is no doubt that technology and animated programs are transforming business models. One of the latest strategies for large companies is to introduce gamification into the workplace.

If you’re wondering what gamification is, it’s a program that adopts principles of video games which can be integrated with your website or app. Game mechanics such as reward points, badges and challenges act as motivators, but the game itself is designed to encourage staff and aid learning.

The concept of gamification has been around since the late 19th century. During that time, animation has mostly been used for marketing like this Facebook game we made for Coca-Cola. Over the last decade, the concept has become mainstream and adopted by companies for use in the workplace.

The gamification industry is currently estimated to be around $5.5bn and projected to grow to roughly $11.1 bn in the next two years.

The main reason for the dramatic uptick is because gamification is starting to find a pivotal role in the business world. Because of its ability to induce engagement and drive loyalty, it is being used as a way to improve staff training, team building and motivation.

It works because it leverages desire, provides a sense of community, rewards achievement and offers instant feedback. In essence, it triggers human emotion and promotes healthy competition that helps drive us forward.

Employee Training

Large companies that are presented with the challenge to motivate staff during training sessions often find traditional methods are laborious and partially ineffective. Subsequently, technologies that incorporate animated video are being used as a solution.

Gamification strikes a balance between achieving an objective and teaching employees how to perform a task and develop new skills. Not only is this a fun way to spend your day, it’s an interactive way of learning that helps people absorb and retain more information.

When designing the program for a gamification project, it’s important to remember that the objective of the application is to gamify the process. Rewards are given as an incentive and help people to concentrate harder.

The program should include actives that engage users with problem solving and activities that encourage students to perform an action whilst developing knowledge and skills.

That’s not to say that every gamification app has to mimic your exact business operations. You can program anything you want that challenges the user, such as tackling world poverty to picking an England 11 that will win the World Cup.

Trust Building and Staff Motivation

It’s human nature to perform better as an individual when you are part of a team. Furthermore, we are more motivated when we like the people we work with.

Playing games with other people promotes the bonding process – especially if the players are part of the same team. Your staff can have a good time and build trust in the process.

But the game elements within applications are not only designed for fun and engagement. They elicit collaboration and productivity.

The latest research on how gamification helps motivation and learning showed that applications have a positive impact on all age groups whether they are accustomed to playing video games or not.

The latest research on how gamification helps motivation and learning showed that applications have a positive impact on all age groups whether they are accustomed to playing video games or not.

Employee Loyalty

Staff retention can be a headache for a lot of large companies. Young workers want their job to be more than a monthly pay packet. It has to be engaging, offer good benefits and have a career path.

Advancements in digital technology is encouraging more companies to adopt computer applications to help keep the brightest young minds engaged. Studies show that gamification improves employee loyalty.

Using game mechanics to rate your staff gives managers the capacity to rethink your approach to performance. And that can be across any number of key indicators including turning up to work on time and the amount of absenteeism.

Setting targets have proved to be a motivator in its own right, but by introducing a leaderboard, gamification takes office competition to the next level.

Historically, one of the obstacles managers are challenged with is to provide relevant feedback to all their staff members. Computerising feedback through automated programs provides employees with instant gratification when managers are too busy to deliver a pat on the back in person until the next review date.

The bottom line is that we all love games at heart and when the office is an enjoyable environment to be, training is engaging and teams have a strong bond, why would anybody want to leave!

As the old axiom indicates, youth are the future of industry. But what will the world look like in years to come if today’s companies cannot engage the decision-makers of the future?

According to statistics published by gallup.com, only 29% of millennials are engaged at work. What’s more, the other 71% do not plan to stay with their current employer for very long.

One of the issues companies ignore when engaging young people is their upbringing. It is important to remember that millennials and generation-Zers were born in an era where technology was common place in the home.

Subsequently, these so-called ‘digital natives’ grew up around computers and are hard-wired for consuming video and gamification. Today’s youth are motivated by technology and enjoy learning through digital applications.

To engage young people, schools and companies have to move away from traditional text books and educational videos. Younger generations are stimulated by interactive and virtual reality (VR) experiences.

In an effort to increase retention and engagement, schools and colleges are introducing virtual reality into classrooms. VR and augmented reality applications are also becoming increasingly significant in the workplace. And with good reason.

Credit image: https://edtech4beginners.com/2017/11/09/can-virtual-reality-improve-education/

VR Creates Real-Life Scenarios

When a company first hires an employee, you only get to see the qualifications they have on a piece of paper and a brief glimpse of what they are like as a person.

Once the training process begins you also get the opportunity to assess whether they have the necessary skills to execute the job you hired them them to do.

But that’s about it. After you release them from boot camp, only time will tell whether they have the nerve, inclination or motivation to perform to a high standard. And it would appear that most employees below 34 are not motivated.

VR applications take employee assessment to another level. More than that, VR is a powerful tool that increases the prospects of keeping users engaged.

In a virtual environment, employees experience what the job is actually like. What’s more, they want to learn.

Traditional training methods, on the other hand, invariably fail. Old school education techniques are not engaging, trainees forget most of what they learn, employees are not motivated enough to learn more and trainers do not follow up.

Virtual reality applications can recreate actual scenarios employees will be faced with in their job. Not only does this prepare them for future eventualities, they have a real-life opportunity to test their ability – but without the consequences.

Likewise, employers are afforded insights you just don’t get from traditional training methods – the temperament and emotional response of your new recruits.

Employee Assessment

Employees that are motivated want to perform well in their job. Young employees rank engagement on a par with money and recognition.

Furthermore, the younger generations are inclined to develop quickly through mistake-driven learning. When they are in a situation in which an error of judgement has no consequences, they are more inclined to experiment. And most people learn more from actions than theoretical learning.

Creating real-life scenarios with VR and AR gives new recruits the opportunity to assess their skill levels. Trainers can communicate complex messages with insightful precision and trainees understand because they see a visual.

Experiential learning has the biggest impact for employees yet is very difficult to deliver using traditional training methods. VR is highly versatile and can be used to recreate any scenario – and it retains the users attention at the same time.

New recruits can also get a feel for how they respond to stressful situations. Jobs that place people in critical, highly stressful situations such as the spectrum of emergency services, can help trainees identify gaps in their performance that can be improved.

Uses for VR Training

Most jobs do not have the high-octane excitement of the emergency services in which you can create exciting virtual reality training applications. However, every enterprise is required to provide staff training to some degree.

That means that every business, will at some stage, be confronted with engaging young employees. Regardless of the actual content, VR training programs can be programmed to include gamified and interactive elements Millennials and Gen-Zers respond to.

For example, we have designed a fire training program using VR. We’ve even designed a teachers toolkit that has been used across 42,000 schools and a CET platform that sets the standards for training optometrists.

Because VR and AR videos deliver an immersive experience, they are a vital tool for engaging young people. And with VR poised to be the next breakthrough technology for training purposes, businesses risk losing the countries brightest young employees to rivals that are using VR.

If you would like to discuss how you can integrate VR into your training  contact us here.

When you launch a new product, your employees need to understand the features and benefits better than your customers. Engaging and informative content has become a primary focus in marketing. Marketers are actively sharing advice, tips and strategies to unknown readers with a view to helping customers understand your brand and your products. Internal communicators should also be using the same strategy.

According to a study performed by Tolero Solutions, 45% of people say they lack trust in their leaders. Furthermore, the lack of trust is impacting the overall performance of a company.

Subsequently, the role of internal communicators becomes all the more important. The task is to engage employees to motivate them and rebuild trust in the company and its products. To remedy internal issues, companies are turning to animation to create explainer videos. Animation is more engaging, informative, and sticks in the memory. They are also much more fun to watch than a human being talking about a topic that is typically dry and boring.

There are also numerous ways in which you can deploy animation around internal communications. Using animated videos to explain the features and benefits of your products is an effective way to educate your staff.

Internal Marketing

When brands launch new products, getting your staff on board is one of the first priorities, yet few firms fail to dedicate sufficient time and resources into ensuring employees fully understand the product. It is usually the case that the only exposure employees have of a knew product is the same marketing materials that are pitched to customers. That’s fine if you want to give your staff a general overview. But you should be getting them excited about the future.

A company is only as good as its staff and employees need motivating in order to be on top of their game. Animated explainer videos present companies with a powerful communication tool that helps develop the brand from the inside out. The old marketing adage about customers needing seven touchpoint to remember a brand is also true of employees. Internal communicators should therefore be looking to publish content that is cohesive and promotes your company’s brand values.

In essence, internal comms is, or should be, internal marketing. And animated video is a powerful solution that enables you to disseminate important information that individual will remember. People remember 55% more information that is accompanied by compelling visuals.

Videos subsequently speed up the training process. What would ordinarily take several weeks of training through traditional methods can be finalised in a matter of days. The videos are also ever-present for employees to refer back to.

Content v Tools

Decision makers are beginning to realise that keeping employees happy is as important as engaging customers. And employees value company culture and leadership even more than their salary. Internal communications has been around for decades, but has risen in prominence over the last couple of years. Today, the landscape has changed dramatically with a host of tools on offer.

Both Facebook (Workplace) and Microsoft (Teams) have launched products designed to improve collaboration and internal comms. But the most important aspect for the creators of internal content is to produce material your fellow employees will engage with.

