Before You Brief the CGI

Most problems in visualisation projects do not come from the rendering.

They come from timing, information, feedback, late changes, unclear decision-making, and assumptions nobody realised needed discussing.

Visualisation is one of those disciplines where the people commissioning the work and the people producing it can end up speaking slightly different languages. Clients often have questions they are not sure how to ask — and assumptions about process, timing and cost that do not always match the reality.

So this week is a practical one: the questions we get asked most often before a CGI, animation or architectural film begins.

What Do You Need From Us to Get Started?

The short answer is: whatever you have.

We can begin from early-stage 2D drawings — plans, elevations and sections — and we increasingly work from architects’ Revit models, although these usually need optimising before they are ready for visualisation.

Landscape drawings are useful early too, because planting and soft landscaping take time to model properly.

The more complete the information, the more efficient the process. But it does not all need to be perfect before a conversation starts.

We have been doing this since 1998, which means we have learned to work from almost anything — occasionally including something not far removed from a sketch on the back of an envelope.

That level of flexibility is not universal, so it is worth asking any visualisation studio what they need before they can begin.

The Design Is Not Finalised Yet. Can You Still Start?

Yes, to a point.

We can begin 3D modelling from early-stage drawings, and photography can often be commissioned independently of where the design has reached.

That can be useful. Starting early buys time — particularly for photography, where the right weather, light and season cannot always be scheduled around a deadline.

The risk is that significant design changes after modelling has started may require parts of the model to be rebuilt.

A good visualisation process is less about avoiding change altogether and more about knowing when change becomes expensive.

It works best when the overall form and massing are reasonably settled, even if the detail is still evolving.

What Is the Process?

The process exists to catch decisions before they become expensive.

For still images, it broadly works like this.

We build a 3D model from the design information. Once it is sufficiently developed, we agree the views: the angles, context, camera height, time of day and what each image needs to communicate.

Photography of the site and surroundings is commissioned in parallel where required.

Once that is done, we camera-match the 3D model to the photographs, produce the first draft, and issue it for comment. A second draft — often the final — follows, and once that is signed off, the finished images are issued.

For animation and film, there is an additional stage before rendering begins.

We produce a storyboard first: a static sequence showing what the film will cover and in what order.

Once that is agreed, we create an animatic — the storyboard set to a rough timeline, with any voiceover or narration, so the pacing and structure can be checked before production starts.

Only once the animatic is approved does full rendering begin.

Those early stages exist for a reason. They are there to avoid expensive rework later.

When Can Changes Be Made?

Earlier is always better.

The view agreement stage is one of the most important decisions in the whole process. A lot of the work that goes into finishing an image is specific to that particular viewpoint.

If the camera position changes after that work has been done, some of it has to be redone. It can usually be accommodated, but it has a cost.

The useful analogy is construction.

Once we have design drawings, we build to them. If the design changes, we rebuild the parts that changed — and that has a knock-on effect on everything completed since.

The ideal is to have designs as resolved as possible before production starts, but we are used to working with evolving information.

It just helps to know what might change, and when.

How Long Does It Take?

As a rough guide, still images are often two to six weeks.

Animation and film are more commonly six to twelve weeks.

The range depends on the complexity of the scheme, the number of outputs, whether photography is required, how developed the design information is, and how quickly decisions are made.

Both assume a reasonably smooth approvals process.

Slow feedback rounds extend timelines on any production.

What If We Need It Faster Than That?

Compressed timelines are something we can often accommodate, but it is worth being clear about what that means.

Rushing the early stages — particularly view agreement and photography — tends to create problems later that take longer to resolve than the time saved.

A tight programme works best when decisions are made quickly and feedback comes back consolidated and promptly.

The timeline is rarely just about production capacity. It is about how the whole process runs on both sides.

If a hard deadline is fixed, tell us at the start. We can work backwards from it and be honest about what is achievable.

How Much Does It Cost?

This is the question we are most often asked and least able to answer without knowing more.

Cost is driven less by the word “CGI” and more by what the image needs to do.

A single planning image has a different brief from a hero marketing image for a launch campaign. A short teaser film has a different requirement from a full architectural film. A basic massing view is not the same thing as a fully populated internal visual with furniture, people, lighting, landscaping and surrounding context.

The main drivers are usually:

• number of views or length of film

• complexity of the architecture

• amount of modelling required

• photography and site context

• level of finish

• programme

• intended use

What we would always say is that it is worth having the conversation before the brief is written, not after.

How Do We Get the Best Out of Feedback?

The single thing that most affects the quality of a final image — beyond the technical work — is how feedback is structured.

When comments arrive from multiple stakeholders separately and across multiple rounds, the image can end up pulled in competing directions and satisfying nobody.

A single consolidated round of comments from one decision-maker produces a more coherent result and usually a faster one.

That does not mean only one person should review the work. Architects, landscape architects, clients, agents and consultants may all need to comment.

But it helps enormously if someone gathers those comments, resolves any contradictions, and issues one clear set of instructions.

It is worth agreeing internally who has final sign-off before the first draft lands.

If you are not sure how to structure that process, that is exactly the kind of thing we can help with. We would rather have that conversation early than unpick it later.

What About AI?

AI tools have changed parts of the production process, and we use them.

They can help with exploration, enhancement, testing, and certain types of workflow improvement.

But they have not changed the fundamentals: site photography, 3D modelling, design information, judgement, review, and experience.

They have not replaced the need to understand what a planning officer needs to see, what an investor is trying to understand, or what will help an occupier believe in a space.

A prompt is a starting point, not a process.

Most of the questions above are really about one thing: how to get the best possible result with the least avoidable friction.

That happens when a visualisation studio is treated as part of the project team, not simply handed a brief at the end and asked to make it look good.

The best work happens when we are brought in early, kept in the loop as a design evolves, and given the room to advise as well as produce.

If you are about to brief a CGI, animation or film and want to make sure the process starts in the right place, we would be glad to talk.

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07777 146 495