Construction Animation

Prices for construction animation videos typically range from £3,000 for a simple 2D animation to £15,000+ for complex 3D visualisations, but your specific cost depends on three main factors: the complexity of your topic, your timeline, and the animation style you need. A basic 2D product demonstration will cost less than a photorealistic 3D building visualization, and while an 8-week timeline lets us work efficiently, faster delivery needs a bigger team which affects cost. You can save money when making multiple videos since we can reuse assets like product models or brand elements across different versions.

You'll get a free proposal with different budget options - showing exactly what each price level includes. Tell us what you need, and we'll give you a quick estimate based on your specific project.

Most 3D building visualisations take 8-10 weeks, but your specific timeline depends on what you need. Simple exterior visualisations are quicker to create than full building systems or detailed walkthroughs. If you need videos in multiple languages, different sizes for various marketing channels, or versions for different audiences, this could also affect the timeline. It’s important to keep in mind any internal or external approvals like planning approval processes, stakeholder sign-offs, and compliance checks as well as any other key dates that may need to be scheduled. While we can deliver faster with a bigger team in 4-6 weeks, complex projects typically need 8+ weeks to complete properly.

Both 2D and 3D animation come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. 

2D animation is brilliant for explaining how products work, fit together, are installed and explain benefits and/or features. It’s typically faster to produce, typically more cost effective, and makes complex information easy to understand through simple and clear visuals. Often utilised best for general construction marketing videos.

3D animation works best for showing exactly what your product looks like in real life. You can have the product spin around, break apart to show internal parts and demonstrate how components move and interact with each other. You can also simulate forces like gravity, wind, fluids and much more. If you wanted a building systems animation, then 3D animation would enable you to peel back the layers and show the various systems within the building.

Which option you should choose will come down to what you’re trying to show, who your audience is, what your budget and timeline afford you. There is also the option to utilise both 2D and 3D in a mixed approach; showing the product in a realistic way, and using supporting graphics to explain features and benefits.

Firstly, it’s important to show the overview of the product before zooming in to see the detail and nuance of the installation process. You see the bigger picture of how everything fits together before getting the close-up detail of critical assembly steps. Then, it’s important to create simple steps that show everything in bite-sized chunks. It’s important to create a clear, logical sequence that’s easy to follow, and easy to remember. 

To aid the viewer, you can use colour, call-outs, annotations and highlights to draw attention to important details and information. When you’re watching a video, you’ll see a clear signposting of the all important information. Finally, remember to pause and let the audience take stock of what you’re telling them. Never rush through or jump from step to step. By leaving time between each step, it becomes easier to follow, stop and review on-site.

Absolutely. One of the biggest benefits of using an animation is how simple it is to update when things change. Once we’ve created the assets and illustrations, changing or updating measurements, colours or technical details is straightforward and cost effective. Most updates are small and simple, meaning changing a specific bit of information, rather than overhauling the entire video. Even if your changes are more comprehensive, chances are, we’ll have done a significant amount of design work to help make the next evolution of the video easier. Being able to tweak, change and update the video helps lengthen its lifespan, making it an evergreen asset for your business.

Trade shows and exhibitions are busy places, with attendees short on time and overwhelmed with choice. You can stand out by using construction marketing videos to play on your stand. While your competitors are using statics, your stand will show products in action, talking about features and benefits without putting demand on your team. If your team is busy speaking with potential buyers, attendees can walk past and see exactly how your products work and what makes them different. You can also quickly hook people who are walking past to give more interest by showing short, highly engaging looping animations of 3D product animations or technical installation videos. Depending on your stand design, you may be able to use multiple screens with each screen showing a different benefit or aspect of the product.

2D animation works brilliantly for safety training because it simplifies complex procedures into easy to understand, clear steps. By highlighting dangers, using scenario based training and showing correct equipment procedures, you can easily and effectively train your staff without real-world risks. By using 2D animation and motion graphics, you can enhance information using colour, illustration and icons to highlight and signpost crucial information. 

3D animation also works brilliantly for specific aspects of safety training. If there is a particular component or part that requires specific training, then 3D animated videos can offer advantages over 2D animation. You can show the product with high levels of realism, show exactly what will be there, simulate forces like wind, gravity or fluids, and show inner or hidden components or issues.

When you need to reach an international audience, whether that’s a global installation team, a network of resellers, or clients across the globe, there are three main options for efficient language variants. 

Option 1 is the most cost-effective. You make an English video (or your ‘main’ desired language) and simply add translated subtitles. Your audience will hear the English voiceover (or just music if you prefer), but read on-screen instructions in their native language. 

Option 2 is a mid point. You create the video using only on-screen text with no voiceover. As all the information will be on screen, there is no need for subtitles. Then, your text on screen changes for each language version, making it clear and easy to follow for the viewer. We have a proprietary way of automating the translation process within the animation software to make this much more efficient. 

