“Why Use 3D Animation?” you ask. Let me describe it to you this way: There was a time when writers had to type everything on a typewriter, paint over their mistakes with correction fluid, and retype their words correctly a second or third time in the exact same spot. I know, I know, how…analog. Crazy those cavemen. Today, writers have the advantage of word processors which streamline the creative process, permit writers to concentrate more on what they are expressing and less on the physical page upon which it will ultimately be printed. Such prolific contemporary writers as Stephen King, for example, could never produce the quality and quantity of work that they do without these modern advances. Technology. Leveraged. That’s 3D…
And there were many in the early days that thought a fancy computer with a word processor just wasn’t going to be worth the expense. Well, video production has undergone a similar change from the primitive Betacam tapes of 1982 to the computer generated 3D animations of today whose quality and creativity can only be described as breathtaking. Products can be created and animated in detail, complex processes can be demonstrated in a real, 3D space, even photo-realism is possible all without a crew, without retakes, without miniature models or complicated rigs and backdrops. And when changes do become necessary, for example to update a new product feature, change a process diagram, add a new detail – those changes may be made with equal precision and without filming a scene all over again. Since it is virtual we can simply modify the virtual scene, change the 3D model mesh, change colors, add text and the just render it all over again. Talk about efficiency and time savings. Technology. Leveraged. That’s 3D
This also provides the design artist with a freedom of expression that would be unattainable without these modern techniques. Without the limitations of real-world stages, cameras, lights and products or actors, motion graphics artists can go over-the-top with their approach and make things that have never been made before. If, for example, a company produced word processing software and wanted to demonstrate a typewriter morphing into a computer, with printed pages spewing from it and an author typing on it all the while, 3D animation would make that possible. Try that in the real world. Not gonna happen on a corporate video budget. Similarly, if a luggage manufacturer wanted a valise to sprout wings, leap from its owner’s hand, and soar to the heavens, this could be accomplished. Whatever fanciful notion springs into the mind of the creative genius can now be translated into a 3D animation for web videos, explainers, trade show presentations, eLearning, sales videos, or for any of a thousand different uses and occasions. There is quite literally no limit to what can be represented in 3D animations.
For corporations, new features can be pre-visualized for new or existing products without actually building a prototype, and products can be shown in any desired color or texture, in any imaginable context. Perhaps the most exciting potential is in the creation of entirely new products, which can be modeled and demonstrated in 3D animations as if they had been brought from the production floor for the occasion.
It’s difficult to describe “unlimited potential” because some things just have to be seen to really be understood. Of course 3D animation isn’t the magic bullet for everything. But production costs have come down and it really is something many more people should be considering right now. If you’d like to see for yourself what this extraordinary technology can do for your company, contact us at your convenience and we’ll be happy to show you.
