Western Geco, a global pace setter in oil and gas seismic surveying enlisted the help of SquareZero to make a long 3d corporate video for their trade show marketing. The recently branded product line named ‘The Power of Q’ starred in a high impact sequences of 3d graphics to seek to draw conventioneers to their trade boot. The film was depicted on the 42 inch Philips WOW ‘auto-stereoscopic’ screen, which shows 3d video without the need for special glasses.
While the video is an impressive undertaking, it uses techniques which raise important questions about the production of 3D videos
Lack of Realism: Of primary importance the video lacks realism, The story line is created via 3D computer graphics. Segments showing a truck rolling acorss the desert, or a ship carrying oil across the ocean utilize computer created graphics of the boat and ship. While detailed, the depiction of the boat and truck lack realism. The lack of realism will certainly translate into diminished interest in the trade show environment. The introduction, for example shows several modes of transport of oil across water, depicted simultaneously. We see a boat traversing a choppy sea while helicopters fly above the surf. The water looks realistic and might captivate viewers, however the boat and helicopter are not so realistic. Thus, the image the videographer is trying to convey of man conquering the elements as he transports natural resources across great distances is at best muted.
Lack of Credible Story Line: The video is long, which is its most noticeable trait, however, it lacks a cohesive story line. Individual segments do little to rise above an exhibition of hackneyed graphic effects, and therefore will fail to draw spectators who would be captivated by any type of cohesive story line. We see multiple shots of a boat transporting oil from an off shore oil well. Then we see a shot of a man inspecting something presumably related to the discovery of natural gas deposits, which are depicted as an abstract display of colored lights arranged in a non-realistic form. Some segments of the video contain motion graphic effects with little cohesive story line. Oil pipelines with regulators are depicted in patterned graphic displays, which sit on rounded slabs of earth like colored discs, which are apparently meant to convey the vast distances being traversed by the pipelines. The various segments are put together with no obvious plot line in mind. The result is a trade show video 3D trade show video which is confusing to follow, somewhat boring because of its length, and just plain uninteresting to begin with.
Lack of cohesive narrative The video does employ occasional subtitles which give a sense of company activity. However, the text is vague and suggestive rather than specific and it is unclear how much informatrion it will convey to a spectator only mildly informed about the company. . Single words like “carbonate,” “source and steamer steering,” “continuous line acquisition,” tell the viewer all too little about the company. And anyone not totally familiar with the company’s activities might well lose the entire sense of their meaning.
While the video has many deficiencies it points out what needs to be done to unleash the power of 3d trade show videos. 3D material should be depicted realistically enough to captivate the viewer. The video should conveys a story line, even something simple like the production of the company’s product from raw materials to delivery, and then it will have the ability to hold audience attention. While trade show video needn’t tell everything about a product or service, what information is imparted should be done so in a way that is understandable to the average viewer being targeted by the video.
