When you have a ground-breaking idea, or a real estate development project, you may not have the actual product to convince your clients, investors or business partners. Have an idea or an upcoming product in mind? In this post, we will walk you through the process of creating 3D videos, the terms used by video production agencies and how you can prototype and present your ideas with 3D animation videos.

What are 3D videos?

3D videos are videos that use 3D animation techniques. The process is intensive and will often involve tasks like character modelling, rigging, animating, and adding texture and lighting.

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5 Reasons Why You Need 3D Videos
The Industries That Benefit The Most From Using 3D Videos
The Process of Creating 3D Videos
Best Examples of 3D Videos

5 Reasons Why You Need 3D Videos

1. 3D videos can offer more dynamic animation.

Since these videos use 3D animation, they get to display a 3-dimensional space. This means they can provide more depth and dynamic movement compared to 2D animations.

You can have more freedom and creative possibilities to work with which means more dynamic movement and engaging visual storytelling.

These videos can let you show off a mock-up version of a new and upcoming product from all possible angles. They can also highlight important features and give a realistic overview of the experience when using it.

2. 3D videos build your business’ reputation and credibility.

When consumers see that your business can present an idea or a product through high quality 3D videos, this shows that you already have a strong idea of what you want your product to be even if it is just at an early stage.

3D videos are an effective way of showcasing a certain product which may not exist or is still in development because it gets to show off what it looks like when it is finalised.

By creating 3D videos, you are showcasing to audiences what you and your team have done when it comes to the research and development for innovative products that will benefit consumers.

3. 3D videos can offer interactive options for viewers.

Similar to how you can transform 2D animations used in videos into other types of digital and print marketing materials, you can also repurpose animations in 3D videos for interactive options.

You would be able to repurpose 3D models of products featured in an explainer or product video for product pages which can allow customers to interact with the models of the products.

Interacting with 3D models instead of just 3D models can provide a more in-depth overview of your products that is not possible when just showing it in 2D.

4. 3D videos can be reusable down the line.

Another great reason for creating 3D videos is how you can reuse them and your 3D models in other future marketing and branding efforts. You can use these models and resources in the future to potentially modify your video to update it.

When you complete your project, but you don’t have the time to create a video of the final product, your 3D videos can be a fast and cost-effective solution.

5. 3D videos provide your business with a positive return on investment.

Even though 3D videos will require a generally higher budget and longer production compared to 2D animation, these videos will be absolutely worth the cost for your business in the long run.

This is because 3D videos are an effective way to showcase prototypes of new products. This is especially crucial for new business ideas, developments, or design projects that have complex information.

3D videos allow you to communicate more visual information and can make abstract concepts clear and easy to understand through 3D models that will closely resemble what the product will look like in real life.

When consumers have a better understanding of what you are creating and selling, they are more likely to believe in these products and try them out for themselves.

The Industries That Benefit The Most From Using 3D Videos

Here are some of the industries that would benefit the most from using 3D videos for their video marketing strategy and even other parts of their business as well:

1. Technology Products and Services

3D videos are excellent for technology companies. The animations are one of the best ways to showcase the products and services that they provide.

You can say that it should be necessary for these companies to create 3D videos because these are the only types of video that can present their products or services with a modern and futuristic look.

3D animation videos are especially important you can make them for products in development or in beta so that investors, business partners, distributors, and even customers can have a good look at what their product or service will look like in the future.

2. Online and Offline Training

3D videos will make tutorials and explainers easier to understand because it provides a better simulation of how things actually work compared to 2D animations.

Having high quality training content can give training companies a competitive advantage over their counterparts in the industry. This high quality in videos can eventually enable them to offer paid subscriptions for their services.

3. Health and Medical

Companies in the health and medical industries, whether they are startups or established companies, can benefit a lot from having 3D videos and animations.

This is the best type of video animation that can present high-level animations of the activity in human bodies. These videos can illustrate body parts which can describe medical challenges, procedures, or effects of products and services.

3D videos can deliver animation that is accurate and highly-detailed which can be very helpful for medical practitioners and even patients so that they can easily simulate what is happening in someone’s body.

