Wag The Dog Case Study
Exciting interactive 3D content is available for the Web!
Great, so why can't we name more than a handful of sites making use of this technology?
Perhaps because today's web designers don't have the time or inclination to learn complex 3D design packages, or small design teams can't afford the rates that 3D modelling artists charge for their work.
Whatever the reason, FuturLab are embracing 3D the way graphic designers first embraced images on the text-only web. We'll go the extra mile just to get more 3D content into our designs.
In a bid to spread the word, we present our case study for a successful project we recently completed. Our client, a global design firm and marketing company, took a whole new approach to their marketing strategy after witnessing first hand the possiblities of web 3D.
This entire project was taken from concept to completion in under one month, and represents just how much can be done when the right tools and talents are united.
The Brief
Our client required a dynamically branded presentation showing the mundane lives of the central characters transformed by a new product.
This product, which shall remain secret, needed different branding for each targeted viewer. We agreed that a unique ID would be stored in a database, enabling a client to draw the required content from the database after receiving the unique ID.
They presented a storyboard which showed three main characters, a car journey, a petrol station, a blasting rocket, and plenty of comedy moments squeezed into the two minute presentation, followed by the aforementioned dynamically branded product.
They originally planned to have the scenes played out with traditional hand-drawn animation. However, with a timescale of only one month before the first showing was planned, it would have taken several teams working around the clock to get the results they needed.
We recommended they consider using 3D scenes rendered to vector format instead of the time consuming intracacies of hand drawn animation. They were skeptical to say the least, but after seeing our work, they were excited, and agreed on a budget and timescale.
A few changes were made to the storyboard to make use of the freedom 3D affords, and we began modelling the objects and characters.
Modelling Objects and Characters
3D modelling is a complex and time-consuming process, requiring a great deal of time spent in preproduction, modelling all the Objects and Characters and creating skeleton structures to enable realistic movements when animated.
However, once the models are built, the rest of the animation process is faster and easier to manage than traditional hand drawn methods.
For example, it's much quicker for a 3D animator to supply a design team with a close-up of a hand in a particular pose, than it is for a concept artist to draw the hand in the required pose, and then finalise the design ready for use.
This screenshot shows an early version of the car used in the final movie. At this stage, we exported the model to an interactive presentation format for the client to examine.
Building the Scenes
Although it is necessary to build and animate most of the characters in the 3D world, each scene must be dissected and reassembled once in vector format.
Scenes like this one are very high on filesize because of the sheer complexity of the graphical detail. Once scenes are rendered as vector, they must be stripped of any static content (eg. backgrounds), and optimised using various techniques to minimise the amount of visible detail.
This is because vector graphics retain their complexity even when the objects are resized to miniscule proportions. You can zoom in on the scene to see that all the details are still there. This adds a lot to the file sizes, and overall download time.
With all the models built and scenes animated and optimised in vector, the next step was to add the sound and develop the database connectivity; collecting data at the beginning of the movie, and pulling dynamic content from the database.
Confidentiality and Dynamic Content
Our client had a global patent application on the new product, so required strict confidentiality to only those who agreed to the terms and conditions of use; asserting that all viewers agree not to share or plagiarise the idea.
For this we created a countdown rocket launch sequence, emphasising the importance of what was to come, but also encouraging viewers to confirm and accept the terms and conditions as soon as possible.
This data was collected on the server, and the IP address of all viewers logged and dated.
By confirming identity using a password received by each viewer, a connection to the database was made to select the relevant branding for the product.
The effect was that of a presentation specifically tailored to the viewer's organisation.
The Final Presentation
The project was completed and online ready for the first presentation exactly one month after the initial meeting.
Our client is overwhelmed with the difference this presentation has made to their marketing campaign.
You can read their comments here: Wag The Dog Testimonial
Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, the product is still a secret, so we cannot show any more of the presentation.
If you or your company would like to know more about what is possible with interactive 3D, or would like to commission us for any web based project, then please call us on 0870 770 7167 or use the Contact Page provided.
