Product CGI Films · XO3D Studio
Product launch films, made in CGI.
Director-led films that make your product impossible to ignore.
XO3D makes product launch films, launch videos and launch animations for brands that need more than impressive visuals. We make films that change how a viewer feels about a product, from sceptical to certain, from interested to wanting.
Selected clients
Sony work via ImageNova. Ferrari and Burberry work via KCD.
Planning your brief
Updated
What is a product launch film?
A product launch film is a short film that introduces a new product to its market, whether it is called a product launch video, a launch film or a launch animation. XO3D makes them in CGI as director-led films built from your CAD, with one named Creative Director accountable for the idea, camera language, materials, lighting, edit, sound and final frame. A hero launch film typically runs 30 to 60 seconds and can run to 90. It is delivered at 24 frames per second in Full HD as standard, with 4K on request. Because the product is built in 3D, the film can be finished before a physical unit is ready to shoot, then extended into a campaign set across landscape, vertical, square and portrait formats without changing the visual direction. Brands use these films on the website, at launch events, in paid media, in retailer listings and in investor presentations. Scope is set by the story, product complexity, source-file condition, duration, number of shots and variants, output formats, sound requirements, review stages and the date each approved asset must be delivered.
Questions before you briefBringing CGI into a wider campaign? Explore CGI production for agencies, including our work with ImageNova for Sony and the inputs needed for a clear production handoff.
What separates a product film from a product animation
A film has a point of view. An animation has a camera path.
Creative Direction.
Every film XO3D produces has a named Creative Director responsible for the visual vision, the emotional arc, the material language, the rhythm of the edit. Not a project manager. A creative director.
A Director's Eye.
We approach camera choreography as a directorial instrument. Every shot angle, every movement, every cut is a deliberate editorial choice that tells the viewer something about the product.
The Complete Film.
We produce full films, not isolated renders assembled into a timeline. Sound design, grade, edit and timing are considered from the first frame, not applied at the end.
On whether a product launch film needs a VFX house
If you are launching a product, you don't need a VFX house to get VFX. At XO3D we have the tools to bring VFX into the launch film and the stills.
What a product launch film from XO3D looks like
Four formats, one creative standard.
How we make product films
Four stages. One delivery. A creative decision at every step.
- STAGE 1
Brief & Creative Alignment
We read the brief and ask the questions that will save time later. What is the viewer meant to feel in the final second? What story does the product's engineering tell? What is the one thing this film must communicate? We agree on answers before we open any software.
- STAGE 2
Storyboard & Animatic
XO3D produces a storyboard, a shot-by-shot visual plan, and then an animatic: a timed moving version of the storyboard with placeholder audio. This is where creative decisions are made and approved, before a single final frame is rendered. Reviewing the sequence here makes changes visible before final picture and sound are produced.
- STAGE 3
Model, Material & Lighting Development
The 3D model, materials and lighting rig are built and approved. Material and lighting tests are shared at this stage, because this is where the look of the film is decided.
- STAGE 4
Animation, Render & Grade
The film is animated, rendered in Full HD as standard or 4K when the brief calls for it, and graded to a consistent look. Sound design, whether custom composed music or specific sound effects, is integrated at this stage, not added as an afterthought.
- FINAL STEP
Delivery
The master film, the versions agreed in your brief, and all source assets, delivered together. Versioned naming convention to your specification. We do not deliver in stages, we deliver everything, complete, at once.
Where they're used
Where product CGI films are used.
Launch.
Website hero. Product launch events. Paid social (Meta, YouTube). Retailer / marketplace listings. PR and press kits.
Sales.
Trade show screens. Sales deck visual assets. Retail POS displays. Investor and stakeholder presentations. Distributor training materials.
Brand.
Brand film components. Campaign hero content. Executive presentation backdrops. Award submissions. Conference keynotes.
Proof from real briefs
Product launch films XO3D has made.
The G-LAB, Keyz Hydrogen keyboard.
A 40-second launch animation with custom sound design for a compact RGB gaming keyboard, plus cross-channel cuts for web, social and product pages.
Flash Motors, Infinity X.
Two 40-second 4K films for the CES 2024 launch, one of the off-road electric scooter and one of its handlebar controller, used at the show and in social campaigns.
Infinity X scooter launch filmInfinity X controller launch film
Sony WF-C710, for ImageNova.
Two short animated segments for the launch commercial that ImageNova produced for Sony, plus rendered colourways composited into ImageNova's product photography.
