Planning a 90-second film on index cards
One card per scene, laid out on the table before a single frame is drawn (sample note).
The next eight weeks
Updated Friday 16 October (sample)
w/c 19 Oct
Monday booked, Tuesday booked, Wednesday booked, Thursday booked, Friday booked.
Library explainer: animation (sample)
w/c 26 Oct
Monday booked, Tuesday booked, Wednesday booked, Thursday held, one hold, Friday held, one hold.
Library delivery; Thu and Fri held for a logo sting (sample)
w/c 2 Nov
Monday free, next free run, Tuesday free, next free run, Wednesday free, next free run, Thursday free, next free run, Friday booked.
Free Mon to Thu. Fri: storyboard review (sample)
w/c 9 Nov
Monday held, one hold, Tuesday held, one hold, Wednesday held, one hold, Thursday held, one hold, Friday held, one hold.
Held for a product explainer (sample)
w/c 16 Nov
Monday held, two holds, Tuesday held, two holds, Wednesday held, two holds, Thursday held, two holds, Friday held, two holds.
Same film; a second hold is placed too (sample)
w/c 23 Nov
Monday held, one hold, Tuesday held, one hold, Wednesday free, Thursday free, Friday free.
Free from Wednesday (sample)
w/c 30 Nov
Monday booked, Tuesday booked, Wednesday booked, Thursday booked, Friday booked.
Museum title loop (sample)
w/c 7 Dec
Monday free, Tuesday free, Wednesday free, Thursday free, Friday free.
Free all week (sample)
Booked, in inkOne hold: you can take a secondTwo holds: you would be thirdFreeNext free run
Mara Lindgren (sample)
Freelance motion designer for explainer films and brand motion
I storyboard, draw and animate short films for products, museums and public services, from a small studio in Springfield (sample).
Next free: 4 days from Monday 2 November
Day rate $520. A typical explainer is 12 to 15 days (example prices).
Work I take on
Four kinds of job, each drawn in the same day cells as the diary, so you can see how much of a month it fills.
Explainer films
A 60 to 120 second film that explains one product, service or change: script polish, storyboard, design frames, animation and a sound mix with licensed music.
12 to 15 days
From $6,200
Brand motion
A logo sting, a set of animated icons and a short motion guide, so everyone who animates your brand moves it the same way.
4 to 8 days
From $2,100
Storyboards and animatics
For agencies and in-house teams who animate themselves: boards drawn from your script and timed to the voice-over.
3 to 5 days
From $1,500
Title sequences and event loops
Openers, stings and screen loops for conferences, exhibitions and video channels, delivered in the sizes the venue needs.
5 to 10 days
From $2,600
Usual daysDays a longer version adds
Lengths and prices for a typical job (Example prices). Every quote is in days first.
Recent work
Three jobs from this year, with the days they took. Ask for the full showreel link; some clients ask me not to post their films.
15 days
A council's new recycling collections, in 75 seconds
City council comms team (sample)
Storyboard, animatic and a 75-second film with subtitles in three languages, plus a 15-second cut for buses.
9 days
A mascot and six loops for a museum trail
Children’s museum (sample)
Character sheet, six 6-second loops for the trail screens and print files for stickers.
12 days
Launch explainer for a booking app
Software start-up (sample)
A 60-second film, a 15-second cut and an animated icon set the app team reuses.
Day rates
Day rate
Eight hours, in the studio or on site in Springfield
$520
Half day
Up to four hours: edits, versions and small changes
$300
A week booked together
Five days in a row, one project
$2,400
Rush start
Starting within five working days of the request
+25%
Late cancellation
Of the booked days, inside ten working days
50%
Example prices, before tax.
Every quote includes
- Two rounds of changes on the storyboard, one on the animatic and one on the final film
- Licensed music and voice-over passed on at cost, with the licence in your name
- The project files and a fonts list at hand-over
- A subtitle file in one language
How booking works
Five steps from the first email to the final film. Nothing is booked until step four, and holding dates costs nothing.
1
Send the brief
What the film is for, who will watch it, how long it should be and the deadline. A script if there is one.
2
Get a quote in days
Within one working day: the days the job needs, the price and the dates I can offer.
3
Hold the dates
I pencil you in for up to five working days, free. If someone else asks for the same days, you get 24 hours to confirm or release.
4
Book with a deposit
A 30% deposit confirms the booking, and your days go into the diary in ink.
5
Storyboard, animatic, final
You sign off each stage before the next one starts, so changes stay small and cheap.
One person, from the first sketch to the final file
I trained as an illustrator and moved into animation through children’s television. Since going freelance I have made films for libraries, councils, museums and small software teams. You talk to the person who draws every frame (sample).
Based in
Springfield (sample); studio days or on site within an hour
Hours
Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:30
Clients abroad
Calls up to six hours either side of my time zone
Languages
English and Swedish (sample)
Freelance since
2017 (sample)
Questions clients ask
Can you work to our brand guidelines?
Yes. Send the guidelines with the brief; I build the design frames from your colours and fonts and show them before any animation starts.
Do you write scripts?
I tighten scripts and time them to the picture. For a script from scratch I work with a copywriter I trust and quote their days separately.
What if our dates move?
Booked days can move once without a fee if you tell me ten working days ahead and the new days are free in the diary.
Who owns the film?
You do, once the final invoice is paid: worldwide, in all media, for as long as you use it. I ask to show it in my showreel, and you can say no.
Do you work with voice-over artists and composers?
Yes. I cast and direct the session and license the music, and pass the cost on with no mark-up.
Studio notes
What a first hold means, and what it does not
A hold is free, lasts five working days and never jumps ahead of a booking (sample note).
Choosing the colours before the first frame moves
A small colour script saves a day of changes at the end (sample note).
Have a date in mind?
Tell me the dates and what the film is for. I reply within one working day with the days, the price and whether I can pencil you in (sample).