Business in Vancouver   January 19-25, 1999
Video gives potential clients a Trueview of building designs
Video showcases technology used to create animations of structures
Trueview in the News Jim Watson builds structures with bytes not bricks. His company, Trueview Rendering & Animation Ltd. in downtown Vancouver, creates computer generated three-dimensional animations of designs created by the local architectural and engineering sector. "The technology that I use to create the renderings and animations is fairly new, and it’s not always easy to explain it in something like a press release or a brochure," said Watson. So when he was looking for a way to market his one-year-old company, making a corporate video seemed a natural option. But he didn’t call up one of the many production houses in Vancouver; he decided to make the video himself. He already had Adobe Premier in his library of CD titles and he
decided to use the program’s video editing board to create the marketing tool for his company. The video showcases the technology, taking viewers through animated walk-throughs of completed projects and offering different viewing perspectives. Several of the projects he has worked on, such as the Rogers building in Willingdon Park, feature on the video, giving potential clients an insight into the concept of actually seeing a design "built" on a computer screen. Watson is able to carry out sunlight studies for any typical time of the day or season, which gives designers a better appreciation of how much light and shadow their building will receive. The Trueview video also shows how adding landscaping to the virtual model gives clients a better idea of how their project will impact the environment. While Watson, with his considerable computer skills, did not really struggle to make the video, he is finding the next step in his marketing plan difficult: "The biggest challenge is actually getting people to watch the video – to somehow get them to put it in their VCR and take a few minutes to view it." That’s one of the reasons he kept the video short –it’s just over three minutes long. "I realized that I had to keep the video flowing and changing, and I couldn’t make it too long or people would just switch off halfway through," said Watson. He accepts that the only people who have a serious interest in the advantages of computer-generated illustrations will take the time to view the video: ‘It’s not like a flyer; if it arrives on your desk, you see it. You have to make an effort with a video." To counter this, Watson targets his market very carefully. He only sends the video to people who show interest in receiving it and he always follows up with a phone call to get feedback. Watson said if the person hasn’t watched the video yet, the phone call serves as a gentle reminder.

By Kathleen Freimond

 


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