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Product films, launch visuals and interactive experiences.

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XO3D Studio · Thinking

Studio essays on the craft of product CGI.

Studio perspectives on product CGI decisions, craft and briefing. Choose an essay by the question you are facing.

Two essays are Thomas Howcroft's recorded answers to questions buyers ask: whether to use a configurator platform or a CGI studio, and when a VFX house is the better fit. Three are studio essays on what makes CGI believable, how a material is developed and what a useful brief contains. Together they set out how XO3D prefers to work. Read them as the studio's views, then test each idea against your own product, team and launch.

Essays

Start with your question.

Five essays, each answering one question. The label on each card shows who it is published under. Read in any order.

Thomas Howcroft

Who builds and runs the configurator?

Essay: Configurator Platform or CGI Studio?

When a configurator platform fits and when to commission a CGI studio, who builds the 3D models, why Tom says CAD has to be remodelled for a configurator, and three questions to ask.

Thomas Howcroft

Which specialist fits the job?

Essay: VFX House or Product CGI Studio?

When to hire a VFX house and when a specialist product CGI studio, how a live-action handover should work, and three questions to ask either one before signing.

XO3D Studio

What makes CGI feel believable?

Essay: Why the Best CGI is Invisible

A studio essay on refinement: how camera, light and edit choices can pull attention to the craft instead of the product, and where that is won or lost.

XO3D Studio

How should materials respond to light?

Essay: Material Obsession

How XO3D develops a specific product finish from the references available, and why a generic material preset may not match the real surface.

XO3D Studio

What should a product CGI brief cover?

Essay: The Brief We Wish We Got

The four things that most change a CGI brief, what we ask when they are missing, and the briefing questions we hear most.

See the work. The AUAR MicroFactory case study shows these ideas in one finished project: a director-led film, 360 turntable and launch visuals for a robotic construction system that had not yet been built. For a launch of your own, start with Launch Visuals.

Looking for editorial product imagery?

This page collects written essays. Editorial-style product images, the art-directed stills and films brands use in campaigns, are a different thing. For those, explore product visualisation, see product CGI projects, or compare the two routes in CGI versus product photography.