XO3D Studio · Specifications
The standards
behind the image.
The source you can send, what we build from it, how each file is delivered, and the window to plan around. These are the studio's working standards. Where a requirement depends on your product or platform, we agree it against the brief before production starts.
01 · Source data
Start with
what you have.
XO3D accepts a broad range of 3D source files. If you have CAD, STEP is the safest default, and native SolidWorks, Rhino or Inventor files preserve more. If the product exists only as a mesh, FBX or OBJ is easiest for our team to work with and travels well between applications. We confirm compatibility with the actual file at intake rather than promising that every file from every application will open unchanged.
A mesh, scan, drawings or photographs can also be a starting point. Supplied CAD is useful, but it is rarely the final render-ready model. Most projects involve remodelling to give the product a convincing photorealistic form. That remodelling is the work of our 3D modelling services.
There is no universal file-size or assembly limit. We review large or complex source files case by case. The minimum references vary by brief. Drawings, mood boards, material boards and physical samples all help when available; a storyboard helps when your team wants to direct the creative. More information gives us more to work from.
02 · Accuracy
Accurate to
the source.
XO3D builds product geometry to the CAD or drawings supplied for the project. That is what dimensional accuracy means here. It does not mean that we have independently measured the physical product or verified the source data.
There is no studio-wide numerical tolerance. Where the brief needs one, it is agreed for that project.
When CAD surfaces are converted into render geometry, mesh detail is judged for the project and the shot rather than set to a fixed studio-wide density.
Tom checks the product's accuracy at the grey-card stage. Those grey cards then go to your team for approval before the work moves on.
The finished CGI is a visual asset. It is not suitable as a manufacturing or engineering reference; those decisions must use your approved technical source data.
03 · Delivery
Files made for
their destination.
Every delivery is confirmed against your channel, platform and downstream team before production, including format, resolution and naming. If a retailer, printer or platform supplies a particular specification, send it with the brief so we can agree the output against that requirement. To choose render dimensions for the destination, start from the placement and work back to the pixels.
| Item | Current working standard | Agreed at brief | Destination or device constraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| File format | PNG or JPEG | TIFF, when your printer or team requires it | Any retailer, printer or platform specification you send with the brief |
| Size | Around 4,000 pixels on the long edge, for digital use | Larger print sizes | The print size and placement |
| Colour | sRGB for digital stills, Adobe RGB for print, with the colour profile embedded | Bit depth; conversion to your printer's own CMYK profile on request | Your printer's profile |
| Layers | Finals flattened | Layered PSD files or separate render passes, such as shadow and reflection | Your own retouching |
| Backgrounds | As set in the brief | White or transparent backgrounds with a clean alpha channel, the shadow on its own layer, and clipping paths | Product pages and retailer listings |
Colour is matched to the product itself. Depending on what your team can supply, we work from a physical sample of the product or finish, colour references such as Pantone, RAL or brand codes, your material and finish specification, and approved reference photography.
04 · Film and sound
Motion, finished
for its channel.
A film's settings follow where it will run. The standard is the starting point; anything else is agreed at brief.
| Item | Current working standard | Agreed at brief | Destination or device constraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frame rate | 24 frames per second, for a filmic feel | 25, 30 or 60 frames per second | When the destination needs it |
| Resolution | Full HD | 4K | When the brief calls for it |
| Files | ProRes or H.264 | The master and channel versions | Each channel the film runs on |
| Cut-downs | Part of a launch suite, not of a hero film on its own | Social and paid cut-downs | Each social or paid placement |
| Sound and captions | Sound scoped per project; music licensed by XO3D for the agreed usage and channels | SRT or VTT caption files, or burned-in subtitles, on request | The agreed usage and channels |
05 · Real-time and AR
Built for the
device it runs on.
For a web viewer, configurator or AR model, the triangle budget is set by the platform and the devices it has to run on, agreed at feasibility rather than fixed in advance.
| Item | Current working standard | Agreed at brief | Destination or device constraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geometry | GLB with Draco-compressed geometry | The triangle budget, agreed at feasibility | The platform and the devices it has to run on |
| Textures | 2K, with 4K on hero surfaces, as KTX2 | The material and draw-call budget | The target platform |
| File size | Typically around 10 MB or less | The load target | Your own worst-case device |
| Detail levels | Lower-detail versions (LODs) on every real-time build | Set with the budgets above | The target platform |
| AR and handover | USDZ for AR Quick Look on iPhone and iPad, GLB for Android and the web, and a hosted link or QR code | glTF, FBX or OBJ handover of the 3D assets | The form your platform needs |
The load target is agreed against your own worst-case device. Before we commit to an interactive, we confirm the variant count, the platform and devices, hosting and your site's security rules, and whether the source CAD can be optimised for real time.
AR is delivered in the form your platform needs, as set out in the table. The delivery route can be an agreed asset handoff or an experience that XO3D builds; the integration options explain who owns each part.
Before sending the brief
What to send
with it.
Most of the values above are agreed against your project. Send these with the brief, and say which ones are still provisional:
- The source revision you want built, and its date
- Reference dimensions, materials and finishes
- The channels the work will run on
- The file formats each receiving team needs
- The devices any interactive or AR model has to run on
- The deadline, and what it is tied to
- The person who approves the work at each stage
If a value is unknown, name who will confirm it. Discuss a technical brief, or read how integration is owned if the files go into a system someone else runs.
