Schlumberger Sonic Far Field Industrial 3D Animation
Schlumberger Sonic Far Field Industrial 3D Animation
The Client
Schlumberger | SLB
3D Animation
Explainer Video
Product Rendering
2 : 13
2020 Lantern Award Winner
This 3D industrial animation took home the trophy for the B3 Animation (2D or 3D) or motion graphics category at the Houston Lantern Awards in 2020. High quality animation is an obvious way to help drive sales for your high-tech oil and gas tools, but having an award winning 3D product animation opens up so many more opportunities to engage your audience through views, likes, and shares.
What’s the Big idea?
Check it: we made a 3D industrial animation about u 2D technology transitioning to 3D technology. If that’s not peak meta, we don’t know what is. The challenge for this product animation was visualizing elements that the eye can’t see—sonic waves, concentrated data, places where hydrocarbons *might* be present in rock. By creating a light, bright contrast to the below-ground setting, we generated fresh excitement around far-field metrics.
How a 3D industrial animation will make you rich
Explaining complex machinery and processes can be challenging. A 3D animated video goes beyond words and images, showing what’s otherwise impossible. For example, we created a sonic scanner animation for Schlumberger, demonstrating equipment thousands of feet underground.
Customers need to understand how technical products work and their benefits before purchasing. 3D product animation is often the best way to do this.
3D animation makes the story clear and visually appealing, capturing audience attention. Better-than-perfect renders create memorable content, boost audience retention, and enhance brand awareness.
Measureable Results
Step 1: Script & Audio
The script is the lifeblood of your animation. Our technical copywriter turns technical jargon into a compelling story that sells your product, ensuring it captures viewers' attention and keeps watch time high.
We host auditions to find the perfect voice, providing you with a top-five shortlist.
Music is crucial, so we carefully select and edit songs that align with your brand and target audience, providing a unique track for each video.
Step 2: Storyboard
This project is a little different from most of our work of a similar scope. Usually we create hand illustrated storyboards to get the point across without spending too much of your budget too early. This is where ideas get shredded faster than Banksy’s, so we usually work in an easy to change medium – pencil and paper. This project, however, had too many variables to list here that allowed us to cut some corners and jump right into 3D land. Using the approved script, reference images, brand guidelines, and any further direction from the client, the storyboard gives the first glimps into what this story will look like and how it will flow visually.
Step 3: Styleframe
Giving our clients tons of opportunities to get the look they’re after is a huge part of our customer service. In order to make sure the project is going in the correct visual direction without blowing the budget, we make at least one fully realized styleframe to show our clients what the final result will look like.
Step 4: Animation
Now that the prep work is done, we’re ready to animate. The hard part is over, and now the long part begins. This is where we focus and bring your product to life.
You might think: the 90s called and want their graphics back. That’s fair, but trust the process. Blocking in the timing and motion ensures the story feels right.
This is another chance for clients to give feedback on movement and accuracy before we perfect it. Here’s a snippet of the animatic phase.
Step 5: Render and Composit
When the story is solid and the motion feels right, it’s time to hit the “make it beautiful button”. Just kidding, this is a tedious and technical process where fine art meets computer science meets religion.
Our team layers on several passes of renders to make it look better than real. This is the step where your customers start thinking rocks and metal are sexy. The breakdown of this specific animation is under construction, but here’s a peak at all the elements coming together of some of our other projects!
Step 6: Make it Rain
Play this baby at your trade show and get ready to lose some personal space and see the insides of a lot of people’s gaping mouths that you weren’t planning on seeing. With or without a podium, telling your story with us will captivate the attention of your customers and potential customers in person or online.