Agencies should really consider having in-house 3d animation and rendering capabilities, especially when they already have in-house video capabilities. CGI (computer-generated imagery) can augment the video and creative team with new possibilities. How and why, you ask? Here are 5 scenarios:

Scenario 1: You want to show what?

When that client whom you’ve just finished working long and hard with creating their great new brand asks, “I have a video that needs to be done for a tradeshow, can you help?” Since we already have an in-house video team, of course, the answer is a resounding, “Yes! We’d love to partner with you on a video! What is our goal?” The client then goes on to explain that they want to educate their audience on how this great new thing works. We want to show all the flows and cycles of air, electricity, and fluids. Now your mind is swirling with thoughts of, “How do we film that? There’s no way to capture this kind of thing. We all know electricity flows, we just don’t see it. Maybe with animation? Do I have a reliable freelancer? Can I keep it within an acceptable budget?” If your 3d animation and rendering skills are in-house, almost always, those questions are easily answered.

We worked with Anesi to create an instructional video for HVAC pros. Utilizing 3d animation and client-provided SolidWorks files, we went to work creating visualizations that would have been otherwise impossible to capture.

Scenario 2: Good idea, but the budget isn’t there

Your creative team has come to you with great ideas for client advertising videos. Creative: “Imagine ketchup that’s so good it actually attracts the french fries. Or how about a hamburger which is actually drooling and panting for Red Gold ketchup.” You know this is a great idea which will have many legs by being used on YouTube pre-rolls and HTML5 banner ads with video, but the idea would be virtually impossible to create or too costly for the client budget. CGI to the rescue!

We represent many brands in the food industry and utilized our in-house 3d animation and rendering capabilities to bring those award-winning ideas to life.

Scenario 3: Proof of concept

The creative team has come to you with a great idea for a print ad but you don’t know if the client will go for it. So you pitch your idea with your creative team’s quick sketches but the client is still not convinced. At this point, it’s too expensive to go into full production without client buy-in. What do you do? 3d rendering to the rescue! 

Wait… this was for a print ad, right? CGI for print? Absolutely. 3d rendering isn’t just for screens, renders can be generated at almost any resolution required.

This is a 3d render quickly sketched as a proof of concept for having Texas Pete hot sauce on tap. I mean who wouldn’t want it?

Scenario 4: 3d animation and rendering in lieu of product photography

The client just signed the rebrand project which also includes a new website build. The old site has some dated product photography and the client has agreed to a full reshoot. Fast-forward six months beyond the website launch celebration, and now the client has just informed you that they must change the labels on a number of their products. Now what?

Option A: Receive the shipment of products with the new labels. Try to recreate the same lighting rig you had months ago, along with the same camera angle. Shoot the products and hopefully, you saved that PS action for the color correct. 

Option B: Open the 3d scene where all the lights, color temperatures, and camera angles are in the exact position they were six months ago. Swap in the new labels and render.

Scenario 5: The Future

As the future of interactivity slowly moves to VR and AR, the need for 3d modeling and animation is only going to increase. Agencies and marketers will be calling on 3d artists more as reality starts taking a deeper dive into augmentation or even completely virtual.

Obviously, there are many other scenarios where CGI would be a useful tool in the agency’s box. Want to work with an agency that already has it? Talk to us. We can bring those big ideas to life.