The starting point is to determine the requirements of the company and the needs of its employees. No amount of software and tools will shape a relevant message for you. Intranets and business hubs may not be the most popular platforms either, but when you populate these tools with engaging content, your audience are more inclined to visit. Vidyard declares that video “reigns” as the best tool for internal comms. According to their study, 54% of IC professionals say their employees don’t just video – they expect video!

Communication is a two-way street. All too often information is passed from the top down, but the front line is not given a voice. If companies are intent on investing in collaboration tools, why not get the most out the platforms and share ideas from top to bottom and vice versa.

Animated videos promote discussion and dialogue which subsequently cascades into people sharing ideas. Given internal communications can have a positive impact on your marketing and improving your products, it makes sense to have a catalyst that inspires people.

Regardless of the message you want to get across to your staff, animated videos instil brand values, beliefs and concepts in a consistent and timely fashion. The more your employees understand your product and your brand, the better equipped they are to improve your business.

For more information about how animation can help your internal communications marketing contact us here.

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

Ours is to see into the future. We can actually do this. And we can do it for you too!

How does developing an animated prototype in a sprint workshop sound?

When you need to innovate without dragging your heels, sprint workshops significantly speed up the process. They help you to structure business solutions by answering critical questions through design, prototyping, and testing. The purpose of a sprint workshop is to thrash out ideas but create a short-cut around hours of endless debate cycles. Once you settle on the ideas you feel have the most potential, we bring a prototype to life in a 3D animated video or application.

This is when you get to see into the future!

What do Sprint Workshops Involve?

There are a number of ways to create a sprint workshop, but the structure should always include: goals-design-launch and learn.

The first step is to decide what the long-term goal will be and map out the challenges your experts need to resolve. The project can be as ambitious as you like, but should also be realistically achievable in five days.

Once you have addressed the problems, focus on solutions through critical assessment strategies, then remix and improve existing ideas.

The next step is to sketch your designs and weave them into a storyboard. At least, this is what most company’s do.

But we don’t.

Sliced Bread Animation take visuals to another level by creating a 3D animation video of your prototype. Videos give you a visual of how the product could look and what the user-experience will be. This method also gives you the opportunity to test the product before you build it in the real world. As a result, you have the benefit of fast-forwarding into the future without committing to the financial outlay typically associated with new product designs.

Not only that, an animated video can also include elements of virtual reality and augmenting reality. This is video technology in its finest hour (to date) and enables you to bring your plans to life.

Why Use Animated Videos To Design A Prototype?

3D video is far more powerful than a 2D sketch. And with animation, you can create moving objects that can be manipulated, rotated and demonstrated. In essence, video enables you to build a bigger picture than a drawing.

From an internal perspective, animated prototypes bring potential problems to your attention in the early stages of development and gives you a head start in finding the solutions. Once the prototype is ready for testing in the public domain, demonstrations presented in 3D animation have a strong and positive impact on the experience and conclusion of prospects.

For example, animation influences where users turn their attention. Therefore if there is a specific feature or build quality you want customers to know about, you can highlight this without making it too obvious that you are using it as a selling point.

Therefore, customers will make up their own minds without the demonstration feeling like a marketing ploy. What’s more, animated prototypes compel customers to buy-in at the initial offering stage.

The impact of animated video

Animations enhance the feature and benefits of a product and give customers a better idea of what they can expect from a product in the real world. The motion graphics capture attention.

Because images and motion are primary motivators of the human brain, 3D animated video has a genuine impact. It also facilitates learning because the motion graphics create a dynamic environment which provides users with more information.

Furthermore, animation can simulate existing systems. Prototypes are not limited to physical products but can also be used for software applications and digital platforms.

For example, we recently organised a ‘disruption workshop’ to examine one of our client’s existing applications they use in-house. The purpose of the exercise was to determine how the product could look in the future and what problems it can solve in light of evolving digital technologies.

Animated prototypes are the easiest way for developers to visualise software applications and make informed decisions.

For example, piecing together an interface during the building process is less easy to test on a storyboard. With animated video, you get to see exactly how it will look and function on a screen.

Animated technology has many other uses outside films and advertising. Furthermore, the technology compliments and supports sprint workshops. Together, they save you a lot of time, effort and money.

Do you have an idea for a new product? Why not get in touch and find out how our sprint workshops and 3D animation videos can help.

Anxiety and depression arising from work-related stress is a global pandemic. Employers are subsequently being prompted to introduce initiatives that cater for the health and wellbeing of staff. Statistics produced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reveal that 526,000 employees in the UK suffered from work-related stress in 2016/17, resulting in a loss of 12.5m working days a year.

Wellbeing falls into several categories; emotional and mental stability, physical wellness, and the overall enjoyment of individuals within the workplace. Creating an environment in which employees feel valued, engaged and happy can also make them more productive.

A survey undertaken by the American Psychology Association showed that employees that feel valued are more motivated at work, and also feel better in other aspects of their life. Employees who have good mental, emotional and physical health are more likely to be committed to their jobs, call in sick less often and stay with the company for longer.

Providing a supportive environment with a focus on wellbeing can pay dividends for companies. When packaged with other typical benefits such as pension and bonuses, employees are more inclined to give their all and stay loyal to the company.

Applications and Tools that Enhance Employee Wellbeing

In recent years, a spate of digital healthcare apps have been introduced to help HR officials manage the health and wellbeing of employees. This new breed of wellness apps are not only designed to deliver benefits for employees, but also employers.

This year, we are starting to see more wellbeing apps that use virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). VR and AR is having a significant impact in the healthcare industry and is now expanding into other areas of everyday life.

The fitness industry was a frontrunner in adopting digital technologies as a commercial commodity. More recently, mental health practitioners have been developing VR apps to treat patients. Wellbeing apps that cater for business environments combine both fitness and mental health applications. Yet despite the obvious benefits of wellbeing apps, some employees will resist the introduction of new technologies. This is nothing new.

Studies have shown that when new technologies are introduced into the workplace, they are met with hesitance. Wellbeing apps may appear like an intrusion into the personal life of your employees.  According to Dr. Saskia Bayerl of RSM Discovery, decisions about technology in the workplace are made on a rational basis. And employees will have different rationale. To overcome resistance, wellbeing tools have to be marketed to employees in order for them to find something to like about the apps.

For example, you could launch the new apps by holding an event to showcase the apps and explain the benefits. Staff will also need training to use the apps. This presents executives with another opportunity to underscore the positives.

The best way to convince employees that wellbeing apps are a positive step for them and the company, is to create content using VR and AR that can be used in marketing exercises and within the apps themselves.

How Can VR and AR Impact Wellbeing Apps?

VR and AR are powerful formats which can be used to explain wellbeing apps in great detail. For example, we can create VR content that shows the positive effects exercise has on the body. Likewise, we can also reveal potential problems that can arise when people do not exercise.

Another app that is highly beneficial to corporate environments is the virtual coach app. This application aims to inspire and motivate employees to increase productivity and meet their targets.

Have you ever wished there was an alternative solution for explaining complex business ideas when a Powerpoint presentation or marker pen on a Flipchart don’t quite cut it? Well, there is! Whiteboard animation videos.

Animated whiteboards can be used to educate audiences about your products, company, brand and strategy. You can even use them to explain mergers, acquisitions or organisational changes. The advantage of using whiteboard animation is to create explainer videos that engage viewers, help them to understand the concepts you are discussing, and, more importantly remember the content long after the presentation. Subsequently, whiteboard animations are replacing traditional presentation tools that fall short of captivating audiences and are unable to transfer information in such a dynamic way.

Let’s take a closer look at how whiteboard animation videos work, and how they can bring your presentations to life.

What is Whiteboard Animation?

A whiteboard animation is basically an explainer video that combines great storytelling with animated characters. They are highly engaging, provide excellent educational value and enable presenters to explain complex ideas in a clear way. The first stage is to create a script. Without a strong script, the advantages of storytelling are dented. The second step is to create animated characters. You may need artistic qualities to nail this. Even in digital animation, there is an element of drawing is involved. However, you don’t have to be a great artist. If you are a good story tell with a strong sense of humour, poorly drawn animation can be used for comedic effect – another great strength animated whiteboards have in winning over the attention of viewers. Having said that, high-quality animation offers a human touch in that it brings digital characters to life.

Humans want to watch human-like characteristics because we can associate and connect with them on an emotional level. Furthermore, you can deliver a full-scale presentation on an animated whiteboard in a fraction of the time it would ordinarily take you. By dramatically reducing timeframes, you can use the extra time to field Q&A’s – or get back to work and do something productive. Not only that, but whiteboard animation videos have a secret superpower; they engage audiences on a subconscious level which generates anticipation. It is this quality that makes animated explainer videos the ideal too for explaining complex topics.

Psychological Effects of Whiteboard Animations

Animated whiteboard videos not only entertain viewers, they have a positive influence on the brain’s capacity to recall the contents once the presentation is over. A study performed by psychologist, Richard Wiseman discovered that when people watch animated films, images solidify the information described by the narrator. The images, of course, draw attention. When presenters also include storytelling techniques in the script, the content is easier to recall in the mind, and remains in the memory for longer. Furthermore, viewers will remember more details. It is believed the brain is able to process 400 billion bits of information per second. Yet the average person will only remember 4 points you make in a presentation. One of the reasons for this is because the conscious mind cannot cope with all the information being processed by the brain. Information is therefore filtered and filed in the subconscious for later use.