AUAR MicroFactory.
A 36-second hero film and 24 stills, delivered within two months for AUAR's website launch.
Nanuskate modular skate ramp.
Launch CGI made before full production: a 71-second launch film with cut-downs for product pages and social, all from one Master Asset.
When a launch film must also explain a mechanism or an assembly, add an exploded sequence: see exploded view and cutaway animation. The production specifications set out formats and planning windows.
The clients
The clients who commission product CGI films.
We work with brand directors, heads of content, marketing teams, and advertising agency producers. Our clients include consumer electronics brands, industrial technology companies, medical device manufacturers, premium consumer goods labels, and start-ups launching physical products before manufacturing is complete. We have made animated segments for the Sony WF-C710 commercial produced by ImageNova, product films used by Petalite to present its technology to global investors, and films used by Flash Motors in premium consumer launch communications. For a construction robotics example, see the AUAR MicroFactory product CGI film.
Premium product animation created to support product storytelling, presentation and launch-stage communication.
- Project
- Sony WF-C710, for ImageNova
- Creative Director
- Thomas Howcroft
- Director
- Connor Hamilton-Smith
- Producer
- Alex Mann
- Software
- Keyshot · Adobe Creative Cloud
- Delivered
- Two short animated segments for the launch commercial
How do you decide what a product launch film should reveal first?
For a product launch film, a lot of the time we need to decide what feeling the viewer needs to feel before they start to see the device reveal, or yeah, what features might be highlighted. Like a shot could be technically polished, but we want to really gain, depending on what the product launch film is for, we want the users to have a feeling about what they're seeing while they're watching the video, to really make an impact on their emotion, so that they remember what they've just seen.
Before you brief
Your programme questions.
How long is a product launch film?
A hero launch film typically runs 30 to 60 seconds and can run to 90. A feature film, for a product with a mechanism to explain or a technology to demonstrate, runs from 90 seconds to 3 minutes. Real launch films from XO3D include the 40-second G-Lab Keyz Hydrogen film, the two 40-second 4K Flash Motors films for CES 2024 and the 36-second AUAR MicroFactory hero film.
Can you make a product launch video before the product is manufactured?
Yes. XO3D builds the film from CAD files, engineering specifications and brand references, so it can be finished before a physical unit is ready to shoot. Nanuskate's launch CGI was made before full production, and the AUAR MicroFactory film and 24 stills were delivered within two months for its website launch.
Is a product launch animation the same as a product launch film?
Buyers use launch video, launch film and launch animation for the same job. Animation names the technique of moving a product and camera in 3D. A launch film is the directed result: a story, an edit, sound and a final grade built around what the audience must understand or feel. XO3D makes the second and uses the first to do it.
How does a product CGI film differ from a product animation?
Product animation describes the technique of moving a product or camera in 3D. A director-led product CGI film has a defined point of view and narrative purpose. The Creative Director decides what each shot communicates, how the product is revealed, how materials and lighting support the idea, and how edit and sound shape the finished experience.
Which campaign formats can be delivered from one film?
The usual campaign set can include a 16:9 master for websites, YouTube and presentation screens, a 9:16 vertical edit for Reels and Stories, a 1:1 square edit and a 4:5 portrait edit. The exact set is agreed before production, and each composition is reviewed for its channel rather than treated as an automatic crop.
How long does a hero product CGI film take to produce?
The production time is set after XO3D reviews the product, source files, story, shot count, duration, variants, review stages and delivery formats. A fixed launch date is planned backwards through brief, storyboard, animatic, look development, production and finishing. The agreed schedule should include client review time as well as the studio's production time.
What should a product CGI film brief contain?
The brief should state the product, audience, launch or campaign goal, central message, required channels, launch date and approval team. Add CAD or technical files, material and finish references, brand guidance, existing campaign direction, mandatory product features, desired duration, required formats and any legal or technical claims that need formal sign-off.
How is the hero film adapted for social and retail?
XO3D plans the agreed aspect ratios before rendering. Where the composition allows it, the main render can include extra canvas space for different crops. Where a crop does not work for a vertical mobile view, a custom camera is needed. The AUAR MicroFactory launch suite shows landscape and vertical versions of the same sequence. Duration, edit, sound and playback requirements are agreed for each placement.
Start the conversation
Have a product that deserves a film made for it?
Tell us what you are working on. We will read the brief, share how we would approach it, and tell you honestly whether we are the right studio for it.
