Commercial
Siemens - iSensoric
art direction
motion
Overview
Siemens' iSensoric campaign demanded more than photography could deliver. I translated high-resolution CAD data into photorealistic CGI built for massive print and digital formats, where every detail had to hold up at scale.
Client
Siemens
Agency
Heimat Hamburg
Team
5 Artists @ Studio SCHOKOLADE
Objective
Siemens aimed to draw widespread attention to their new iSensoric technology. Heimat Hamburg initiated a multichannel advertising campaign that spanned TV, web, and print media. Our team at Schokolade was tasked with creating high-quality, photorealistic CGI animations and images of Siemens fridge-freezers to be used across all platforms of the campaign.
Challenge
While creating photorealistic animations and images is our specialty, handling Siemens' high-resolution CAD models required extensive coordination and guidance between teams. The most significant challenge was producing printable images for building-sized posters. The client needed high-resolution, 300 dpi motifs for large-scale printing at a staggering 25,000 by 25,000 pixels. This requirement was extremely time and resource-intensive for both personnel and hardware. While our standard 3D CGI pipeline easily handles 72 dpi at 4K resolution with 32-bit color depth, scaling up to the required print specifications demanded an innovative and efficient solution—which I was responsible for finding.
Solution
We began by creating the animations to establish the campaign's overall look and feel. Low-resolution renderings were used to define the motifs for print. To tackle the high-resolution printing challenge, I implemented a semi-automated, modular system that rendered high-res, 72 dpi 4K tiles of the motifs. By dividing the massive images into 49 individual tiles, we could render the full 25K by 25K pixel images with acceptable resource expenditure.
This approach offered several advantages: it allowed for sequential and parallel rendering, made it easier to implement client revisions by adjusting specific tiles, and optimized our use of hardware resources. The main disadvantage was the additional steps required to stitch these tiles together and convert their dpi from 72 to 300 before compositing. To ensure a reliable and repeatable process, I created comprehensive documentation detailing how to prepare Siemens' CAD models for production and how to post-process the high-resolution CGI tiles for the print motifs.
Final print motif with graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif with graphic elements
Xray of a print motif without graphic elements
Xray of a print motif with graphic elements
Final print motif with graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif with graphic elements
Xray of a print motif without graphic elements
Xray of a print motif with graphic elements
Final print motif with graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif with graphic elements
Xray of a print motif without graphic elements
Xray of a print motif with graphic elements
Final print motif with graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif with graphic elements
Xray of a print motif without graphic elements
Xray of a print motif with graphic elements
Final print motif with graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif with graphic elements
Xray of a print motif without graphic elements
Xray of a print motif with graphic elements
Final print motif with graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif with graphic elements
Xray of a print motif without graphic elements
Xray of a print motif with graphic elements
Final print motif with graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif with graphic elements
Xray of a print motif without graphic elements
Xray of a print motif with graphic elements
Final print motif with graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif with graphic elements
Xray of a print motif without graphic elements
Xray of a print motif with graphic elements
Final print motif with graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif with graphic elements
Xray of a print motif without graphic elements
Xray of a print motif with graphic elements
Final print motif with graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif with graphic elements
Xray of a print motif without graphic elements
Xray of a print motif with graphic elements
Final print motif with graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif with graphic elements
Xray of a print motif without graphic elements
Xray of a print motif with graphic elements
Final print motif with graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif without graphic elements
detail of a print motif with graphic elements
Xray of a print motif without graphic elements
Xray of a print motif with graphic elements
This documentation, along with initial guidance, enabled junior artists to independently execute the production process for additional animations and motifs. By developing an efficient rendering pipeline and providing clear instructions, we successfully delivered high-quality, photorealistic CGI assets that met the client's demanding specifications for both digital media and large-scale print advertising.
Personal learnings
Problem-Solving and Creativity
Applied a modular rendering system to produce ultra-high-resolution images, overcoming significant hardware and resource limitations.
Documenting and Empowering
Improved in creating comprehensive documentation, aiding in mentoring others and emphasizing the importance of effective communication and leadership.
Balancing Feasibility with Expectations
Gained experience in managing client needs while addressing technical constraints, reinforcing skills in client communication and strategic problem-solving.