Whiteboard animation videos help to unburden the attentional resource of viewers. Images appear one by one and are accompanied with a narrative that clearly explains what it happening until the story unfolds. Therefore, scripts need to be written in a way that enables the storyline to run smoothly. Animated films trigger an area of the brain that is responsible for viewer anticipation, which prompts viewers to guess what will happen next.

Well constructed scripts active “deep processing” whereby information that is received is easier for the memory to recall. It is believed that deep processing is as effective as someone intentionally learning new information by continuously repeating it. It also helps if the narrator has a soothing voice viewers want to listen to. Adding amusing elements can also enhance the learning experience and make the content easier to recall. So, with an interesting, well-structured storyline and high-quality animations, you can create dynamic presentations that have a powerful impact – and leave you with sufficient time to discuss the topic in more depth.

There is a catch however. Animated whiteboard videos are not easy to make if you don’t have a strong script-writing skills. This powerful weapon can backfire on you. To avoid disappointing results, it is advantageous to hire a team of professionals that are adept at producing high-quality whiteboard animation videos.

For more information about whiteboard animation can help your CEO explain business strategies contact us here.

Considering advancements in digital technologies in the last 30 years, it’s surprising that business communications are still lagging behind.

However, communication professionals see a solution on the horizon. Chatbots.

Speaking with a computer may feel somewhat disconcerting – especially considering early ventures into the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and voice-activated assistants left a lot to be desired.

But look how quickly digital assistants like Siri and Google’s Cortana progressed!

Chatbots are already proving their worth for basic tasks – and they have much more potential to offer forward-thinking enterprises. The scope to improve the operational efficiency of your office and dramatically streamline both internal and external communications is huge.

Why install a chatbot?

Chatbots are essentially a computer software. As you already know, software is ideal for automating repetitive tasks. Recent innovations with chatbot technologies promise to deliver capabilities that conventional technologies are able to provide.

Industries that have struggled with internal communications – healthcare, hospitality, industrial, logistics and retail – can benefit greatly. Employees have smartphones they can carry with them and receive instant notifications.

This can provide benefits for both internal and external use. Booking holiday leave, locating documents, checking work schedules and accessing answers to questions can all be performed via an internal chatbot.

From an external pov, chatbots can be programmed to answer questions posed by customers. This saves people waiting for a member of your customer service team to become available to field queries.

When a chatbot cannot answer a question, queries can be channeled to members of your staff. With more people on hand to access questions, other than inundated customer service teams, brands have the capacity to deliver speedier responses and an enhanced customer service.

Overcoming the chatbot challenge

Installing a chatbot is not all plain sailing. You can’t program out-the-box software that is suitable for every business. The challenge for businesses is to program the software to understand your business and deliver responses that feel like an actual conversation.

Considering the primary role of a chatbot is to improve communications, your digital telecoms personnel should have a personality that is in keeping with your brand.

Programming software to perform tasks and answer questions is the easy part. Turning these interactions into conversations that sound and feel personable is how you bring the software to life and give the computer a human touch.

The Guardian’s chatbot launched on Facebook Messenger is a good example. It’s primary role is to deliver daily bulletins to subscribers and allows them to request topics they are interested in. It’s a fool-proof way of using chatbots yet effective in its simplicity.

Firms are also using chatbots to make lengthy documents such as FAQs or employee handbooks easy to find answers. The type of information requested in these scenarios are dead easy to program in a chatbot.

Linking chatbots to HR content gives employees access to everything they need to know without HR staff needing to get involved. You can even insert links to relevant policies and documents – such as a form to request leave.

How to implement a successful chatbot

The choice of words you use to provide relevant information and develop a personality for your chatbot will have a major influence on how successful the technology is.

The first thing to consider is your audience. Who will be using the chatbot and what specific queries are they most likely to raise?

Once you understand your audience, you have to train the chatbot how to solve queries. The most crucial part of the setup process is the quality of information you feed into the database. Make sure to include:

• Common modalities of speech
• Synonyms
• Acronyms
• Typical language that identifies your brand

One of the key things to remember is to build a database of questions and responses from the mindset of the person asking the question. It can be easy to fall into the trap of ‘trainer’s bias’ whereby you answer questions you want to be asked rather than questions that will be asked.

The best strategy for setting up a chatbot database is to ask your audience to use the bot. This way you tap into the mindset of your audience and use that as the basis to create a communications plan.

It is unlikely that you will be able to answer every question that will be asked. The types of questions people ask typically evolve over time, but AI has the ability to learn phrases and terminology.

Monitoring the performance of your chatbot will also help you identify missing queries. When used for external purposes, you can also gather critical information about trending topics.

Chatbots can save hundreds of man hours by automatically handling queries in a business setting. The ability to improve business communications and streamline workloads therefore enables you to channel your resources towards operations that are more relevant for the productivity and profitability of your business.

If you would like to discuss how you can integrate chatbots into your business please contact us here.

Integrating virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies into learning management systems gives businesses an opportunity to measure the capability of employees and identify where improvements can be made.

The number of VR applications across a wide range of industry sectors is accumulating at a rapid pace. VR technology has progressed beyond gaming and is finding its way into the corporate space.

One of the key benefits organisations are finding is that when VR technologies are integrated into learning management systems (LMS), they have a profound effect on staff training.

Whilst standard training methods are a standalone experience that is difficult to monitor effectively, computer simulators enable trainers to collect data that answers questions about how proficient they are.

But the massive difference with VR simulators is that employees are put into virtual environments with life-like experiences. When integrated into a learning management system, you have the opportunity to monitor their performance mentally, physically and emotionally, without any risk involved whatsoever.

It also helps employees understand their strengths and weaknesses, and exposes them to situations they can use to develop skills quicker and remember information easier.

As a matter of fact, integrating virtual reality with your learning management system has numerous benefits:

• Takes employees beyond tick box learning and note taking
• Low risk factor
• Increased personalisation
• Visual approach is better for understanding and memory recall
• Enhances user-engagement
• Simplifies complex procedures
• Simulates real-life scenarios

Integrating VR with eLearning Management Systems

Technology has had a huge impact in today’s corporate world, and we are still in the infant stages of development. Moving your corporate training into the online space and using VR to enhance the programs will move industries on to the next level.

Cloud-based eLearning (xAPI) is already proving its worth as an effective training tool. Learning management systems enable companies to create amazing courses content and measure competencies in various areas.

However, on their own, LMS only provide an academic test of a employees capabilities. A trainees performance on an LMS, where intellect is analysis is prominent, does not always translate into the workplace when initiative, people skills and the ability to work under pressure may be needed.

VR takes LMS to another level. With the capacity to include interactive elements into training programs, you can use online training tools to create replica scenarios they will actually encounter in their job.

By using VR and AR to create realistic environments that mimic real-life scenarios, trainers and educators can use LMS to observe the trainees reaction in real-time. Furthermore, people learn much better when they have a visual insight and actually perform tasks for themselves.

It makes no difference to the human brain whether the task you are preforming is real, or whether it is merely simulated in an artificial environment. VR headsets work by effectively closing off the senses to the outside world and promoting the illusion that the experience the user is having is really happening.

When you become immersed in a simulated environment with an almost identical level of reality, you can trick the brain into thinking the experience is real and it will respond accordingly.

This immediate feedback also gives trainers and educators a better understanding of your trainees; their temperament, their ability to handle pressure, their management skills and whatever other potential scenarios you want to create.

How you might use VR in training programs

The opportunity to become accustomed to performing tasks for the first time is hugely beneficial to employees. There are jobs where virtual reality simulators are critical, such as performing surgical procedures and rescue teams for example.

However, now that VR is ready for widespread adoption, the development of hardware and software products will grow at a rapid pace. Industries will benefit by creating training environments that can incorporate everything including minor details such as compliance and soft skills.

Firms also have a responsibility to provide training to staff that goes beyond the scope of their day-to-day responsibilities. For example, health and safety, first aid and fire training are all legal requirements, and in the main are very dull.

VR brings an entirely new dimension to these types of mundane and compulsory training sessions. You can physically turn a passive learning experience into an active one by incorporating visual cues to emphasise the most important aspects of the training program. 

To give you a better idea, take a look at this VR fire training video we created and note how you can use visual cues – known as “signalling” to good use.

A study performed by the University of Florida, School of Teaching and Learning, shows that incorporating signalling into a training program enhances the user-experience and makes the training process more effective. It also makes people better at doing their job in a shorter space of time.

VR technology may have taken a long time to crawl into mainstream markets, but now its here, corporate enterprises have a prime opportunity to incorporate VR technologies into your learning management systems and  improve all areas of your business.

If you would like to discuss how you can integrate VR into your learning management system contact us here.

Digital animation is having a huge impact on businesses of all sizes. Digital transformation is a key area for businesses in 2018, and the use of animation can have a positive impact.

1. Improve Business Operations

There are many ways to use digital animation and improve your business operations.

For a start, animation is a great way to save money. For shooting live video you will need actors, equipment, and locations, which can all add up very quickly to a large production budget. These are things you do not need when producing digital animation, so it is relatively quick and inexpensive by comparison.

Animations also do not become dated so quickly. Low-budget animations can be used for years without becoming dated, while low-budget live-action videos quickly show their age and become less effective.

You can also reuse animation videos; edit, modify, and add elements without any need to reshoot or get the actors back in. This is a great way to future-proof your animations.

Digital animation is an effective way to boost your brand image, especially when it comes to 3D video and virtual reality (VR). This can improve your branding and show you are up to date with the latest technologies. Top-tier priorities for brands is to improve the customer experience.

