THE CLIENT
Founded over five decades ago, QSC is a globally recognized leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of high-performance audio, video and control (AV&C) products including the Q-SYS™ Platform, power amplifiers, loudspeakers and digital mixers. Uniquely leveraging a broad range of technologies located under one roof, QSC products outperform the sum of their parts by delivering reliable, scalable and flexible solutions for installed, corporate, portable, production and cinema customers worldwide.
THE OBJECTIVE
QSC wanted to updated their existing and upcoming product portfolio with computer generated images and the TouchMix 30 (TM30) was the pilot engagement for us. What makes this project different than most other projects is the fact that QSC wanted the ability to generate images and animation themselves. So the task at hand was to produce 3D assets that are ready to go and can be used by the QSC's internal 3D team.
Because of the above requirements this project was not focused on producing final images but rather the final assets that can be reused. As such, much of the development time went into preparing the models and shaders so that they were consistent in various different lighting scenarios that the QSC team might throw at them.
To ensure a consistent look I have internally developed a set of lighting scenarios which have been used for mock up purposes. The studio versions of these mock ups can be seen in the gallery on this page.
QSC wanted to produce product ads and presentations with a bigger impact hence the move to CGI. This was a pilot engagement for them in order to assess the viability of having CG product shots and advertisements. The TM30 pilot project impressed not only the creative leads but also the management and so we continue working together, producing CG images to this day.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
A lot of care went into assuring the computer generated models (which were derived from CAD data provided by QSC) look as good as possible. Some parts hard to be remodeled in order to ensure proper topology for shading purposes.
While we definitely wanted to have these be realistic, we also wanted them to have a pristine, almost unrealistic fresh look. Ultimately, it was a strong balancing act. To achieve that we used slightly more saturated and "contrasty" colors for all the materials on the mixer. Elements that naturally get some wear and tear from oxidation and similar effects were treated with just the slightest discoloration but have kept the usual bumps and scratches that are common for them.
QSC was kind enough to provide me with the actual physical retail unit and so the process of translating real material properties over to their CGI counterparts was faster and had better results overall. Still, creating a balancing act between realistic and pristine required effort and time.
As a general style, I opted for a more contrast rich, slightly bleached modern look. Since the actual hardware is cutting edge I wanted the images to reflect that with a more aggressive look.
MOCK UP RENDERS
These are the images developed internally while preparing the assets, shaders and different lighting scenarios. They server as example renders, something that the QSC's internal 3D team can use as a starting point.
MOCK UP 360 INTERACTIVE TURNTABLE
Turntables are increasingly popular for detailed product showcases. The mock up presented below is a quick rendition of what QSC's team might be able to do with the files I have provided them.
BEHIND THE SCENES
A really small glimpse into the behind the scenes. Software that was used for this project was: Cinema 4D with Corona Renderer (BETA), 3ds Max with Corona Renderer, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Photoshop. The animations were rendered locally on a single workstation which consists of dual Xeon CPUs 2696v3, 64GB of RAM and a bunch of storage space.
