Innovations: West Allis firm makes 3D animation for presentations

Correctly expressing a conceptual idea during a presentation to people who may or may not follow your line of thinking can be a tremendously difficult task.

Many business presentations are done with drawings, photographs, charts or graphs. In some cases those tools can be used to successfully deliver the message, but in other cases a presenter may be looking for a better way. 

West Allis-based Media Dynamics says it can improve presentations and demonstrations with the use of 3D animation techniques.

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“Our animations have a single purpose, to show or demonstrate something in a concise and very easy to understand way,” said John Platta, partner with the company. “Imagine trying to describe the working parts of a manufacturing machine, or the process involved in removing a tumor from inside a vein wall in your body. That can be difficult. Creating animations that actually show those processes is faster, easier, and often times more cost effective.”

Media Dynamics meets with interested clients and talks with them about what their animation is going to be used for, said Joe McCarthy, director of animation. Once that is determined, the company turns over CAD files that show the components of the product, or sketches, models, and photographs so the animation can be created as close to the actual thing as possible.

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West Allis-based Media Dynamics can create still images like these from 3D animation files created for clients.

“I’ve done animations off of anything from napkin sketches, and ideas in people’s heads to the actual CAD file with the parts and dimensions all right there,” McCarthy said. “Obviously some take longer than others, but we can always create something.”

Once the CAD file or the sketches are made into an animation, McCarthy has the capability to change them to line drawing animations, which look like spec sheets and product demonstrations, or they can add effects that make the product look like a photograph of the real object.

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McCarthy and others at Media Dynamics have done animations for several industries including manufacturing, distribution, health care and others.

“We can make an animation do anything,” Platta said. “And with the economy the way it is, companies across all industries are looking to cut costs and save wherever they can.”

Traditionally, companies would create scale models of products, and design cut outs to show different parts, Platta said. They would then take the product model to presentations and trade shows. Now they can do the same thing with a computer and 3D animation.

“Models can be very expensive to create,” Platta said. “In addition, if one part of the model is changed later on, the company is forced to pay for another updated model to be produced.” Platta said.

Once an animation is created, Media Dynamics has the ability to go back into that file, make changes to the parts, make changes to the color, and even freeze frame animations to create high resolution jpeg images and specs for the company’s own use, Platta said. “It’s a multi-purposing method. Now, instead of making a video, taking photographs, and developing marketing material, our clients can do a 3D animation and have all of those options in the end.”

Media Dynamics has been in business for 16 years, but their staff of eight has really seen popularity growth on the animation side for just the last few years, Platta said.

“I think it has a lot to do with the economy. More and more we are seeing clients invest in a product 3D animation because of the advantages it has long term,” he said.

Companies pay a flat rate depending on the complexity of the animation, but don’t have to pay that rate again if they need to make modifications, Platta said. Clients pay an additional charge for other services, but do not have to pay the expense of reproducing the same animation more than once, he said. 

Click links below to see West Allis- based Media Dynamics  3D animations like these to assist its clients in portraying complicated or conceptual ideas in realistic, easy to understand formats.

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