XO3D Studio · Thinking
Studio essays on the craft of product CGI.
Not blog posts. Not marketing. The arguments, principles and obsessions that shape how XO3D's directors approach the work.
The best CGI is invisible, not because nothing happened, but because everything that happened feels inevitable. Material accuracy carries more weight than camera choreography. A great brief is the difference between a project that ships on time and one that loses six weeks to assumption drift. These essays argue for a particular way of seeing the work. The two newest are Thomas Howcroft's recorded answers to questions buyers ask.
Essays
Five arguments worth your attention.
Each essay is written by the XO3D director closest to that part of the craft. Read in any order.
Configurator Platform or CGI Studio?
Whether to use a 3D configurator platform or commission a CGI studio, who builds the models a configurator shows, why CAD is always remodelled, and three questions to ask before signing.
Thomas HowcroftVFX House or Product CGI Studio?
When a brand should hire a VFX house, when it should hire a specialist product CGI studio, how the live-action handover should work, and three questions to ask either one before signing.
XO3D StudioWhy the Best CGI is Invisible
Not invisible because nothing happened. Invisible because everything that happened feels inevitable, the right light, the right material, the right frame, earning the right response. The argument for refinement as the highest creative form.
XO3D StudioMaterial Obsession
A studio essay on why most renders fail at the material stage, and what it takes to build PBR materials that hold up under any lighting condition the brief throws at them.
XO3D StudioThe Brief We Wish We Got
Our CGI commissions have taught us what a great brief looks like. This essay is what we wish more of them looked like, and the questions we ask when they don't.
Your next project
Find the right starting point.
Explore the studio viewpoint, inspect the work and turn the relevant idea into a decision for your own product brief.
A route to consider
Launch Visuals
A directed launch suite: film, stills and channel versions, scoped around the product story and release plan.
Bring these three things.
- What is your product?
- What does the audience need to understand?
- Where and when will the work appear?
Start with an outline. We review the product, intended outputs and timing before agreeing the production scope.