Animated video also helps to improve your sales pitch. Say you’ve got a new product that you want to demonstrate at a trade show. You could use VR to let your customers ‘feel’ what it’s like to use your product. This inspires them to try the real thing.

Digital animation can improve your marketing as well. Videos have a lot of benefits in marketing, in that they are easy to share and generate a buzz online, helping you to get your message out there. With digital, you can create a video on any concept and be as creative as you want. There is nothing that you cannot create, no concept you cannot bring to life. These amazing effects will engage your audience and generate more buzz around your brand.

You can also produce content quickly when you use digital animation. Content marketing thrives on fresh content, and once you have developed your style of videos, you can create content regularly. It’s far less expensive or time-consuming than shooting new videos.

2. Boost Productivity

Digital animation also provides you with many opportunities to boost productivity in your business.

For example, take the concept of staff education. When you have a new product, new service or a new process, you can use videos to clarify the details. But rather than using dated and dull instructional videos, inject some fun and creativity using digital animation.

This will motivate your staff by providing them with captivating and interesting videos that help you to get your point across. Instead of watching your employees switch off and not pay attention, you can watch them engage with the videos.

With digital animation, you can transform your training materials, demonstrations and educational material. Some people learn visually while some like to listen – video provides both to make it easier for people to learn.

As a result, this can help to get your points across properly so people take in everything they need to learn, and this can result in fewer mistakes and a resulting productivity boost.

In short, digital animation is motivating and inspirational. It can help to make your employees feel more valued, improving the work atmosphere and boosting productivity levels.

3. Improve the Customer Experience

Digitally animated videos can also help to boost the customer experience by adding interest and turning a dull topic into something more interesting.

For example, if you want to provide information on a product or service that is particularly complex, animation helps you to simplify the complex. Rather than providing pages of text, you can sum up a concept in seconds with an animation.

With digital animation, you can build a connection. People see videos when they land on your website and they instantly get a positive impression of your brand. Animations are fun, friendly and welcoming, so you can use them to boost your brand image and make your brand more accessible.

And you can use digital animation not just for your products but also for other areas of your business. For example, you can use videos in your blog posts to make them more accessible for your readers.

You could even go further and use virtual reality to provide a more engaging and memorable experience for your customers to really make your brand stand out.

Take Full Advantage of Digital Animation

Digital animation can provide so many benefits for your business. As you can see, there are many ways you can use it to improve your operations, boost productivity and improve the customer experience. So start experimenting with digital animation in your business and discover the benefits.

Machine learning (ML) is getting a lot of headlines in the news. Not only is artificial intelligence becoming more advanced, it is also being used by more organisations to make significant improvements to their internal operations.

The paradigm shift that is currently underway, together with billions of $’s worth of investment, is increasing as the advantages of ML become clear – from better automation to improved personalisation.

Despite the obvious benefits, businesses struggle to take full advantage of ML. Some are even unaware of the benefits of investing in the technology at all.

In this article, we take a look at how ML is making its way into the workplace, and how businesses can start making plans to take full advantage of this new and exciting technology.

Overview of Machine Learning

Firstly, what exactly is ML? While not exactly artificial intelligence in the sense of creating computers that can think for themselves, ML is an AI technique. For more information, check this overview of the differences.

ML essentially allows computer systems to use advanced algorithms to learn behavioural outcomes and predict them based on huge data sets so they can make better decisions (as opposed to rule-based systems).

So, how can it help your business?

Optimise Processes

ML provides businesses with many ways to optimise operational processes. One of the most important is through predictive maintenance. By crunching large amounts of data and discovering patterns hidden within, ML can detect when problems are occurring before they become serious. This can help you to fix problems early, reducing the risk of failures and saving money.

ML can also help to speed up processes like analysing sales data. Sales teams often have huge amounts of data to look through, from social media, website activity and more, but often there is simply too much. ML makes it possible to automate processes and get the insights you need fast.

Dynamic pricing is another area ML will help. Dynamic pricing has been around for a while and allows businesses to change pricing based on demand, but can be hard to implement across a large business. ML makes it easy. Uber is a good example of how to use dynamic pricing on a massive scale.

ML can even be used for the automation of fraud detection. Using the technology, you can build models that take a range of data into account including social media, transactions and external data. ML can then use pattern recognition to pinpoint behaviour that is out of place.

Improve Employee Engagement

One of the great benefits of ML is that it takes over the dull, monotonous and resource-intensive work previously carried out by employees – thereby freeing them up to focus on more engaging and productive tasks.

Take data entry. This manual and often tedious process is not only boring, but is prone to error. You can use ML to reduce or eliminate errors, while giving your employees more valuable tasks to do.

You can even use ML to help you choose better employees in the first place. For example, going through hundreds of CVs to create a shortlist is time-consuming and difficult. You can use ML to pick out a shortlist instead, speeding up the recruitment process. While you wouldn’t use it to make the hiring decision, it can dramatically speed up the process.

Increase Customer Satisfaction

You can also improve your customer service and cut costs at the same time by using chatbots – which you probably know use machine learning.

Chatbots analyse historical data and use intelligent algorithms to provide high-quality answers immediately. Many consumers prefer chatbots to get direct answers quickly, and while these cannot take over from humans entirely, for basic questions and answers, they are incredibly effective.

You can also use ML to get customer insights using large amounts of data. This can enable you to predict customer behaviour and purchasing patterns to improve personalisation. As a result, you can send offers that are more suitable for them and recommend products.

This is a great way to improve the customer experience as well as make more sales. E-commerce websites use ML algorithms to take data from purchase history and match it to the inventory so they can then group products together that are likely to be of interest.

Are Your Ready for Machine Learning?

Multiple industries are benefiting from machine learning by improving the customer experience, boosting employee engagement and increasing sales. Over the coming years, advancements in the technology is certain to play an ever-increasing role for organisations of all sizes.

The question is: are you ready for it? Now is the time to invest in ML if you want to gain an advantage over your competitors before they step up ahead of you. ML is making its way into the workplace, so start making plans to take full advantage of it in your organisation.

If you would like to discuss how machine learning can benefit your business contact us here.

It’s no secret that consumers love video content. The number of online videos views accumulates exponentially year-on-year. Google acknowledges the power of video by consistently ranking this media where it is most visible in search results.

If you run an online business today, it’s difficult to ignore the power of video content. Cisco predict video will account for 70% of all online traffic by 2020. The Visual Networking Index estimates there will be three trillion minutes of video watched every month.

Digital platforms invite businesses to publish videos. Social media networks are a hot-bed for video content and with smartphones driving video views, brands that ignore video risk being left out of the conversation.

The dominance of video content is already evident in search engines. Research conducted by Stonetemple reveals YouTube, unsurprisingly, ranks consistently in Google’s top ten search results:

• 88% of videos in the top 10 are from YouTube
• 89.6% rank in the top 30
• Embedded videos are evenly spread throughout the top 30

YouTube is not dominant just because it is owned by Google. There could be some bias of course, but the figures support there is justification for YouTube to rank so well. The media platform is even the most watched video channel in Asia Pacific – other than China, on account it is banned there.

How do videos rank in Google

Google is intent on providing end-users the best results that match their search query. Furthermore, the search engine giant knows that video content is so popular with consumers the company has dedicated the media format its very own filter.

Even independent of the filter, videos nearly always appear towards the top of Google searches. And the more Google knows about the content of the video, the more accurately it can predict how suitable the video is for the end-user.

Consumers actively search for videos by including specific terms in search criteria. Queries that generate video content typically include one of the following:

• [keyword] video clips
• how to [keyword]
• [keyword] tutorial
• [title] video game review
• Tour of [city]
• [movie title] review

In order for relevant keywords to match search queries, marketers need to position videos in search engines. You do this by updating relevant fields that inform Google what the video content is about.

• Descriptions: The first 150 words of a video description is vital. However, a study by Unamo found that 61% of videos featured in the top results had less than 50 words
• Closed captions: 75% of top ten YouTube videos have closed captions
• Hi-res thumbnail: Recommended standard is 1280 x 720
• Create a playlist: bring all the videos on your channel into one place

YouTube has its own search engine – arguably the second most powerful search engine in the web after Google. It is therefore essential that your videos are labelled correctly in order for them to be found in search results.

How to make video content

There are multiple online platforms that enable brands to publish video content for free. Even the cost of making videos is more accessible to most brands. We have affordable minicams and video features on smartphones to thank for that.

In some industries, this low-entry barrier is supported by consumer behaviour. There is a growing number of people watching user-generated content because they are trusted. Furthermore, videos that appear grainy rather than polished are more believable because they appear genuine.

However, it is the nature of the content that makes videos compelling to watch. The more engagement a video gets, the higher it ranks in search engines. If you have not captured the attention of the audience within the first 3-10 seconds viewers will move on.

New video formats that are emerging also provide marketers with more scope to reach audiences. Consumer behaviour is steering towards live streaming, and 360-video.

Now that virtual reality and augmented reality has made a break-through, public interest in virtual worlds is expected to grow over the next few years. Over 50% of consumers in the UK find owning VR equipment fairly to very appealing.

User-experience plays a huge role in determining how well content ranks in search engines. Location-based VR video has the capacity to improve online experiences dramatically. Markets in this space are already growing in the United States, Japan and India.

Small businesses that struggle for online visibility should seriously be considering publishing online video. Not only is video content that most popular media consumed on the internet, it is also favoured by search engines, and enables you to reach a wider audience.

