Animation videos have become synonymous with modern digital storytelling, taking the shape of attention-grabbing Instagram and TikTok Reels, comprehensive product demonstration videos, detailed service explainer content, and many more.
Animated content is a clever and intuitive solution for explaining abstract and complex concepts or processes in a way that’s easy for viewers to understand. While many digital users are surrounded by and inundated with a never-ending sea of live-action videos and advertisements, animated content stands out aesthetically.
However, while content creators invest time and resources perfecting their visual narratives, scripts and transitions, comparatively little time is dedicated towards an essential ingredient in their toolkit: choosing the right music for animated content. Quality music – be it licensed, copyrighted or royalty-free – can transform basic animation videos into memorable and engaging content that conveys the desired mood and triggers the intended response from viewers.
The challenge is not just to find any soundtrack that ‘ticks a box’, but rather to discover the perfect musical accompaniment that adds value to every frame and message your animation conveys.
Align Music to Suit Your Narrative
Every piece of animated content, however complex or busy, carries its own emotional nuance. For every playful, character-driven and enthusiastic explainer video, there is a corporate stop-motion graphics video and another abstract video full of subtleties and inferred metaphors. As such, every piece requires a different piece of music to underpin it.
Your selected piece(s) of music should support the desired emotive narrative of your visuals. For example, when choosing music for animated content to complement fast-cut montages with dynamic transitions and energetic undertones, look for tracks featuring driving rhythms and percussion and discordant notes that build anticipation. On the flip side, gentle and slower character animations with smoother movements pair beautifully with ambient, melodic and soft chord progressions that breathe alongside your video.
The beauty of modern royalty-free music libraries like Filmstro is that you can customise individual elements or segments to suit your videos. If your video content goes through a series of emotional hooks or changes, you can find the ideal music sequences to tag along with very little difficulty.
Match Music to Suit Your Animation Style
Animation videos can encompass a broad range of styles and types, all of which warrant and mandate unique musical approaches.
Consider acoustic music to complement hand-drawn and authentic animations, while pondering electronic and synthesised music for sleek 3D renders and polished motion graphics.
As businesses seek to leverage more animated content, given that it drives high engagement when compared to static visuals and text, it’s also important not to consider them in separate silos. Many businesses overlook the potential of creating consistent and aligned campaigns across channels, not just those in the video and digital spaces, but for print as well. Animations, characters and scenes can be conveyed in printed materials as well as videos, all contributing to the consistency and alignment goals of your brand, products or services.
Don’t overlook the importance of print media that can complement digital animations, as they can transform key stills and frames into striking posters, brochures, packaging and promotional materials. Green printing is experiencing a bit of a boom, as Treetop Design & Print highlight in their guide, and should be considered if your audience can encounter your brand at multiple points online and in print.
Think of the Inferred Meaning Behind the Music
Music isn’t just a “nice to have” – it’s integral to helping your audience interpret your visual information and messages. A key aspect of choosing music for animated content is considering how different musical elements affect perception. Cheerful and upbeat melodies can bring enthusiasm and charm to even the most mundane product demonstrations, while darker and more sombre chords can add emotional gravitas to serious, thought-provoking and educational content that illustrates the seriousness of the information conveyed.
For instance, tempo influences perceived energy and urgency, with faster rhythms encouraging immediate action, while quieter and slower moods emphasise thoughtfulness and consideration.
The goal is to ensure your musical choices align with, rather than compete against, your animation’s intended message.
Custom Compositions – the Future of Animation Music
Traditional stock music often gets a bad reputation that forces content creators into a corner. You may find a track with the right tone, energy, and melody but lacking the right instrumentation or length for your piece. At Filmstro, we recognise that creators need a bit more flexibility, which is why we adopt a composer-first approach, giving our artists the optimal creative freedom to adjust musical elements to perfectly suit their unique animations without compromising their vision.
This level of customisation becomes valuable when creators work across a range of different animation formats. A single piece of music can then be adapted for a long explainer video, and modified for shorter, snappier social media videos optimised for each channel and platform. This adaptability is particularly beneficial in corporate video production, where content often needs to be repurposed for various internal and external communication channels.
Animations can take many forms, with many brands and creators finding their comfort zone with a particular style. However, techniques and best practices evolve currently, as does audience engagement and preferences. Keeping abreast of the best animation styles and trends ensures your musical choices remain contemporary and relevant.
Next Steps
Whether you’re crafting a quick social media campaign or widespread branded animations as part of your broader business strategy, the effort you put into choosing music for animated content will ultimately determine whether your audience watches briefly, or truly connects with your message. The most successful animated content treats music not as an afterthought, but as integral to bringing their creative stories to life.
