On February 17th, XO3D featured on BBC‘s “The Apprentice.”
Our directors Alex Mann and Thomas Howcroft both appeared alongside the contestants to assist them with the 3D design and visualisation for the autonomous Pods challenge.
XO3D was approached by the producers to assist them with the Pod project. We were very excited about the opportunity. We were also extremely pleased that they were able to find us through the website due to our successful SEO, validating the work that we are doing in-house and also clearly exhibiting enough quality to have been approached by such a prestigious institution.
To facilitate their requirements on the show, XO3D needed to transport our equipment to set. The production company was generous enough to send a car to collect us, ensuring that we were able to protect all of our gear.
Upon arrival, we quickly set up for the arrival of the contestants, rigging up multiple screens so that we were able to be filmed from many angles, and also while observing COVID-19 measures allow all of the production to be involved.
However, this was just on the day. To prepare for filming, we needed to spend two days before filming ensuring that the Pod 3D model was up to scratch and that we were able to facilitate all of the potential options that the contestants were able to choose from. We set up all the lighting and spent hours texturing the various elements. Some models were sourced from our own library, and others were purchased by the production team.
The most interesting part of the day was learning how much preparation is required when trying to film for TV. This was our first taste of work in this kind of environment, but it is something we hope we would be asked to do again. Although we won’t be adding it to any of our social media, many conversations will now include “as seen on The Apprentice.”
Due to the level of restrictions within the BBC, we were unsure if we would actually have our logo or any recognisable brand shown on the screen. As it turned out, we were very fortunate to get a good amount of air time resulting in a 3x peak on our website traffic for the 2 hours during and after the show. The next day we received a phone call early in the morning with a new enquiry, making us feel that it was a great success. And of course, now we’re on TV.
You can find a link to the episode here below:
Watch BBC “The Apprentice” Series 16 Episode 7
