Businesses that incorporate video marketing into their overall marketing strategy see higher engagement rates, high click-through rates & higher conversion rates.
Video Marketing Continues to Grow
Demo videos are great ways to take your marketing & sales strategies to the next level. Using a state of the art rendering farm, QA Graphics’ talented 3D modeling team can transform your photos, existing graphics, schematic designs, or ideas into incredible promotional videos to capture your audience.
We can bring your business to life with our high-end graphics, 3D animations and voice-over capabilities.
Trustworthy
58%of consumers consider companies that producevideo contentto be more trustworthy.
ROI
52%of Marketing Professionalsworldwide name videos as thetype of content withthe best ROI.
Traffic
74%of all internet traffic in2017will be from video.
When Neil Ferrier “Chief Conspirator” of Discommon Goods, a luxury design brand, presented a unique opportunity to QA Graphics; an exciting business venture was born. Ferrier sought out the Iowa-based design firm, seeking a 3D marketing video with an animated exploding view of their newest product, a Dual Tank Whiskey Flask. The final 3D rendered video was amazing and served as a distinguishing supplemental marketing tool, emphasizing every ornate detail and texture of the Dual Tank Whiskey Flask from multiple perspectives in a digital space.
The Flask was truly a special and exciting project for QA Graphics’ team and a fantastic way to showcase the design team’s diverse skills and talents for sales and marketing applications. As an original design collaboration between Discommon and two other unnamed international luxury brands, the digital replication and details of the product were of the utmost importance. Using QA Graphics’ state of the art rendering farm, QA Graphics’ 3D design team brought to life photos, CAD images, video clips, and schematic designs into an incredible, attention grabbing, animated 3D graphic representation; leaving Ferrier only to say, “Unreal. You have seriously blown me away. The video looks incredible.” – Which means a lot coming from a designer whose company prides themselves on product differentiation, luxury quality, and the product experience.
To market and advertise a unique and luxurious product, such as the Dual Tank Whiskey Flask, in a visual and virtual world, collaboration with an equally unique and visual design team is only fitting. The uniqueness of the project allowed the QA Graphics team “to explore new design trends and show the world what we are capable of,” said the design team. – View the flask video here http://bit.ly/2qauYaf.
Download the Project Spotlight PDF version HERE for more information and pictures.
Project Spotlight: Site Maps, Exterior Renderings, Fly Through Video, Floor Plans, and Future Capabilities
QA Graphics recently was granted the opportunity to work with another local company, D.R.A. Properties L.C. from Ankeny, Iowa.
D.R.A. Properties L.C. is an Ankeny, Iowa-based real estate development company founded by Ankeny native, Dennis Albaugh. Albaugh took his first steps into real estate in 1992, with the goal of wanting to create a positive impact on his hometown of Ankeny, Iowa. Mr. Albaugh is also CEO and owner of the globally known agriculture chemical company, Albaugh, LLC which is recognized as the largest wholly-owned formulator and packager of crop protection products in the industry.
The first steps for the Prairie Trail project in Ankeny was awarded to D.R.A. in 2005. Prairie Trail is the first community in the state of Iowa to embrace the concept of New Urbanism development which cultivates with diverse and distinctive homes, neighborhood stores, offices, schools, and parks. This walkable development boasts more sidewalks and trails to connect the entire development to the City of Ankeny. At 1,031 acres, this planned urbanism community is built on the tradition of Iowa’s great neighborhoods. With the metro city as one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S., Prairie Trail is in the center of it all.
“We (QA Graphics) typically do most of our work nationally and saw this opportunity to work locally, wanting to showcase our complete commercial building skills, start to finish, to the surrounding area,” said Dan McCarty, Owner of QA Graphics an Ankeny native.
QA Graphics provided a full design solution for D.R.A., enhancing the visibility of The District. Utilizing their award-winning 3D design team and state of the art 3D technology, QA Graphics provided a versatile design tool which will be used for multiple marketing and presentation opportunities.
Using 3D design will enable potential tenants to view the property with photo-realistic views to aid in the decision-making process and on-site selection for the potential build site. QA Graphics used many existing assets from the development process including Revit files, ariel maps, and civil design topography. The final product will allow anyone wanting to see The District in an accurate 3D perspective including business and potential growth of the development.