4. Interior Design and Architecture

Introducing 3D videos and models to the interior design and architecture industry is a huge upgrade compared to how they would visualize everything in the past.

Architects and designers can show the exact look of the interior and exterior of something that may be potentially built in the near future.

These can be extremely detailed and can easily bring a project to life so that everyone will have a strong idea of what needs to be done to achieve what is similar to the 3D models.

5. Infrastructure

Companies that focus on creating solutions for areas of infrastructure like roads, energy, transportation, electricity, and other services need 3D videos and animations to demonstrate the processes that they need to do.

3D videos help in visualizing their infrastructure solutions to the people involved in their projects like government officials, business owners, and even private citizens.

Being able to prepare high quality 3D videos for clients can be a great advantage when it comes to improving the quality of a presentation or a bid and can improve the chances of securing programs and projects.

The Process of Creating 3D Videos

Here is the detailed process of creating 3D videos for your business:

1. Deciding on a video concept and crafting an accompanying storyboard and animatic

The production for a 3D video starts with coming up with the concept for the video. Once you have decided on what the 3D video will be about, you can move on to creating the storyboard and animatic for it.

Crafting a storyboard helps visualise your video in two dimensions. So, you can be able to show the visual transitions you can use and the lines to perform through voice overs.

An animatic is a more advanced version of your storyboard and gives a better idea of the motion and timing of the animation sequences that will do in your 3D video.

The animatic helps guide the animator when it comes to planning sequences and knowing how to integrate visual effects into the final video.

2. 3D modeling, texturing, and rigging

Once someone has approved the storyboard and animatic, next comes modelling. 3D modelling is when you build the props, environment, and characters that you will use in your 3D video.

Creating 3D objects requires taking a simple object and extending or growing it into a shape that you can refine or add detail to.

Texturing is the next step which is providing clothing to the created 3D models. Texturing artists are responsible for the shininess, texture, colour, transparency, and reflectivity of the clothing in the video.

Once you are done with texturing, rigging is needed to provide structure into the 3D character models. This is the process that drives the movement of the character to bring it to life.

Rigging is vital before the animation process because it adds the skeleton to the character model so that you can control their movements.

If you want to have a look at how this process usually works, you can check out this time-lapse video of modelling, texturing, and rigging:

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl-f5p0GdP0

3. Animating the models

After all of those processes, you can now begin animating the models. This is the process of getting these 3D objects to move.

Animation is where the animator will manipulate the 3D objects on a frame-by-frame basis. This is the most important and time consuming part of the whole video creation process.

There are a lot of factors to consider when animating for 3D videos like the timing, fluidity of motion, and the expressiveness of the character models. Movements should also be precise and accurate in the video.

The motion that happens in scenes is composed by defining key frames or poses by the models. Once those are defined, the animation software can create the in-between frames which the animator can adjust for the video.

4. Adjusting the lighting and camera settings

Adjusting the lighting of your 3D video is important to create a more appealing and realistic look to all the elements of your video. Lighting lets you control the appearance of shadows and highlights in your video.

Providing great lighting in your video can make your scene more convincing and realistic to the point of it possibly being indistinguishable from a live action video.

Another element you have to adjust to make your video look better is the camera setting that you will use. With 3D videos, you are not limited to using real cameras and have the ability to create one or more cameras and position them wherever you need.

However, just like with real cameras, you should adjust your settings to get the right focal length, depth of field, and visual space for your video.

5. Rendering the elements of your 3D video

Rendering is when you translate all of the information in the files that will make up your shots in the video. So, what will be translated are your sets, colours, and character movements into a single frame of film.

It is one of the most crucial and final steps in the production timeline of your 3D video. Rendering takes all the work that has been done in the previous steps and calculates all the pixels for each frame, based on the materials, models, effects, and lighting.

It is necessary for animators to take care of a lot of these many elements that you will need to create a great final render of a scene. This includes the choice of lighting, reflections, special effects, and camera placement.

6. Compositing and adding special effects

When the renders are done, they can be brought into compositing programs which will edit, touch-up and add special effects to the video.

The process of compositing includes special effects to where objects will evaporate, morph, blow up etc. Compositing also includes the creation of the environment that will be used in the video.

