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FormatDNA

Animated / Motion Graphics vs Stock-Footage Voiceover

Animated / Motion Graphics

Is every frame authored rather than filmed? Narration over stock or archival footage is Stock-Footage Voiceover.

Stock-Footage Voiceover

Defined by production, not structure: no camera, no screen recording, no footage of your own. If you filmed or recorded anything, the structural format wins.

Side-by-side comparison of Animated / Motion Graphics and Stock-Footage Voiceover
 Animated / Motion GraphicsStock-Footage Voiceover
In one lineDelivered as animation, with no live capture anywhere in the pipeline.A narrated script over licensed, stock or archival b-roll, with zero original capture.
On camera?Voice onlyVoice only
Hours a weekfrom 12, best around 22from 3, best around 7
Budget floorUp to £200Just the phone I own
Editing neededMotion graphics, sound design, colourI can trim and cut
Scheduleflexiblestrict
PlatformsYouTube (long), YouTube Shorts, TikTokYouTube (long), YouTube Shorts, TikTok
Demands
Time
Equipment
Editing
Consistency
Time
Equipment
Editing
Consistency
Choose it if
  • · People who already draw, animate or work in motion graphics
  • · Subjects that cannot be filmed — abstractions, history, the microscopic
  • · The most defensible format here; almost nobody can copy it quickly
  • · Anyone who wants to publish without a camera, a set or a face
  • · People whose strength is writing rather than performing
  • · The most scalable format on this list

Still not sure which one is yours?

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