This leads to the following services that QA Graphics provides:
Site Map
QA Graphics worked with D.R.A. to provide a full 3D rendering of an overall view of the targeted area The District. This overall view will be used to show potential clients and builders the possibilities for site selection. Several different types of sitemaps were created, depending on the various marketing needs. The one pictured above consist of The District as it stands today with three potential buildings added in. This particular sitemap also contains “ghost” images of mock buildings to represent potential site locations. D.R.A. can use images like this for a variety of areas such as: showcasing to potential clients the area, helping the residents view the potential district for public voting on a bond referendum for future public facilities, or marketing and sales materials to name a few.
QA Graphics also provided 3D exterior perspectives of the existing buildings in photo-realistic 3D, providing D.R.A. with multiple angle or view of those buildings.
Exterior Renderings
QA Graphics worked with D.R.A. and their architectural firm to provide photo-realistic 3D exterior perspective renderings of over 120,000 square feet of the prime retail/office space. The local architecture firms provided Revit wireframe models which allowed QA Graphics to model them accurately with a higher amount of detail. Giving the sitemap even more of a dynamic look and feel, just as if you were viewing Prairie Trail in person.
Fly Through Video
Fly through videos are creating a virtual environment. Their purpose of being created is to market a property development to secure future tenants or showing the public future proposed public buildings. A fly-through of The District was a key option that D.R.A. wanted to be developed for these exact purposes. Bringing the development to life to help sell the vision for this first of its kind neighborhood.
These materials can be easily created into a general fly through video of The District or a 360° panoramic view to use in presentations as the graphics are already in place. Graphics enhancements like these will truly aid customers who are unable to visit the physical site to have an excellent experience of the site and feel of the area.
Floor Plans
D.R.A. also wanted accurate 3D renderings of specific building floor plans based on the tenants need. This provides a realistic look at what their building and space might look like. The client provided the construction document of the buildings to create the detailed information for the project, as this is a quick process for QA Graphics to complete.
Future Capabilities
QA Graphics has become a one-stop graphics shop for commercial buildings over the last ten years. This provides opportunities for our clients to continue to take the assets we have already created for them and allow us to provide even more deliverables for marketing materials. A future option QA Graphics can provide for projects like DRA includes a digital kiosk. This is a highly customizable option that can work with the sitemap and assets already created. The kiosk can host interior fly through to showcase tenant’s use of space, acting as stopping points along the sitemap.
HVAC graphics such as floor plans and site maps can even be created to assist Facility Managers with utility locations such as storm sewer, lighting, ductwork, etc. These graphics will allow the relationship between the site and building automation software controlling those buildings. Creating a holistic view that ensures all items associated with your facility are cohesive and well maintained. These are several options that numerous clients are taking to bring their materials to the next step and just a few of QA Graphics capabilities and areas of expertise. For an area like The District and many commercial building locations, options like mentioned above can bring life to the site and market the neighborhood as a whole. The process of creating a 3D image is complex and requires a lot of skills and decisions to be made. Many details need to be adjusted in making The process of creating a 3D image is complex and requires a lot of skills and decisions to be made. Many details need to be adjusted in making
These are several options that numerous clients are taking to bring their materials to the next step and just a few of QA Graphics capabilities and areas of expertise. For an area like The District and many commercial building locations, options like mentioned above can bring life to the site and market the neighborhood as a whole. The process of creating a 3D image is complex and requires a lot of skills and decisions to be made. Many details need to be adjusted in making an object appear realistic. D.R.A. was able to quickly see the power of 3D, along with the timeliness and quality of service QA Graphics can provide to their potential customers.
QA Graphics is a leader in the building automation and green building industries. The company specializes in HVAC graphic development services, system graphics, floor plan graphics, and Energy Efficiency Education Dashboards™ (EEEDs). Since 2006, QA Graphics has served as an expert design resource for the building controls industry and is able to provide BAS graphics for any type of building automation. The company also provides marketing solutions such as interactive applications, 3D design and animation, UX design, videos, and more. Visit www.qagraphics.com to learn more.
D.R.A. Properties L.C. is an Ankeny, Iowa-based real estate development company founded by Ankeny native, Dennis Albaugh. Albaugh took his first steps into real estate in 1992, with the goal of wanting to create a positive impact on his hometown of Ankeny, Iowa. Mr. Albaugh is also CEO and owner of the globally known agriculture chemical company, Albaugh, LLC which is recognized as the largest wholly-owned formulator and packager of crop protection products in the industry. Visit www.prairietrailankeny.com/dra-properties/ to learn more.