7. Adding audio elements like music and sound effects

Adding music and sound effects for your 3D video provides it with additional depth of emotion and boost in terms of overall enjoyment of the video.

Music helps set the mood that you want to portray in the video so you will need to attach the video with the most appropriate accompanying music.

Creating realistic sound effects is also crucial during this step because good sound effects can make your videos feel more real.

8. Final edits and checks

This step is where the final checks are made to ensure that all the elements of the 3D video are in sync. This is the final step where everything about the 3D video is confirmed before finally delivering it to the client.

Best Examples of 3D Videos

1. Panasonic

Panasonic, one of the most well-known electric global brands, created a 3D explainer video to advertise their 3-blade shavers.

They used 3D models to educate customers about what the product looks like in detail. Because of how specific the product looks, it can give a close-up of how each layer in the shaver looks like.

It also simulated how the shaver works when it is being used and how all the features help in making the shaving process as smooth and clean as possible.

Even without any voice-over, the video was still able to cover a lot of important information about the product due to how detailed the 3D animations look and the text that accompanied it.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZWAK3G4btg

2. Tesco

Tesco, one of the largest companies in the UK, used a 3D animated video for their promotion of their premium credit card.

They had a beautiful and creative 3D video because of how they styled all the elements and scenes. The video is able to smoothly transition from scene to scene while showing different situations where you would use their credit card.

They show how you can spend your points on fuel, food, travel getaways, and even more and you can do this with your family.

You will be able to easily connect with the 3D animations in the video because it helps you paint a picture of what you can do with their credit card.

Video Link: https://vimeo.com/169514161

3. Samsung UArm 60

While Samsung is known to create consumer products like smartphones and other electronic items, they also provide products for the medical industry as well.

The Samsung UArm 60 is a digital radiography product that uses its plates to capture data of inner body parts like the hands, chest, and abdomen in the form of x-ray film.

By watching this 3D video about how the product works, viewers can be able to understand the features that it has like LED light indicators, positioning help, and moving flexibility.

This 3D video is a great time and money saver because it lets healthcare companies have a good look at how it looks and how it works even before buying it.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJIm1ATRa9M

4. Asics

Asics, a Japanese company known for making a wide array of activewear and footwear products, used a 3D video to showcase their MetaRun model.

The 3D video is able to let viewers have an up-close and detailed look of what the shoe looks like not just from the outside, but inside as well.

The accurate 3D model looks almost like the real thing but with the added bonus of visualizing all the internal parts of the shoe that consumers are not able to see like the foam and cushioning that is used in the shoe.

What makes this video more interesting is the motion graphics which rotates the camera angles and the shoe so that you can have a detailed look at the shoe from almost all angles.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUkgYU1DzQU

5. Opple

Opple, a Chinese lighting manufacturer, used a 3D video to display its EQ series Streetlight product. The video is able to highlight all the important features and benefits the light has along with its functionalities.

The 3D model of their product provides additional information about how it works because it is able to show the internal parts that contribute to the success of the product that people will not get to see.

Another great use of 3D technology in this video is that it is used to simulate all the different types of weather that the streetlight can perform in, which is almost impossible to do in real life without it being too expensive to film.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnQUqsnGUSk

6. ThinkPad

Lenovo’s ThinkPad laptop used a 3D video for their product teaser. The video showcases the physical features of the laptop as well as features of the laptop’s system and display.

Because it is a 3D video that uses a 3D model, the video was able to show lots of different angles and movements so that viewers can have different looks of all the important parts of the laptop.

You are able to see close-up looks of the keyboard, touchpad, and also the screen display of the laptop in different views and angles.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6LMTV8CJ28

Hopefully these examples can help inspire you and help prove to you that having well-made 3D videos can bring success to your overall marketing efforts.

If you are interested in having 3D videos for your business, our team at fewStones can help you out by creating them for you.

With fewStones, you will be working with a top video production company that has a dedicated 3D animation team with the experience and success in making 3D videos for clients.

You can check out our website to learn more about our 3D video services along with other services that we offer like 2D animation videos, live action production, and personalised videos. You can also get an instant quote for free on us by clicking here.

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Marketer’s Ultimate Guide to Creating 3D Videos