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What You Need Before Kick‑Off: A Stress‑Free Technical Specification for Your Animation Project
You’re excited to bring your story to life with a vibrant animated video, yet one tiny acronym might be keeping you up at night — “TS” (Technical Specification, a.k.a. project brief). It can feel like you need to master a hundred technical details, and that any missed nuance will snowball into costly revisions.
Here’s the good news: at Collby, we turn that brief from a stress trigger into a simple, actionable checklist.
In this guide you’ll learn how to assemble a crystal‑clear technical specification in a single evening, communicate your idea to the animation team, protect your budget, and speed up the release — no jargon, no bloated templates, only what truly works.
Here’s the good news: at Collby, we turn that brief from a stress trigger into a simple, actionable checklist.
In this guide you’ll learn how to assemble a crystal‑clear technical specification in a single evening, communicate your idea to the animation team, protect your budget, and speed up the release — no jargon, no bloated templates, only what truly works.
Why a Solid Brief Matters
A thorough brief is the single source of truth for you and the studio. Without it, each stakeholder holds a different mental image of the video, and inconsistencies surface at the animatic stage — the most expensive moment to rework.
Without a brief you risk: extra weeks on the timeline, budget creep of 10–15 % per late revision, and endless “Can we try another version?” debates.
With a clear brief you gain: predictable budgets and deadlines, fewer feedback loops, and the studio’s full creative power, because we know the sandbox we can safely play in..
Without a brief you risk: extra weeks on the timeline, budget creep of 10–15 % per late revision, and endless “Can we try another version?” debates.
With a clear brief you gain: predictable budgets and deadlines, fewer feedback loops, and the studio’s full creative power, because we know the sandbox we can safely play in..
Collby’s internal stats show that projects with a complete brief move 25 % faster and need 30 % fewer revisions.
Key Elements of an Animation Brief
Below is the checklist of sections worth including (download the ready‑to‑fill template at the end).
Pro‑tip: set priorities. If timeline is strict but budget flexible, state it clearly so we can balance speed and cost.
Collecting Info Without Stress
Gather product essentials.
Distil the one key takeaway viewers must remember.
Book a 30‑minute briefing call with a Collby producer.
This single talk answers 80 % of questions faster than an email chain.
Fill in our checklist.
It structures your thoughts and highlights missing details.
Prepare visual references.
Drop 3–5 links from Dribbble, Behance, Vimeo, movies, or series that capture the mood.
Define communication channels and rhythm.
We suggest Slack or a Telegram chat plus a 15‑minute weekly status call.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Rushing or fearing to “look too picky” spawns the same classic errors: a vague audience (“everyone”), zero visual references, no budget frame, forgotten vertical or square versions, and unlimited revision rounds. Each of these “little things” becomes an expensive rerun deep into production.
Dodge them by writing a one‑sentence viewer profile, attaching a few reference links with notes on what you like, stating a budget range, listing every platform up front, and fixing the number of feedback loops (two or three is usually enough). You’ll eliminate the blank spots that often resurface as “Let’s redo it, shall we?”.
Dodge them by writing a one‑sentence viewer profile, attaching a few reference links with notes on what you like, stating a budget range, listing every platform up front, and fixing the number of feedback loops (two or three is usually enough). You’ll eliminate the blank spots that often resurface as “Let’s redo it, shall we?”.
A technical specification isn’t bureaucratic red tape; it’s the navigation chart guiding your video from concept to flawless finish. Invest a couple of hours today to map goals, audience, and tech details, and you’ll save weeks of back‑and‑forth later, protect your budget, and unlock your team’s creativity.
We’ve learned at Collby: the clearer the brief, the bolder the ideas. Take two quick steps right now:
We’ve learned at Collby: the clearer the brief, the bolder the ideas. Take two quick steps right now:
- Download our Brief Checklist — it’s free and guarantees you miss nothing.
- Book a short call with a Collby producer — together we’ll review your answers, fill the gaps, and sketch out your production roadmap.