For more information about how video can improve your Google rankings please contact us here.

Download our free Sliced Bread Animation VR FAQ’s here

Virtual Reality (VR) video has been around since the mid-1980’s, yet for many, still seems like a concept of the future. In recent years however, VR technology has been making inroads into the entertainment industry and is beginning to find audiences across multiple sectors.

We are already starting to see a wide scope of industries embracing VR technology including medicine, architecture, automotive, real estate, travel and manufacturing among others. Because VR allows users to immerse themselves in artificial environments that feel real to the sensory perceptions, it has multiple functions. Actually the potential is limitless.

Putting VR technology to practical business use provides advantages that have never been available in the past. And because the technology is so versatile, you can produce anything your imagination allows you to. Or in other words, whatever environment you need to help your business thrive.

Employee Training

Virtual reality is emerging as the next-generation tool for businesses to train employees. Not only is VR proving to be effective at training employees, but also helps to attract and retain staff – a boon that helps cut the costs of your recruitment drive.

The advantage VR has over other technologies is you can create situations people will actually experience with their senses. It’s also worth mentioning here you can add elements created by augmented reality to VR worlds thus creating unique life-like environments but without the real-life dangers.

You would think this concept makes sense for jobs that put employees at risk such as the armed forces, miners and oil riggers. That’s not necessarily the case. Training staff with VR technology has advantages in multiple industries. Even Walmart has adopted VR to prepare their staff for potential eventualities on the shop floor.

Employee development

As an extension of staff training, companies can use VR to develop employees that intend to forge a career path. It is not unusual for companies to offer continued learning programs to employees that want to develop skills in analytics, management or specialist areas.

Imagine the talent you could attract if you offer training programs that incorporate VR technology.

The medical profession for example already use VR to train students and employees how to perform surgeries. But you can also use VR to give practitioners in-depth visuals of the body, organs and even how diseases take hold and increase or decrease. VR knows no limitations and the more employees understand, the better they are at their jobs.

VR in marketing

Forward-thinking enterprises are already starting to invest in VR for advertising campaigns. The travel industry has been a leader in the VR market because the technology can be used to transport customers to any part of the world and have a 360-degree travel experience without leaving their living room.

With the majority of searches being performed on mobile devices, trends in video consumption continue to grow year on year. VR videos are the next logical step for marketers to engage customers and provide a unique experience.

VR technology may be new, but it is ready to write the next chapter in the annals of advertising. Early adopters of virtual reality video have a prime opportunity to wedge a gap between you and your competitors that customers will fall into. And consumers are already showing their preferences lean towards virtual reality and 360-degree videos over traditional advertising.

The potential of virtual reality, augmented reality and 360-degree video presents businesses with endless opportunities. And now VR is becoming a mainstream trend, reduced costs make VR more accessible for businesses of all sizes.

To discuss media options that would suit your VR strategy, contact us here.

Virtual Reality (VR) and 360 video are exciting new technologies that are rapidly changing the way we interact content. They provide a much more immersive experience for viewers, and the possibilities are endless.

Many companies are now using VR and 360 video at events for a wide range of purposes, but above all to create a memorable experience for attendees. Here we look at some of the ways that you can use them to bring your content to life and make your events even more engaging.

VR vs 360: What’s the Difference?

Firstly, a quick look at the differences between these two experiences. While 360 is sometimes referred to as VR (because they can be viewed with the headsets), they are actually quite different.

With 360 video, the viewer is presented with a complete viewing experience. They can look up, down, left, and right. However, they cannot move around or interact with any of the video’s features.

VR, on the other hand, has no limitations whatsoever. Viewers can move around, explore and interact with objects or people.

So while there are definite similarities, 360 is less involved and more focused on viewing and enjoying the experience – although it still provides a much more immersive experience than watching a standard video.

You can read a useful guide describing the differences on the Vimeo blog.

How to Use 360 and VR at Events

It’s becoming easier and more cost-effective to use 360 video and VR at events as the technology matures and prices go down. However, one of the things you will need to consider before you start thinking of ways to use this type of content is the tools and equipment you need.

While it is possible for people to view VR content using their mobile phones and a basic VR device like Google Cardboard, it’s usually better to invest in (or hire) a dedicated headset like the Oculus Rift, or its new standalone headset, the Oculus Go.

Once you have the equipment in place, you then have a number of options for using your VR or 360 video content at your event.

1. Show Off Your Latest Products

One way to make use of VR and 360 video is to show off your latest products in all their glory. This way, you can create immersive experiences for your target audience and provide them with a fun and unique way to show off your products.

This could be especially useful for products that are hard to demonstrate properly at the event. For example, you could create a VR experience to show off your new scuba diving equipment or hiking boots by placing the customer in the setting where the products are used. Or you could put customers behind the wheel of your latest car, like Volvo did.

This could be a fantastic way to not only build hype around your products but to also help your customers make more informed buying decisions.

2. Create Something Truly Memorable

VR and 360-degree videos are exciting technologies that give you the opportunity to create something amazing that attendees will remember for a long time. And it’s something that everyone is talking about.

Yet few have actually experienced VR in all its glory. Brands that provide people with their first experience – and you make it incredible – are going to be remembered and talked about – a lot!

So use VR and 360 to build buzz around your brand. Not only will attendees tell their friends about it, but they might film it and share it on social media.

The NY Times is using VR to create memorable experiences like ‘Seeking Pluto’s Frigid Heart’, and this has generated a huge amount of interest and buzz. There’s no reason why you can’t do something similar.

While using VR to demonstrate your product is an excellent idea, you might also want to think beyond your product. Perhaps it would be better for you to create an exciting experience that is only loosely based on your product, especially if you do not sell products that are used in particularly exciting ways.

3. Use for Training Purposes

If you are going to be providing some kind of training at your event, video is a great option that helps you to provide a better learning experience. So take this one step further by using 360 video or VR.

VR especially can help to make complex training a lot easier by putting the user right into the situation and present more realistic scenarios so they are better prepared. The possibilities for this are enormous.

4. Attract More People to Your Event

People are curious about VR so will be interested in the experience. Brands can capitalise on this by creating a buzz around VR in the build-up to the event, perhaps by creating a teaser campaign showing off glimpses of what people will be able to experience.

5. Allow People to Virtually Attend Events

One slightly different option is to allow people to actually attend your event in VR rather than attend in person. In fact, there is a potential for this to be the standard approach to events in the future. After all, if you can travel around the world and hike on Mount Everest in VR, virtually transporting to an event of board room meeting is a synch.

Create a More Immersive Experience

Events are evolving, and how you present your brand at events is changing. 360-degree video and VR provide a way for you to create immersive experiences that wow your guests and engage them in ways they have never experienced before.

You can even use the technology to build better relationships, showcase what you are capable of and improve your brand image. The possibilities will keep growing as the technology improves.

For more information about using VR and 360 video at events contact us here.

Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the American Constitution once said: “an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” In the modern business world, HR statistics reveal companies do not invest in sufficient levels of training to new or established employees.

Neglecting to provide employees with effective training programs and tools inevitably effects the performance, productivity levels and quality of product or services of the entire company.

Firms also have a responsibility to help employees develop and shape their career. Failing to mould talented individuals will mean your firm miss out on top young prospects. An article published in Harvard Business Review states: “Dissatisfaction with some employee-development efforts appears to fuel many early exits.”

Now corporate training is moving into the eLearning space, it is not always easy for trainers to easily identify areas of weaknesses in employees. However, with advanced tools that can track quantifiable data on dedicated training platforms – such as Experience API – trainers and trainees will achieve much more, much faster.

What is Experience API / Tin Can API?

Instructors that have researched eLearning opportunities will most probably have come across xAPI, also known as Tin Can API. The latter was the project name whilst the prototype was still in beta testing. Today, the program is better known as xAPI or Experience API.

xAPI is an eLearning portal designed to help companies of all sizes to expand their training programs. The application collects a wide range of data and provides in-depth insights that enables trainers to assess a users performance together with their experience both online and offline.

The xAPI portal is very similar to previous learning API’s which use SCORM, but seeks to improve the limitations of earlier specifications. Not only is Tin Can easier to use, it is also more flexible and provides users with a superior user-experience. Functions include:

• mobile learning
• simulations
• virtual worlds
• serious games
• real-world experiences
• experiential learning
• social learning
• offline learning
• collaborative learning

At the heart of xAPI are human-readable snippets of data that tracks an event and provides additional information about activity around an event such as date, time and how long it took the user to complete the task.

And Tin Cat goes one step further. It will also record the experience the user has, such as the device they are using and whether they liked the experience or not. xAPI is not limited to in-house use either. Companies can also use the technology to record reactions to animated videos that have been created to train customers.

Engagement in eLearning

Ensuring trainees are fully engaged is an essential aspect of training. Modern technology aids engagement on a number of levels. Interactive platforms help users maintain focus, video animation and augmented reality makes content more enjoyable and promotes memory recall, and virtual reality enables employers to recreate the real-world in the virtual space.

Providing staff with an engaging eLearning environment enhances learning abilities and gives trainees the freedom to work at their own pace. However, it can also cause isolation between trainer and trainee whereby areas that require attention can be missed.

The xAPI platform therefore provides companies with a micro-learning tool that can be used to create dynamic training portfolios with surveys, appraisals and appealing content. Portfolios outline areas trainees need to work on and how learning objectives will be achieved.