The following provides background information on the various steps that are taken by QA Graphics’ 3D Modelers to complete a project such as D.R.A.’s Prairie Trail expansion. Each step is as important as the next to create an image that is both convincing and the best quality for our customers.
To view the fly through video of the completed project click HERE.
1. Export & Import Existing Files
Once the initial consultation is done and the scope of work is given, QA Graphics collects the wireframe of the building models that the Architect has already created to export from their Revit files and import into Cinema 4D. The wireframe file is made up of all sorts of shapes, lines (straight and curved) in many sizes and combination to create the image. If the Architect does not have these files already created QA Graphics also has the skill to create their building models from scratch.
2. Clean & Optimize
When a 3D file comes from a CAD program like Revit or AutoCAD, the program generates lots of detailed geometry and shapes that are not always necessary to create lifelike renders. Reducing the geometry and optimizing the existing 3D files helps to increase performance and reduce the time it takes for the computer to generate images. An example would be removing the interior parts of an object that would remain unseen in the final product.
3. Creation & Application of Textures
In order for a 3D render to look convincing, it needs to have accurate/appealing materiality. The material of an object is significant because it can embody anything from the soft, green leaves of a tree to the cold, gritty surface of a brick wall. Materials and textures can be created from photographs of different surfaces or created from scratch. The textures are then repeated across the surface of a 3D object and tested under different lighting conditions to be sure they behave accurately. This infuses your graphic with life bringing vividness, warmth, and beauty to the end result. If one is off, it shatters the whole illusion of reality.
4. Virtual Landscaping
Using carefully created files from the architect/planner, the environment is created in which buildings and objects will later be placed. Grassy areas, sidewalks, roads, and parking lots are laid out and textured in a manner similar to that of the buildings to create a virtual landscape to make an image look “real”.
5. Setting the Scene
Once the majority of the landscape is laid out, each 3D building is placed into the environment according to architectural drawings. More detail is added to the scene such as bushes, trees, and a light pole to give it more life and complement the buildings and structures. Accurate lighting is added to the scene and adjusted to make use of light and shadow in creating eye-catching compositions giving our image more height, width, and depth.
6. Animating with Purpose
What you see in the 3D virtual world has to make sense from one scene to the next. When animating any object, it’s important to think about how things behave in the real world. We expect a high degree of realism in everything we see. If things don’t animate the way viewers expect, they might sense that the motion is too jarring and could lose their suspension of disbelief, from lighting to perspective, to blurring an object.
An example of this is a vehicle attempting to stop. When the driver applies the brakes, it doesn’t immediately stop. It gradually begins to slow as the brakes try to stop the mass of the vehicle. By the time it reaches the stopping point, it is moving at a snail’s pace. Motion blur is often added to an animation to convey fast movement. This helps smooth any jarring transition between frames of animation relaxing the viewer’s eye and allowing it to focus on the content.
7. Previewing and Rendering
As each area is created, it’s important to preview it by doing quick “test-renders” to see how the computer calculates what will be shown on the screen. These renders are not the final product so they will often be of significantly lower quality and take much less time. The arrangement of elements, lighting, materials, and composition all come together in these previews allowing for fine-tuning and finishing touches. Sometimes these can be useful for showing to the client and getting feedback in return. A scene can undergo many changes before it reaches finality.
8. Delivery to customer
All the factors we’ve discussed so far are decisions to be made and details to be modeled inputting a 3D image on the screen to appear and move realistically. The finished product creates a nice piece for the client to use as they choose.
QA Graphics, a full-service digital design company, is a recipient of a Gold Hermes Award in the Marketing Product category for their Dual Tank Whiskey Flask video. To view the video visit: https://youtu.be/sEmiaf2yj94. The Hermes Creative Awards recognizes outstanding work in the marketing and design industry, with winners selected from over 6,000 entries worldwide.
QA Graphics has over a decade of experience in 3D design and animation. By working with QA Graphics, Discommon Goods gained a video to be used as a tool in their marketing efforts that showcases their unique product design. Demonstrating the complexity and every detail of the flask, down to the exploding view of it’s156-components. This project allowed QA Graphics 3D Design team to demonstrate their vast talents and values in quality.
The Hermes is an international competition, recognizing outstanding achievements by creative professionals involved in the concept, writing, and design, of traditional materials, programs, and emerging technologies. Winners are selected from 195 categories grouped under advertising, publications, marketing/branding, integrated marketing, public relations/communications, electronic media and pro bono. AMCP judges are industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry.
