XO3D Studio · Guide

What is a 3D Animatic?

The pre-production tool that prevents expensive mistakes, and why no serious product CGI film should begin final rendering without one.

Connor Hamilton-Smith

Head of 3D & Director, XO3D Studio

Discuss your brief

The studio behind this guide

Why we insist on this stage

XO3D is a director-led product CGI studio, and the animatic is where camera, sequence and pacing get settled before anything is rendered. It exists for a commercial reason: creative decisions made at this stage cost nothing to change, and the same decisions revisited after final rendering cost a great deal. If a supplier does not offer this stage, that tells you what kind of supplier they are.

How XO3D compares to the other five supplier models

A 3D animatic is a timed, moving version of a storyboard, a rough animation of a product film produced before any final rendering begins. It shows the exact camera choreography, product movement, timing, edit rhythm, and scene transitions of the intended film, using simplified or proxy geometry without final materials or lighting.

See how the animatic fits within Product CGI Films, then use our review guide to separate story and timing decisions from final image quality. Plan sound direction alongside the edit so important product movements have room to read.

An animatic is XO3D's primary pre-production approval tool for every product CGI film. It is the stage at which creative decisions are made, not after the first render is delivered. Changes to shot order and timing can be assessed before the affected shots are lit, rendered and finished. The agreed scope determines the review allowance.

In plain terms: An animatic is a low-quality moving preview of exactly how your product film will look, timed to the second. You approve it before any production resource is committed to final quality. It is the single most important client approval in a product CGI film project.

Storyboard to 3D animatic, pre-production sequence — Storyboard (left) becomes 3D animatic (right), grey-shaded geometry in motion, rough timing, placeholder cameras.

What an animatic contains

The elements that are shown, and what to look for when reviewing.

Camera Choreography

Every shot, every move

The animatic shows every camera position, every movement, every cut, in exact sequence. This is where you approve how the film will feel to watch, before a single final frame is rendered. If a camera move feels wrong here, this is when to change it.

Timing and Edit Rhythm

Duration of every shot

The animatic runs at the final film's speed. If your hero film is 45 seconds, the animatic is 45 seconds. Each shot is held for exactly the duration it will appear in the final edit. This is where you discover if a product reveal feels rushed or if a shot lingers too long.

Product Movement

How the product behaves in frame

Any product rotation, mechanism movement, component assembly or interaction is shown in the animatic, rough quality, but at the correct speed and in the correct sequence. This is where mechanism animations are reviewed for technical accuracy before final animation begins.

Placeholder Audio

Structural sound and music timing

XO3D typically adds a music reference or click track to the animatic so the edit rhythm can be felt, not just observed. Final sound design is agreed separately, but the structural relationship between image and sound is established here.

FAQ

Common questions, answered.

How long does producing an animatic take?

For a standard 30–60 second product film, XO3D typically produces and delivers an animatic within 5–8 working days of the storyboard being approved. This assumes the 3D model is available or a proxy model is used. The animatic stage takes time but saves significantly more, every revision request at animatic stage that would otherwise have been a post-render change represents days of render time not wasted.

Does every CGI project need an animatic?

For still image projects, no, XO3D uses material test renders and lighting reference approvals instead. For any project involving movement, product films, mechanism animations, social reel content, an animatic is always produced before final rendering begins. On simple projects this may be a simplified version; on complex films it is a fully realised pre-production document.

What should I look for when reviewing an animatic?

Focus on: (1) Does the camera choreography tell the right story about the product, does each shot reveal something the viewer needs to see? (2) Is the timing right, does the reveal feel earned, or too fast? (3) Is the product movement mechanically correct, for mechanism animations, does the sequence match engineering reality? (4) Does the edit rhythm match the intended energy of the film? Do not try to evaluate material quality, lighting, or final rendering at animatic stage, none of these are present yet.

Planning a product film?

Ask us about our pre-production process.

We'll walk you through what an animatic review looks like before you commit to anything.

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