06 · Planning windows
Time to make
the work properly.
These are working ranges, not a delivery promise for an unseen brief. The quality and completeness of the CAD, materials, finishes and colourways at kickoff can change where a project sits within its range.
| Deliverable | Typical window |
|---|---|
| Social content pack from an existing asset | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Stills suite of 8 to 20 images on a studio background | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Web-embedded interactive 3D viewer | 3 to 5 weeks |
| Hero product film, typically 30 to 60 seconds; films can run to 90 seconds | 4 to 7 weeks |
| Technical or mechanism film | 5 to 9 weeks |
| Launch suite of film, stills and social formats | 6 to 10 weeks |
For a launch, approach us at least 10 weeks ahead; allow 16 weeks for a large or complex campaign. With a fixed deadline and fixed client approvals, a 30-second hero film can sometimes be delivered in 3 weeks. That is a compressed route, not our standard recommendation, and it carries quality risk. We will tell you plainly whether the deadline is achievable. Model builds are scoped individually.
The standard proposal includes 3 revision rounds for stills-only work and 4 for video work, with or without stills. For a mixed project, the included rounds are stated in the signed proposal. Review stages and approval owners are agreed before production begins.
07 · Studio pipeline
Built and
directed here.
Cinema 4D is the primary 3D tool across the studio. Houdini supports simulation, advanced motion and technical effects; 3ds Max and Blender are used by specific artists. Redshift is the primary GPU renderer, with Corona as an alternative and KeyShot for packshots only. The colour workflow is usually ACES. Adobe After Effects handles compositing and grade, Adobe Premiere handles sequence assembly, and Frame.io supports client review. Midjourney is used for concept and mood-board exploration only, within the position below.
We run a deliberately limited number of concurrent projects so each keeps named creative direction. If your project needs assets for an existing client pipeline, we scope that handoff case by case.
08 · Generative AI
Where generative
tools sit.
Every asset XO3D delivers is built from your CAD or modelled by hand in the studio, then lit, rendered and graded in our own pipeline.
Generative tools have one place in XO3D's process. At concept stage, before any geometry is built, we sometimes use them the way a director uses a mood board: to explore lighting direction, environment and mood with the team and with you. Those images are references for a conversation. They are not a deliverable, they are not traced, and no part of them reaches a final frame.
That distinction is the whole argument. A frame rendered from a controlled 3D scene can be versioned, corrected, and carried into the next deliverable, and it matches your product because it was built from your product. An image model cannot give you that. We set the reasoning out in full in our guide on CGI versus AI-generated product images.
If your brand requires that no generative tool touches any stage of your project, including concept, tell us at brief and we will work that way.
Related
Where to
go next.
Common questions
Answers before
the brief.
How many revision rounds are included?
Three on a stills project and four on anything including video. Video carries more moving parts, so the extra round covers edit and timing notes that a stills suite never generates. The exact number for your project is stated in your proposal, and rounds beyond the included number are quoted separately.
Which 3D source file should we send?
If you have CAD, STEP is the safest default, and native SolidWorks, Rhino or Inventor files preserve more. If the product exists only as a mesh, FBX or OBJ works across many 3D applications. Send what you have and we will confirm compatibility and any conversion or remodelling needed at intake.
Can you begin without CAD?
Yes. A mesh, scan, drawings or photographs can be a starting point. Most projects need modelling work to make the product convincing in a photorealistic scene, including projects that arrive with CAD. We assess the source before agreeing the build.
What does dimensionally accurate mean here?
The model is built to the supplied CAD or drawings. There is no universal numerical tolerance; any tolerance needed for the brief is agreed per project. CGI is a visual asset, not a manufacturing or engineering reference.
Is a storyboard or physical sample required?
The minimum information varies by brief. Reference drawings, mood boards, material boards and physical samples are useful when available. A storyboard is useful if your team wants to direct the creative. We will tell you what is missing after reviewing the brief.
Which file formats and resolution do stills come in?
PNG or JPEG as standard, at around 4,000 pixels on the long edge for digital use. TIFF and layered PSD files are available on request, and larger print sizes are agreed at brief. Digital stills are sRGB and print stills Adobe RGB, with the profile embedded; CMYK conversion to your printer's profile is available on request.
What frame rate and resolution are films delivered at?
24 frames per second and Full HD as standard, with 25, 30 or 60 frames per second and 4K when the destination or brief needs them. The master and channel versions, ProRes or H.264, are agreed at brief.
Is music licensed, and are captions available?
Where a film uses music, XO3D licenses it for the agreed usage and channels. Sound is scoped per project, and caption files or burned-in subtitles are available on request.
What do you need to know before building an interactive or AR model?
The variant count, the platform and devices it has to run on, hosting and your site's security rules, and the quality of the source CAD. The triangle budget and load target are then set against your worst-case device.
A specific product or platform
Send us the
real constraint.
Share the source material, destination and deadline. We will tell you what the brief needs and which specifications can be agreed before production.
Discuss a technical brief