The tool that we come back to the most is our Final Cut setup, which combines Final Cut and Shake. That’s where projects start and end. When we initially sketch and rough out the structure of the project, it happens through Final Cut. As we work on a project and pieces are finished or up for review, we start to place these pieces in the project and render it out.

We’ve found that daily reviews are helpful, even though it’s a lot of work. It keeps everyone on the same page, both internally and with the client. For instance, right now with the Target project, we’ve been updating the project with all the renders on a day-to-day basis. We can check them against the rest of the edit, the music, the consistency of the color, everything. Final Cut is our most critical, critical tool.

Cinema 4D is also coming into play more for the CNC work we do. That’s another type of software that wasn’t so much on my radar, but it’s becoming more and more incorporated into our studio.

I normally work on the base part of the project with CAD software called ArchiCAD, which was designed for Mac. We use ArchiCAD to design the project, then send stuff to MaxonForm, which is a Cinema 4D program designed for ArchiCAD, so you can go back and forth between them.

We’re also doing stuff with Maya that we export into Cinema 4D, and then finally put the whole project together in ArchiCAD. We’re rendering a lot with Artlantis Studio, and we’ve also been trying out Maxwell. We do a lot of Flash for presentations as well.

 

3D Portraits: Architecture Meets Animation

By Elise Malmberg

Rojkind and Rosenthal are constantly immersed in multiple, varied design projects. Rojkind recently created and built an ambitious façade for Nestlé’s chocolate factory in Toluca, Mexico, and is now working on strategies to enhance other Nestlé plants. His firm is currently refurbishing a 100-room hotel in Mexico City, and collaborating with urban planner Arturo Ortiz on the master plan for a major agricultural fair in Irapuato, Mexico. Rojkind’s work is also up for review in several international architectural competitions, including one for a mixed-use tower complex in Dubai and another for a large cultural and educational center in the Middle East.

Meanwhile Rosenthal, her partner Jesse Seppi, and their colleagues at Tronic Studio are wrapping up a massive public media installation for Target in Dallas, which merges live action and CG content on eight programmable 25-foot LED screens. A new TV spot they’ve created for Subaru brings to life a series of still photos. They’re also working on a series of all-CG anime shorts. And as the design firm for Wired Magazine’s annual NextFest, Tronic is responsible for the event’s architecture, branding, and signage.

When these two 3D experts met, they had plenty to share about their work, their tools, and their views on the future of architecture and design.

Michel Rojkind: Today it’s hard to imagine a company that works in design and doesn’t present at least some things in a 3D environment.

Vivian Rosenthal: Exactly. I don’t see how they could compete or keep up without it.