By making trainees a stakeholder of their own development, they increase focus and feel compelled to improve areas of weakness. The results are quantifiable, so they track their progress and have to commit to improving or risk losing their job.

Creating engaging content

Another key advantage xAPI has over its predecessors is the ability to integrate with eLearning content offline. The program does not need an internet connection, and content creators are not limited to browser-based applications. Trainees can also use the software anywhere simply by logging in.

Because content creators do not have to rely on an application like Javascript, xAPI gives you more freedom and flexibility to select appropriate technology to create training content. This incudes modern formats such as augmented and virtual reality which can be combined with animation to bring your training program to virtual life.

The advanced eLearning standards that xAPI offers present instructors with advanced tools to create a fully-rounded training package. Modern technologies enable you to create real-world experiences in the virtual world and xAPI provides you with in-depth insights that can be used to motivate and help end-users.

For more information about xAPI and how eLearning can help your corporate training process contact us here.

Winston Churchill once said: “The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.”

You may have a vision in your mind, but how effectively are you communicating your ideas to others? Do they also see the bigger picture?

For your vision to become a reality, you have to find a way of communicating your masterplan to a board of directors, staff and customers. In the past, you had to rely on written documents, graphs, images and rousing speeches. But was the message received?

Sometimes, even the most simple visions can create problems if they are not communicated well. Your audience needs to see the bigger picture before they can understand how the pieces are put together.

We should consider ourselves fortunate that we are living in technologically rich times. These days we have the capacity to communicate internal processes through illustrated animations. What can be imagined can be drawn, and images communicate thoughts, theories and project outcomes better than any other medium.

Network Rail – Safety Culture Journey from Sliced Bread Animation on Vimeo.

Why animated illustrations work for internal communications

Companies are beginning to recognise how digital illustrations provide more clarity. Subsequently, animation is being used in numerous ways for both internal and external communications. Some brands are even expanding in-house graphic departments to include skilled animators.

People learn in different ways; we are either visual and audible people types or we learn by doing. The benefit of animated illustrations is you can communicate ideas that show viewers what to do using a platform that allows you to express a message with visuals and audio.

Research in psychology indicates people only remember 20% of what they read and 10% of what they hear. Visuals, on the other hand, significantly improve the brain’s ability to remember and recall information – by around 80%.

Internal communications should be engaging. Compliance, for example, is a dry subject and most employees will tune out during a talk or meeting. Animated compliance videos not only keep your audience interested but also helps them to remember what they need to know once they leave the meeting.

Great visuals create exceptional content – regardless of the subject. In order to enhance engagement in the work place, provide your employees with visual content that enables you to map out new processes or procedures quickly and efficiently.

To discuss media options that would suit your engagement strategy, contact us here.

If communicating a vision to employees that are involved with your company on a daily basis from the inside is challenging, good luck explaining your goals, purpose and mission to your customers. Actually, you don’t need luck, you need a powerful means of communication.

It’s no secret that video is the most consumed content on the internet. Visual content is an effective engagement tool and has a higher reach than other marketing channels. Reports reveal consumers are 1.6 times more likely to make a purchase after watching a video.

However, 90% of consumers do not trust brand advertising. It’s time to stop using video as an online marketing tool that supplements textual information.

Explainer videos are the new go-to tool. Consumers not only want information, they want to understand how businesses operate behind the scenes. It’s not only advertising brands don’t trust; they don’t trust brands full stop.

Why produce an explainer video?

Animation explainer videos enable businesses to penetrate the minds and memories of customers. Visual content is an effective way of selling products, ideas, and philosophies, together with providing customers with a broader understanding of what lies at the heart of your brand.

For example, explainer videos that address customer pain points reveal how you provide a solution. Not only is animated illustration capable of enhancing engagement, it increases the potential to reach a global audience.

Animated characters have no limits. You can make them more lively, amusing and emotional. Furthermore, you can create any setting or scenario. Animation, therefore, has a distinct advantage over traditional video productions that typically have limitations which are often costly to overcome.

Visual content does not require viewers to concentrate for long periods of time in the same way reading a blog does. Animated content retains attention and delivers a message quickly. What’s more, when you provide useful information rather than obtrusive or irritating advertising, your audience is more likely to be responsive.

Communicating a vision is challenging. Animated illustrations remove many of the barriers typically involved with the communication process and also enhances the enjoyment and understanding for audiences. Showing the bigger picture is a no-brainer.

To discuss media options that would suit your engagement strategy, contact us here.

On the 15th March 2018 our MD, Jamie Denham, spoke about “VR Technology for Medicine” at the Knowledge Transfer Network’s 9th Intelligent Imaging event in Glasgow. 

Imaging as the most information rich sensing technology is one of the most important technology widely utilised across human society and industries, from entertainment, healthcare, security, agriculture to transport, energy and space, etc.

UK has been one of the key players in the imaging technology development, and has played a key role in numbers of key imaging technology innovations, including MRI, Television, Industrial Process Tomography, etc. UK universities are still at the leading edge of many imaging technology research. The UK also has many innovative imaging technology companies who are focusing on developing and commercialising some of the most exciting imaging innovations. However, the large diversified applications of the imaging technology also fragment the technology research and innovations in the markets, increasing the barrier for imaging technology research, innovation and commercialisation in the markets.

To help speed up the imaging technology innovation and commercialisation, KTN has been organising the one-day networking events – Intelligent Imaging – to provide a platform to bring relevant imaging communities together to network, share knowledge and collaborate.

The 9th Intelligent Imaging event aims to bring imaging end-user communities, imaging technology providers, novel imaging technology researchers, innovation funders and other relevant stakeholders together to share their knowledge on market challenges, state of the art commercial technologies, emerging imaging technology research, and innovation funding opportunities, to stimulate new ideas, network and facilitate partnerships and collaboration development, and to promote and speed up business innovation development in the imaging technology sector in the UK.

Update 10th April 2018: Presentation slides (without video ) below:

Choosing the best mode of media for your business increases the potential for businesses to engage your audience and aggregate your marketing efforts. New content trends, powered by the latest animated applications – virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) – are proving engaging content is taking on new paradigms.

Individually, VR, AR and animation have had an impact on the lifestyles of consumers and the learning experiences of students, trainees and delegates. However, it is a combination of all three that is proving to have the greatest impact for businesses. Each application has its own unique design, but also enables marketers to diversify and amplify content.

The advantages of Virtual Reality

VR delivers an immersive environment for users by isolating them from the distractions of the outside world. Participants wear headsets that enables them to take in information using sensory perceptions, and use controls to navigate the simulated environment as if it was the real world.

Interactive app designs therefore allow businesses to build any environment you want and create a virtual world in which users have a real-life experience. Numerous industries including medicine, finance, retail and business are finding innovative uses for VR:

• Several studies have revealed VR is an effective learning tool
• VR technology fosters collaborative projects and enriches shared learning experiences
• VR helps develop skills and solve problems quicker than traditional solutions
• Virtual environments provide real-life experiences in safe learning environments
• Administrators can monitor user performance and reactions and provide a revolutionary feedback process
• Increases attention spans and concentration levels
• VR can be used to transcend the globe and share experiences in the same part of the world from two remote locations

The benefits of Augmented Reality

Augmented reality takes VR to the next level. Whereas VR creates a simulated world, augmented reality enables app designers to include specific features that enhance the user experience by adding virtual components.

AR technology superimposes digital images so you can add relevant features to the virtual environment you create. The technology typically involves downloading an application on to a mobile device whereby end-users can interact between the real and virtual worlds. Some of the benefits AR offers are:

• Nurture learning experience by making training programs and learning environments more detailed, exciting and interesting
• Unlimited options to add features and keep building the virtual environment as and when you need it
• AR hardware is intuitive so you can create your own unique features or build-in programs developed by third-parties
• Enhances learning experiences by creating profound images or directing users to additional information
• AR technology is cost-effective because it works with existing hardware such as smartphones, tablets and laptops

Why Animation works

Animation brought an entirely new dimension to the film industry and is a proven format for people of all ages. Animated content has since captured the imagination of businesses and the media is being used in numerous ways including training, marketing, education and sharing new information. Animated content:

• Brings the subject to life and creates engaging content for audiences
• Animation is easier to make than shooting live-action videos
• The options to create are endless
• Developers can produce animated video quicker than traditional film making process
• Animation is flexible and all creators to easily make updates and edits without having to reshoot the entire scene

How does VR, AR and animation compliment one another?

Whilst animation and AR provide the graphics that bring video features to life, VR builds on the user-experience by enabling them to view the animation from a new perspective. In most cases, the technical process is the same as linear projects, but the end result is a fully immersive experience that helps participants “live” events in their mind.

AR and animation help to keep production costs low. Animated content is easier to produce and edit. Although virtual reality requires businesses to invest in VR headsets such as Oculus Rift or Daydream View, the experience offers greater value and significantly improves engagement and ROI as our example show:

• We created a 3D film for the European Bank to showcase its Trade Facilitation Programme. The programme was instrumental in confirming over 800 banks worldwide and has won numerous awards.
• The Virtual Vortex AR App we designed for Varia Solutions drive ROI by capturing consumer contact details that can be used for Door Drop and In-Store POS.
• This 90-second explainer video for Royal Mail’s new Address Now product supports internal business processes with clean and accurate customer details.

