A nice wintry advert that’s been showing on STV recently.

The original ad that Direct Savings were using showed how loft and cavity wall insulation actually worked, in a particularly dry style. So the idea was to inject a bit of personality and life into the 3d proceedings and not get too wrapped up in the technicalities. Who cares how it works? It’s going to keep your house warm!

File under ‘cheap and cheerful.’

I’ve created a lot of 3d maps over the years and it’s always difficult thinking up fresh ways of presenting them. This one for Connoisseurs Scotland uses a similar technique to the one I built for Cairn Energy earlier this year, complete with fluffy clouds.

The idea was to present a selection of venues represented by Connoisseurs Scotland as the finest luxury spots Scotland has to offer, and locate them generally on the map.

This was used as part of an overall presentation for the group to promote Scottish hospitality. Which actually does exist.

If you’re reading this two years from now, you might be wondering what the fuss is about. Html5 is standard isn’t it? Well at the time of writing, Html5 is far from standard. It’s brand new and still has lots of issues. And one of the biggest is – how does Html5 handle video?

An explanation for non-techies. To date, video on the web has been dominated by Flash. But with Apple’s announcement that Flash would not be supported on the Ipad, it became clear they are trying to force the issue on the idea of an alternative.

For people like me who produce a lot of web video, there’s no simple answer as to how to encode clips that will satisfy both the older browsers like Internet Explorer and newer ones like Chrome. At this point, both support Flash but only the newer ones can handle Html5. So you could carry on using Flash for a while, but once they start actively dropping support for it, as in the case of the Ipad, you need to start looking at alternatives.

So the unusual thing about the video above is not its content, but the fact that it will play in any browser you choose, including the Ipad. The way that you see it is dependent on the browser you’re using. If I’m wrong and it doesn’t work for you, please let me know. And let’s see where we are in two years time.

To see how the video plays on your mobile, scan the image below to view this post in your smartphone:

Goal line technology is a hot topic in sports circles as accuracy in goal decisions is vital. This simple animation illustrates a not-so-simple piece of electronic gadgetry that could make any such difficult decisions a thing of the past.

Bob Jamieson developed the ‘Superpuck’, an ice hockey puck with a tiny electronic chip inside (currently shortlisted for a John Logie Baird Award for innovation). The technology clearly had implications for other sports and is now attracting interest from FIFA, the international governing body of football. See the Superpuck website for the full story on Goal Line Technology.

The idea of the 3d animation was to show in under a minute what it could take ten minutes to communicate verbally, and to a potentially non-English speaking audience. The three elements involved are clear – the electronic chip, the sensor strip around the goal and the decoder box. Watch this space.

This is a screengrab from SimVenture, the award-winning business simulation game which teaches business skills to budding entrepreneurs. I was asked to create the 3d environment for the game’s interface where each of the main items in the room links to a particular area of the player’s hypothetical business.

My first attempts were described by the client as ‘not messy enough,’ so I tried to make it look more like a home-based start-up, complete with clutter.

It’s a static environment at the moment, but as it was designed in 3d, the next stage of the game would build in an animated interface.

For a free demo of the game visit the SimVenture website.

This is an excerpt from LA Media’s excellent corporate presentation for the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. At one point in the script there was a need to show the centre’s close proximity to all Edinburgh’s main landmarks and most thriving tourist spots, so I was asked to create this whirlwind tour of the city. In terms of geography, it’s actually reasonably accurate!

To close the presentation I created the fairly simple but effective animation of the EICC logo with it’s square-set forms and letters.

This 3d animation formed the backdrop to a corporate awards ceremony held in Lisbon. The client was looking for a lifestyle piece that would provide an overall theme for the event and give a chilled out tone to the proceedings. I used these 2d illustrations and placed them in a 3d environment, adding some specifically 3d design tricks such as pool reflections and mirrorball lighting.

Standard Life’s headquarters in Edinburgh was to undergo some interior design changes and this animation, showing a part of the building’s first floor, would help to visualise them. To ensure accuracy, I was given the architect’s plans for the building as reference. Even the carpet was ‘sampled’ from a photograph of the original.

The EICC is a regular Scottish venue for events such as this one. This was a case where the client needed to see how the space would look with all the branding elements in place. They also wanted to contruct a false wall at the entrance of the main foyer area, which had cost and lighting implications. These are things best visualised with 3d design before spending a lot of money.