You may feel apprehensive about outsourcing animation MV/PV production to an external studio, perhaps due to past troublesome experiences. Your options for commissioning remain the same as for animation videos: either an individual or a production company.
“What kinds of issues should I watch out for with each type of contractor?”
“How can I prevent problems from arising?”
“Individuals might be cheaper, but do I need to give them very clear instructions?”
Following these questions, we'll explain step-by-step how to ensure your animated MV/PV project progresses smoothly to delivery without any issues.
Two main options: “Hire an individual” or “Hire a company”
There are two main ways to commission an animated music video: either hire an individual or hire a company.
To determine which is best suited for your creative project, start by considering the price. Hiring an individual is significantly cheaper than hiring a company. If your budget is only a few tens of thousands of yen, hiring an individual is your only viable option.
However, hiring an individual carries risks, such as potential issues arising or the work not progressing as smoothly as hoped. If you want to proceed with your plan reliably, hiring an MV/PV production company is the safer bet.
Cost-effectiveness of commissioning individuals
When commissioning an individual creator, the cost is often very affordable. Some creators will take on projects for around ¥10,000 to ¥20,000. This is because they can keep costs down by handling most of the work themselves. As a result, they can still turn a profit even at around ¥10,000.
These independently produced animations are called indie anime. Recently, there's been an increase in cases where indie anime is used for music artists' animated music videos. Requests for product promotions are also growing, making it fair to say full animation has become more accessible to produce.
Some creators may offer low prices because it's part of their hobby. In such cases, if you're lucky, you might receive a surprisingly high-quality piece of work. However, if you're unlucky, problems are more likely to arise, so caution is advised.
Dependability of commissioning a company
When you commission a company, you receive stable, high-quality work delivered without issues. These companies already possess the accumulated know-how necessary for music video production and employ their own creators, eliminating uncertainties. Therefore, if you wish to avoid unforeseen complications, commissioning a music video production company is recommended.
Another advantage is that you don't need to communicate directly with the creators you hire. Once you place the order, there's little further effort required, making it the optimal choice for busy producers.
Differences in risks when outsourcing MV/PV productions
When you commission a company, the client doesn't need to handle any special tasks. You simply wait for the finished product. However, things are different when dealing with individual creators.
Amateur creators working independently often struggle with issues that professionals don't face, such as task management, schedule management, handling problems, and maintaining motivation. If you can't manage these aspects yourself, you may experience “delivery delays,” and in the worst case, “refusal to deliver” could occur.
Risks when commissioning an individual
- Sense of professionalism differs from that of a working professional
- Workflow can be unstable, making it difficult to estimate deadlines
The client side needs to maintain motivation
Conversely, if you can manage these aspects, you can potentially achieve results comparable to those from a company, saving costs. The next chapter will introduce how to work with such amateur creators.
Be wary of quality inconsistencies
When commissioning individuals, quality can be inconsistent. This is because creators often separate it from their main profession, failing to recognize it as work, which leads to complacency. As a result, the video quality suffers in the following ways:
- Rough transitions between parts, audio, and visuals
- Differences from the requested direction
- Mistakes in lyrics
- Inconsistent lighting across sections
To avoid these issues, you must manage the music video production process. I will now explain specific methods.
Progress checks to prevent issues
- Set dates to check the progress of deliverables
- Promptly communicate any changes or issues with deliverables
- Clearly convey relevant information and objectives
Regular quality and progress checks are essential to ensure the quality of the creator's work.
Account for potential delays in meeting deadlines
Even when quality is assured, missing deadlines is still a common, inevitable occurence. Amateur creators are often unfamiliar with the workflow. For instance, unlike creating their own work, they must flexibly adjust schedules and video content while listening to corporate requests. This makes it difficult to estimate completion times, leading to delays.
Therefore, it's necessary to manage creators to ensure deadlines are met.
Additionally, by checking and recording their daily work hours, and noting how much time each task takes, you can assess how much work can realistically be completed within the remaining time when deadlines become critical.
Furthermore, it's wise to assume delays are inevitable. Therefore, communicate a schedule with built-in buffer time. For example, if the actual music video deadline is 7 days away, communicate a deadline 5 days away to allow for flexibility.
Aligning creator motivation for success
Based on the above, when commissioning individual creators, you must act as their manager and oversee the project's progress. However, as mentioned in the previous chapter, merely managing progress is insufficient.
This is because even if you manage quality and deadlines, failing to manage the creator's emotional state risks triggering the worst-case scenario: refusal to deliver the work. When commissioning individuals, creators have nothing to lose, so whether they abandon the project midway often depends entirely on their emotional state.
If the creator continues to hold a negative impression of you, it becomes a source of stress, and their dissatisfaction will eventually boil over. The result of this boiling over could be the creator abandoning the project, declaring, “I'm not doing this job.” If this happens, you'll have to start over and commission the music video you were expecting from a different creator.
Please also pay careful attention to managing the creator's motivation.
Specific motivation management methods
- Try to contact the producer at least once a day
- When reviewing work, consciously follow this conversation flow: “Praise, offer constructive feedback, praise”
- Listen to all of the creator's proposals without interrupting
- If you need to reject an idea, don't reject it on the spot. Take it back, then communicate the reasons for rejection at a later time (via email or during your next contact)
This approach prevents discouraging the creator, keeps their motivation high, and makes it easier to move the work forward. The key is to consistently show genuine interest in the creator and make them feel you're right there with them. This helps the creator see you as a friend, encouraging them to work harder.
Outsource to a production company to reduce hassle
When commissioning individuals, I explained that the potential for issues arises depending on how low the price is. To resolve this, you must invest time and effort into managing the creators.
However, when you're busy, it's difficult to dedicate time to management. Yet, the prospect of problems is also daunting. In that case, commissioning an MV production company is recommended.
The company handles all communication and management with the creators, so you won't have to spend your valuable time. You'll receive a high-quality MV without any issues.
Fees can be discussed in detail
Regarding the biggest concern—cost—it's not necessarily going to be more expensive than hiring an individual.
In some cases, we can accept requests for as low as tens of thousands of yen. For details, please contact us so we can discuss the content of the music video you wish to commission.
Consultation available for PR and advertising
By commissioning a production company, you gain value beyond just the cost—you can consult on effective PR strategies rather than merely having content produced. Furthermore, the appeal lies in their extensive expertise, enabling them to plan videos specifically designed for PR purposes.
Frequently asked questions about MV production
How much does it cost to commission an animated MV?
When commissioning an animation music video from a production company, the standard rate starts at 1 million yen. The production period typically takes around 2 to 3 months. Since pricing varies based on the song length, number of animation frames, and frame rate, costs can be reduced by adjusting the number of frames according to your budget.
How does copyright work?
The copyright for animated music videos produced by production companies belongs to the creator, not the client. “Copyright” refers to the rights held by the creator of works such as illustrations, music, videos, and manga. This right prevents anyone other than the author from publicly displaying, using, selling, or distributing the work without permission. While copyright itself cannot be bought or sold, it can be transferred.
Therefore, be sure to sign a “Copyright Transfer Agreement” before commissioning production. When commissioning a production company, the standard rate starts at around ¥1 million. The production period typically takes about 2 to 3 months. The price varies depending on the song length, number of animation frames, and frame rate. You can control costs by adjusting the number of animation frames according to your budget.
Marketing Perspective in Japan: Beyond Just Creation
NOKID provides creative planning and production for PR using characters, events, and video content. Effective videos balance business and creative perspectives, e.g., short clips optimized for TikTok, designed to capture attention in the first 2–3 seconds.
For first-time animation or PR-focused content, feel free to consult with us.