As more people begin to embrace new technologies, animated content enhanced by AR and VR enables users to experience engaging content that enhances learning capabilities. And as the hardware and software becomes more accessible, the cost of producing non-traditional content provides a cost-effective solution with high-quality results.

To discuss media options that would suit your engagement strategy, contact us here.

Industry has changed dramatically in the last 30 years. The age of technology is finding its feet and the paradigm shift is in full swing. Automation has replaced the jobs of labourers whilst the digital era is creating new jobs. Subsequently, employees are having to learn new skills. Even University leavers typically enter jobs in fields they are theoretically educated in but have no real practical experience. In effect, new employees are not much use to employers.

Companies are obligated to train staff in a real-life environment because they owe a duty of care to their customers. And training staff can be expensive, particularly in industries that have a high turnover of employees. It’s well-known in corporate circles that it costs more to hire employees than it does to retain their services. For enterprises that struggle to retain staff and develop knowledge among their workforce, virtual reality (VR) offers a powerful and cost-effective solution that is measurable. VR works so well because the human brain is designed to absorb and recall visual information.

VR relies on innovative technologies such as headsets, iPads and customised software to create an immersive experience. The end result is more effective yet less expensive than most traditional training methods. Technology, particularly augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality, is creating a paradigm shift in corporate environments. Numerous industries such as healthcare, retail, finance, hospitality and the automative industry are discovering VR provides essential benefits as a training tool.

The benefits of VR as a training tool

Virtual reality provides innovative ways to engage staff. Today’s employees value opportunities to learn about their jobs and grow into a role with the company they choose to work for. Businesses that adopt VR solutions as part of their training package stand out as “Investors in People.” Not only does VR help to attract and retain staff, the technology aids employees in learning their roles quicker.

The power of “doing” has a great impact on the capacity for people to learn. In many cases, VR not only enables employees to gain real-life experience in a training environment, they also have an opportunity to acquire a deeper understanding of the equipment and the process. Here’s a good example of this:

Sliced Bread Animation was acquired to create a VR training video for a medical firm that trains cardiovascular professionals. We created “Virtual Valve” which combines the Oculus Rift headset with motion sensor technology which allows delegates to travel through the aortic arch of the heart. Once inside the heart, students can explore the left ventricle and interact with the software to assess the impact of this condition on patients. Leveraging the learning experience in this way improves knowledge, understanding, and ultimately performance.

VR and AR technologies allow trainees to move beyond basic skill development. The software adds context and relevance to deliver in-depth training experiences. There are a number of ways to use VR to your advantage:

• Mimic real-life situations
• Simplify complex issues
• Create entertaining and enjoyable training environments
• Improve employee engagement
• Appeals to multiple sensory activities (sight, touch, hearing, smell)
• Aids memory recall

VR in corporate learning environments

Companies owe a duty of care to employees and customers. Traditional training standards only provide a partial solution. VR, on the other hand, brings learning to employees and provides them with a risk-free, first-hand experience. For example, manual workers in constructions, oil-rigging, and other high-risk industries that have hostile work environments, can be daunting and dangerous for new starters. VR provides real-life insights and conditions workers without putting them at risk. Pilots and astronauts have used these type of simulation exercises for decades.

Real-life auditions enhance learning and provide valuable experience for trainees. From a business perspective, adopting VR as a training tool enables you to personalise training to your company and measure the effectiveness.

Technology allows trainers to understand what learning is intended to do; develop employees understanding of their role and grow their knowledge to improve productivity and quality. VR software is highly flexible and can be adapted to suit the requirements of numerous industries and individual businesses. Not only that, but companies can leverage data and adjust training programs for the value of end-users – and ultimately the business as a whole.

Now more businesses are adopting VR as part of their training protocol, the cost of purchasing VR is far more cost-effective than it was a few years ago. It is already becoming apparent that VR is the future of corporate training and will replace static learning processes that are difficult to measure.

For more information about how VR can help your corporate training process contact us here.

The emergence of virtual reality (VR) provides users with the opportunity to have new experiences. For mental health practitioners, VR is the gateway into the world of patients suffering from mental health issues such as anxiety disorders and phobias.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in four people around the globe have suffered, suffer, or will suffer, from some form of mental disorder. Research shows that patients suffering from mental health disorder die 25 years earlier than the national average.

Part of the problem is a lack of efficient training given to family GP’s. In most cases, patients suffering from cognitive issues can go undetected for years. Even when mental disorders, which include stress and depression, is diagnosed, patients are often prescribe drugs that are ineffective.

Pioneers within the medical field are looking for new ways of treating patients without pharmaceutical intervention. Given the former Glaxo chief, Dr. Allen Roses admitted that over 90% of pharmaceutical drugs manufactured by Big Pharma do not work on 30-50% of patients, it is obvious that alternative measures are called for.

VR therapy

VR technology is not new to the medical industry. Therapists have used a virtual reality program called Bravemind, developed at the Institute for Creative Technology, since the early 1990’s. The application has mostly been used to help patients and war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Although virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) has been used in safe and controlled environments for almost 30 years, due to the limitation of VR technology and a lack of clinical evidence, data to support the effectiveness of VR as an effective treatment is inconclusive.

The emergence of mobile VR headsets in recent years presents new opportunities. Not only can affordable equipment be used to treat more patients, but a new approach to treatments that attempt to tackle mental health issues is also being addressed.

In the UK, PhD student, Nick Peres is pioneering an educational VR concept at Torbay Hospital in South Devon. PatientVR uses Oculus Rift DK2 goggles with a full 360-degree view of the surroundings. The footage puts medical practitioners in the shoes of patients suffering a panic attack.

For the time being, the program is being used as a training tool to give trainee doctors a perspective of the cognitive experience overwhelmed patients are experiencing. Afterwards, students are debriefed about the patient’s state of mind and the best cause of action to take in such circumstances.

Peres told Wired magazine that the experiment with VR is “relatively low risk because it’s part of the education route.” If funding is secured, VRPatient can be used as an effective training tool to help medical staff empathise with patients.

How does virtual reality work?

Virtual reality works by placing goggles over your head to block out natural senses to the outside world. Using 3D imaging to create alternative environments, VR creates a fully immersive environment that makes the brain think what you are seeing and hearing is really happening.

Because every experience we have is recorded by the subconscious mind and communicated to the brain, the subconscious can be tricked into believing events we experience in VR are a true representation of our actual reality. As a result, the subconscious sends different communication signals to the brain that ultimately makes users think, feel and act differently in the real world.

In theory, VR can be used to help people overcome fears by working on the principle that what can be caused by the brain can be cured by the brain. A high percentage of mental disorders are the product of past traumas the brain has subsequently manifested into a story that “creates” a problem, even when a problem doesn’t really exist.

The vast majority of research using VR for treating mental disorders has been funded by the US military. However, more recently, private companies in Europe have been developing various VR therapy applications and are taking a different approach to previous testing in the hope of finding better results.

One such company is Beyond Care from the Netherlands. The Dutch company is working on a VR solution that uses natural eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EDMR). The treatment works by asking patients to recall a traumatic memory whilst following a moving object.

The objective is to overtax the working memory so the traumatic memory is replaced by current events and eventually becomes less vivid. After repeated exercises the memory loses the capacity to trigger an emotional response to the trauma.

What types of mental illnesses can VR be used to treat?

In theory, the potential for VRET is boundless. New studies in neuroscience are discovering the mind has natural healing powers. Healing works on the basis of how patients think and believe their illness is being treated. Advocates such as Dr. Deepak Chokra and Professor Bruce Lipton Phd, claim the healing power of the human mind has been used in medicine for thousands of years. See also: 9 Positive Thinking Tips: The power of positivity on your health.

There is also a mounting body of evidence that shows a significant number of spontaneous regressions doctors cannot explain is a real phenomena. Such cases have been attributed to patients that believed they were being cured much like patients that are treated with a sugar pill to trigger a placebo effect.

VR therapy can essentially be used as a placebo to alter the neurons in patients that suffer from traumas that subsequently result in mental health issues. Such as breakthrough could save the NHS up to an estimated £41.8bn a year.

To date, virtual reality headsets are being used to treat anxiety disorders and phobias such as a fear of flying, a fear of heights, stress relief, public speaking, storms and blood. Virtually Better has teamed up with leading academic institutions to research R&D projects involving childhood anxiety and childhood social disorders.

Swedish electronics company, Mimerse is developing a gamified psychological treatment tool which uses VR to deliver digital treatments without the patient needing to consult a real-world therapist. The application, known as “Itsy” is the first game-based treatment available on the mass market.

Although VRET is still in its infant stages, developments in the technology, together with findings in neuroscience, could produce groundbreaking and effective treatments that will cure anxiety and phobias on a large scale for a low cost. Let’s face it, pharmaceutical drugs are failing to deliver. Maybe technology will succeed.

Download our free FAQs here, or if you would like to find out how you can use VR or 360 video to connect with your audience, give us a call on +44 (0)207 148 0526 or contact us on info@sbanimation.com.

If you’ve never worked with an animation studio before you would be forgiven for being a little unsure about what the animation process is, and how it all works. Here at Sliced Bread we like to make the journey as straightforward as possible from start to finish, so we thought we’d shed some light on what happens when you work on a project with us.

So what exactly is the process from your first meeting with us through to delivery?

