Let’s face it there are several hundred companies out there right now all saying they are #1 in the renderings/animation industry, all of which are banging on your door saying “look at me and my wonderfully pretty images”. At first glance you can easily bring the number down to what looks like 50 qualified firms. Upon further review I’m sure you will find that the number of qualified proven VR Firms in North America is somewhere between 5-15 (and even fewer that handle the deliverables AND content…most are just content) depending on your vertical. Here are some questions to ask yourself when bidding out your next project…

What is their track record?
Does their portfolio reflect multiple projects over several years? A qualified vendor may cost a little more on the front end but will no doubt save you thousands in lost time and resources during the production of a project. The reason you may be getting a “deal” could mean many things i.e. they upcharge during production, few staff (longer timelines), their proposal leaves something out or of course quality.

Who have they worked for?
Doing VR for one custom home in Muskogee, Oklahoma or a new church in Bismark, North Dakota is a little different than a 1200 home master plan or urban infill project in a major market. Make sure they can handle the workload that you will be entrusting them with. Another thing to keep in mind is if their portfolio only shows condo/multifamily and you are developing a single family home project then I would ask to see something similar in scope to your project.

Where does their specialty lie?
If their portfolio shows print renderings only and you are asking them for renderings AND animation keep this in mind………

Number of Images to make up a rendering: = 1
Number of images to make up a 2 minute animation = 3600

A still rendering for print may take anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours to “render” a final image. Therefore if you have a change and need it quickly then not a huge problem for a “Renderings” company. An animation frame can take anywhere between 15 -45 minutes to render. Mutiply that by 30 frames per second of animation, 60 sec per minute and you can see how an unqualified firm might get in over their head quickly. One change in an animation may take several days to render even with a rendering farm of 20 computers……….. If the firm does not have full rendering farm of cpu’s then you are asking for numerous delays and will need to purchase plenty of Aspirin!

Ask about the production process?
Their process should outline when you will approve architecture, when you will see preliminary images for comment, when you will be seeing revised images, how many rounds of comments, what constitutes an extra charge during production etc etc. If this question draws a blank face from the sales person…….RUN! Without a standard production process they simply won’t hit your deadline or any critical dates along the way.

Brad Jaycock, Vice President
Imagenius.com Inc.
888.439.4633