XO3D Studio
Product CGI Films.
Director-led films that make your product impossible to ignore.
We produce product films 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
Planning your brief
Updated
What is a director-led product CGI film?
A director-led product CGI film is a product story built in 3D with one named Creative Director accountable for the idea, camera language, materials, lighting, edit, sound and final frame. It is more than an animated model. The film is planned around what the audience must understand or feel, then developed from CAD files, engineering specifications and brand references through a storyboard, animatic, look development and structured review stages. A master film can become a coherent campaign set across landscape, vertical, square and portrait formats without changing the visual direction. Brands use these films for product launches, websites, retail displays, paid media, trade shows and investor presentations, including before a physical product is ready to film. 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 we produce 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.
What a product CGI 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
We produce 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. Changes here cost nothing. Changes after render cost significantly more.
- 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 at 4K, 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
Master 4K file, all platform-optimised formats, and all source assets. Delivered simultaneously. 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.
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 product films used by Sony in global marketing campaigns, by Petalite in international investor roadshows, and 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 Launch Film
- Creative Director
- Thomas Howcroft
- Director
- Connor Hamilton-Smith
- Producer
- Alex Mann
- Software
- Keyshot · Adobe Creative Cloud
- Delivered
- 4 × 4K product launch animations
Before you brief
Your programme questions.
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 master and its derivatives as one campaign system. Shots are selected or recomposed for landscape, portrait, square and vertical viewing, with timing adjusted to the placement and message. Retail loops, product-page films and social edits use the same approved model, materials, grade and sound language, while respecting each channel's duration and playback conditions.
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.