Brief and budget

The first thing that will happen after we have spoken to you about your project needs and objectives will be us producing a tailored quote and brief. We work with the information you provide us with to work out realistically what resources are required and the hours needed for each task. When we know how many resource days are required to complete the project we then give you a quote based on our day rate. The brief we will provide will include our ideas of how we could produce the animation, examples of relevant work we have created, and examples of other pieces of animation that will give you an idea of style or movement.

Schedule

The key to delivering a project on time is creating a good schedule. This allows both us and the client to know what is going to be delivered and when, and also who is responsible. Having a schedule in place also means that both parties can track the progress of the animation. As well as the deliverables, the schedule we create will include days for client approval and work-in-progress submissions – these are important as they ensure we are on the right track with the work we are creating.

Script and storyboard

The next stage of the animation process is writing the script. You can supply this to us, or we can write one for you and send it over to you for you to comment on. Once we have this in place we are able to create a storyboard which is essentially is a visual timeline of the animation, showing what will happen, and how this will fit with the timing in the script.

Voice-over and animatic

If the animation you want to produce requires dialogue or a voice-over, this will need to be recorded. We can take care of this with your guidance, or we can recommend professional voice-over artists and directors for you to work with. You will need to know what sort of voice you are looking for, and the sort of style you want the voice actor to do.

If you choose to let us handle this for you, we will need to be discuss this at the beginning of the project, so we can include this in our quote. We will give you samples of different voices for you to select from, and then we will arrange a studio recording. You can normally sit in on the recording session to provide immediate feedback, this will ensure you get what you are looking for straight away, without the need for further sessions. Once the voice-over has been edited we will then ask you for your final approval.

After we have an approved storyboard and voice-over, we will use these to create an animatic. Think of this as a ‘moving storyboard’ – it shows the key movement in the animation and matches the timing with the voice-over. Animatics are useful because they allow you as the client to easily visualise what the final animation will look like, and how long it will be. Once this is approved, we move on to the fun bit – animating!

Asset preparation and animation

The first part of the animation schedule is the preparing of the assets. This basically means that we create all the necessary drawings, or 3D models required for the animation. When we have all of these in place, we are ready to animate.

We won’t disappear during the animation part of the schedule – we submit work-in-progress files (or milestone previews) at various scheduled stages, allowing you to see what we are doing, and to comment on anything that you would like to be adjusted or changed. These are normally given to you in the form of playblasts (short clips rendered out of our 3D animation software), as below:

Pre-render example Maya from Sliced Bread Animation on Vimeo.

You are also more than welcome to visit us in the studio at any point to see how the animation is developing.

Final compositing and delivery

The last part of the process is the compositing of your animation. This is when we combine the various filmed or rendered elements to create the final piece of video. During this stage, any colour grading or sound required will be added, and all of our work will be prepared for the final render.

All of this is completed in time for the scheduled delivery day, and we then send you the animation for your final approval. If you have any final amends we will complete these for you within an agreed amount of days, and then re-submit. Once you have confirmed that you are happy, and give us your final approval we will supply you with the HD renders of the animation, for use on TV, your website, intranet, social media, YouTube etc.

So there you have it – you now know exactly what to expect if you work on an animation project with us.

If you have an idea for an animation project, you can contact us here, drop us an email at info@sbanimation.com or give us a call on +44 (0)207 148 0526.

So, you want to get a message to your employees, colleagues or customers that grabs their attention and is informative? Here at Sliced Bread we have proven knowledge of how video and animation campaigns can drive viewer engagement. We know about the benefits of using animation, as we live and breath it every day.

But how does it all work? How does an animation come together? And how long does it take? As we know the process of animation can seem quite daunting to some we’ve broken it down for you and illustrated it in this handy printable PDF. Have a quick peak and download it now!

Download Printable PDF

Your Friend In Animation.

In both film and animation production, there are several stages of development which contribute to producing a high-end quality product. Right at beginning of this process, before a single frame of animation is produced, there should be the storyboarding stage. Bypassing the storyboard stage can be an extremely costly affair and one that any producer would want to avoid.

Right after you are given the brief or story for a particular film or project, you have to make sense of what needs to be put across, and in more detail. A storyboard allows you to plot out the main action that goes on and to convey the correct emotion and/or message in the scene, while also helping the sense of timing. Its a 2-minute film, but is it really a 2-minute film? This creates a benchmark for where the project needs to go from there and allows the team to understand the full scope of what is needed to achieve the final product.

Storyboarding is often critical to client buy-in and it’s also probably worth asking or working with clients on developing a visual story – even a few scribbles help! Often written text is hard to visualise and is also in some ways subjective to one person’s view.

Balloon Days:

Let’s say we have a brief to create a short story animation. We’d get given the basic idea of the story and some loose character profiles, as well as what audience they expect to reach. Based on this information alongside (if available) a rough script and other supportive material, we can begin to put together a rough story. Storyboards can go through several stages of revision, and quite often it starts with simple stick men, and most of the time production does not move on until the main parts are approved.

For Sliced Bread, there have been several Case Studies that really needed storyboarding in order to flesh out the key aims of a product. Since some certain projects turnaround are pretty quick, we need to make sure our storyboard brings home the message clearly and succinctly, whilst keeping the viewer engaged through the style we proposed to implement.

It’s worth mentioning at this point, that because it is a stage that happens right at the beginning, the storyboard doesn’t really need to include a high level of design detail – as long as you get your point across.

In most animation cases, the storyboard is actually integral to the next steps in development as the storyboard will then turn into an animatic and ultimately act as a guide for each shot’s timing. Using the storyboard’s individual frames, some shots will be elaborated on, by incorporating some basic animation. This can allow a production team to further develop the style of a character and how they express themselves.

If you would like to know more about our services relating to storyboarding, please feel free to give us a call on +44 (0)207 148 0526

We recently have finished working on two large scale 360 animation projects based on medical treatments – both made in 3D for Stereoscopic Virtual Reality. And whilst both of those videos differed visually, they required to be delivered in identical resolution and encoding settings, for consistency purposes.

Originally, we set it up to be 3000×3000 MP4s, with Over and Under Stereoscopic effect. This means, we doubled the image on top and bottom of the screen mimicking left and right eyes. With this effect in place, we achieved a very immersive experience with objects really standing out in 3D space.

Technical difficulties, however, are almost impossible to avoid when working on such large scale projects, especially when they are meant to be played on phones that still have a lot of limitations around the media they can playback.

The problem occurred when the video was meant to be imported into Unity. This is when we found out that it couldn’t play the video; in fact, the file only worked with Oculus Gear VR within the App but when trying to open the same file using default player on the phone, it only played audio.

After numerous forums, articles and discussions, we finally came to the conclusion – phones cannot playback videos that have a higher width resolution than 2160. Seems to be an easy fix – change the resolution and you’re good to go.

But it’s not that simple. Taking that video and resizing to the most optimal resolution – 3840×2160 – will create a seam at the back of the video.

The best way to deal with it, is by opening the original 3000×3000 video into the 3840×2160 After Effects composition. Then, scale the original video to 128.01% and 72% – .01% is the magic number that closes the gap with the seam. Render the result out, using h.265 codec and voila – you get your Stereoscopic VR video that should work on almost any phone.

In addition to the steps above, we have put together a little video guide. You watch it here:

Are your internal communications failing to connect with your workforce?

Corporate environments are rarely associated with being great spaces for self expression. If your business uses corporate jargon and data driven visuals when communicating with employees, they will associate the information they are being fed as laborious and for the benefit of the company, rather than for them.

Using characters can help break down the barrier between a company and their employees as they can identify with the characters on a emotional level. It gives them an instant connection with what they are viewing and the information being communicated. It may also grab their interest to see how the character is affected by the situation being shown to them, and promote thinking about how they themselves would deal with the issue or task. Animated characters in particular can also add some well needed comic relief to a piece, where appropriate. This goes a long way in making your message more memorable.

Your character does not need to be Tony the Tiger or Sergei the Meerkat – your business can easily incorporate a simple character into your internal marketing, but the main thing to consider when introducing characters to your communication is to represent all employees, of all backgrounds and identities. This enables you to create a real, relatable focus in the animation, without discriminating against or alienating anyone within your workforce. This means it is of the up most importance to consider race, gender, age, disability, and more, when creating human characters for your communications. If you are looking to use only one character, perhaps consider using an animal or a non-humanoid character – this could be as simple as a blob, or an object related to the information you are communicating.

We designed non-human, almost alien characters for MTR, to be used in a health and safety animation we were working on. The group of characters did not have genders, or even natural skin colours, so we were able to easily represent the workforce in a general way without discriminating. For this piece we had a central character (Cai) who has a number of near fatal situations going on around him, and yet just walks on by. The animation was slapstick in approach, it was not relient on voice-over or on-screen text to convey its message as the character tells the story.

For Syngenta we created an information security animation that needed to show a large number of people in home, city, and office environments. Due to the nature of the film, it was important to the client that we used human characters, so we designed a multitude of characters with different skin tones, ages, genders, hairstyles, and clothing, so that we were not isolating any individual in any situation.

This was vital as in the animation we have a troop of shady, criminal characters, and did not want to single out any specific group of people. The end result is a video that feels like a real world environment, populated by lots of people. The style of the piece allows it to be entertaining and fun, while communicating a serious topic.

Syngenta – Information Security from Sliced Bread Animation on Vimeo.

If you’d like to find out more about how Sliced Bread Animation can help your business create the perfect character for your corporate communication, get in touch with us by emailing info@sbanimation.com, or call us on +44 (0)207 148 0526.