Option 3 is the most expensive, but the most effective. You create a fully localised version of each video, including a native voiceover, text on screen and subtitles. Your team gets complete understanding through their first language. Especially important for complex installation or crucial training where there can be no room for errors or misunderstandings.

Absolutely! In many cases this is the preferred route. It gives us a head start as we can extract existing data from your products or buildings without starting from scratch. We can work with pretty much any CAD format from popular programs like AutoCAD, SketchUp and Revit, or we can use standard files like OBJs and FBX files. By using your technical drawings for 3D building visualisation, we’re following the design precisely as it should be. Walls are the correct thickness, pipes follow their proper routes, products are completely accurate. It gives us more time to spend on details like correct shading of materials, simulations of forces like wind or gravity, and complex camera movements.

To make construction animations, regardless of the audience or the context, we have to create a whole series of assets that we can then use. Because we have this base of materials to work from, we only have to slightly tweak the formula to optimise the animation for different usages, audiences or marketing channels.

We start by creating a single main video - we call this the hero video - which is usually 60 - 120 seconds. Your sales team can use this for the website, sale presentations and product demos. Then we ‘cut’ this down into one (or more) 30 second video for scenarios with shorter attention spans - ie social media. We can create versions that work without audio, which you’d typically use at a trade show or event.

As with anything, when a viewer can understand the ‘what’ and more importantly the ‘why’, they’ll be far more likely to engage with you. You can show planners exactly what your finished development will look like. By using 3D visualisation you can fly a camera around the site, showing it from every angle, with accurate, realistic materials, lighting and landscaping. With an animated video, you can talk about how your project will benefit the local community, you can address potential concerns before they become objections and you can walk planners through the details of the project. From the project overview, right down to the detail, an animated video helps you tell a story about your development.

Firstly, you want to create clear sequences that follow service routes around your building. You need to show how different systems connect to each other, between floors, through walls and across various zones. You can start your building systems animation with a 3D model of the different mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. As the video progresses, you can show the different systems working together and in isolation. Finally, add technical details and specifications at key points. Highlight access for maintenance teams and mark connection points for installers.

This completely depends on the how and the where of your project. If you’re looking for a social media use, or at a trade show, try to keep it short and snappy - 30 seconds or less. If you’re wanting a product demonstration or a technical video, then you can spend more time, videos around 2 minutes typically work well in these contexts. You can show features, benefits and installation steps. If you’re training installers, staff or giving a detailed building systems plan, then you can run longer, often around 5-10 minutes. Your team needs the detailed information to help them in their job, so they have different expectations around the content. Always match the construction animation video length to your viewers needs. If someone sees your video while scrolling on socials they only need a quick overview, whereas an installer learning a new system will need detailed step-by-step instructions.

This is one of the most popular requests, and a question we ask any potential client at the very start of the enquiry process. The answer is absolutely we can. We use the existing animation files to create shorter videos - often 30 seconds or less - in a range of aspect ratios, so they’re optimised for different uses on different platforms. We can break down a product installation animation into bite-sized clips that focus on a single feature, or a single benefit. These work really well on social media as they’re quick, simple to understand and easy to share. It’s always worth considering using subtitles as most social media watchers will view on mute - statistics show up to 80%!

The beauty of animation is that you don’t have to only show what's visible to the camera lens. We can use ‘x-ray’ vision to see through walls, showing how mechanical, electrical and plumbing networks fit inside of walls and between floors. We can switch between viewing full buildings and exteriors, straight into detail and complex sections. We can strip back layers like brick, floors and ceilings to show exactly how services are routed. Finally, we have complete control over the look and feel of these service systems, with the ability to highlight or change the colour of individual services, which is particularly effective when matching it to the voiceover. If we’re talking about ventilation systems, then we can fade all the other systems to focus only on what we need to see.

Like many videos we make, it’s important to set the scene - give the viewer some context. Start with a breakdown of the whole installation process, then dive into the details of your product installation animation. Let people understand the full sequence before giving the specifics. Using chapters within the animation helps to break down complex sequences and gives the viewer a better understanding of what’s going on and where they’re up to. Chapters make it much easier for your team to find, replay and come back to specific sections. Finally, add areas within the training video to signpost safety checkpoints and quality control steps. This could feature common mistakes, scenario based training, or questions for reflection to ensure that the training is being understood and remembered.

Effective construction animations should showcase clearly how the product solves real world problems that people have. Make sure you start with the “why” - not of the product, but of the viewer. Why should they continue to watch the video, what is going to hook them in? Give them product benefits, company benefits, and general benefits. Make sure your video is framed from their point of view. Keep technical details simple - only highlight a few key advantages and signpost where they can find further information if they’re interested. The viewer should know why your product, but also, why you! What makes you different from the competition? End your video with clear next steps, and consider sprinkling a call to action within the body of the video also. Whether you want them to contact sales, download a spec sheet, or request a sample, tell your audience clearly what they should do next.