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Process

Nine steps.
Three client sign-offs.

How a piece gets made, from the grocery list to the serve.

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  1. 01Grocery ListKnow your kitchen before you shop
  2. 02Menu SketchDeciding what's for dinnerClient sign-off
  3. 03Test RecipeEvery step, in order, before the heat goes onClient sign-off
  4. 04PrepMise en place — everything cut, measured, ready
  5. 05PlateBuilding what the dish sits on
  6. 06Let Them Cook!Everything on the heatClient sign-off
  7. 07GarnishThe details that make it look expensive
  8. 08HandoffEvery plate checked before it leaves the kitchen
  9. 09ServeFront of house, first table
Read the full processThree client sign-offs · concept, storyboard, animation
  1. Blueprint of a chef's kitchen with a tall LED portal built into the pass wall, dimensioned, with an order docket listing pixel pitch, canvas resolution and viewing distanceBrief & technical setup

    The Grocery List

    Know your kitchen before you shop

    What happens

    We take the exact canvas: pixels, pitch, surfaces, where people stand. If it is a Simtech screen we already have it.

    What you do

    Tell us the venue and what the screen is for.

    The craft
    • Pixel map
    • Canvas resolution
    • Pixel pitch
    • Aspect ratio
    • Viewing distance
    • Sightline study
    • Technical spec
  2. Hand-drawn “Tonight's Menu” on toned kraft paper with a golden dragon sketched as the dishCreative direction

    The Menu Sketch

    Deciding what's for dinner

    Client sign-offTasting 1 · Concept signed off by client
    What happens

    Rough ideas, references, a direction. Sketches, not renders. This is where the piece is decided.

    What you do

    React honestly. Cheap to change here, expensive later.

    The craft
    • Concept art
    • Mood board
    • Reference reel
    • Style frames
    • Colour script
    • Art direction
  3. Handwritten recipe card pinned to a kitchen wall with three storyboard frames of a dragon, numbered like recipe stepsStoryboard

    The Test Recipe

    Every step, in order, before the heat goes on

    Client sign-offTasting 2 · Storyboard signed off by client
    What happens

    Every shot drawn, timed and numbered, in the shape of your screen. What you sign here is what gets built.

    What you do

    Sign the recipe. One signature, one chef.

    The craft
    • Storyboard
    • Shot list
    • Animatic
    • Previs
    • Camera blocking
    • Timing and pacing
  4. Mise en place: untextured grey digital clay sculpt of a dragon on a chopping board among prep bowls and a chef's knifeAsset build

    The Prep

    Mise en place — everything cut, measured, ready

    What happens

    The creature is sculpted and given its skeleton. This is the expensive part, and the part you keep.

    What you do

    Nothing. We will show you the grey sculpt so you can see the form.

    The craft
    • 3D modelling
    • Digital sculpting
    • Retopology
    • UV unwrapping
    • Texturing
    • Look development
    • Rigging
    • Skinning
  5. Grey untextured 3D model of an ornate interior plated on a white dish under a pass lamp, tweezers placing a columnWorld build

    The Plate

    Building what the dish sits on

    What happens

    The world the creature performs in. Architecture, surfaces, props, all still grey.

    What you do

    Nothing yet.

    The craft
    • Environment modelling
    • Set dressing
    • Props
    • Materials and shaders
    • Scene layout
    • Lighting blockout
  6. Animation viewport showing a wireframe dragon rig rising out of a wok over flame, with timeline and controlsAnimation

    Let Them Cook!

    Everything on the heat

    Client sign-offTasting 3 · Final animation signed off by client
    What happens

    The creature performs the storyboard. Timing, weight, camera. This is the last point a change is cheap.

    What you do

    Approve the animation. After this, changes mean re-rendering.

    The craft
    • Keyframe animation
    • Character animation
    • Camera animation
    • Anamorphic camera setup
    • Weight and timing
    • Playblast review
  7. Chef's tweezers placing a gold coin onto a plate, half photoreal render and half simulation wireframeSimulation & effects

    The Garnish

    The details that make it look expensive

    What happens

    Coins, fire, water, fabric, particles. Physics that make the piece feel expensive.

    What you do

    Nothing.

    The craft
    • Particle simulation
    • Rigid-body dynamics
    • Fluid simulation
    • Cloth simulation
    • Volumetrics
    • Hair and fur
    • FX caching
  8. Finished golden dragon render plated under the pass heat lamps with an order ticket clipped to the railLighting, render & grade

    The Handoff

    Every plate checked before it leaves the kitchen

    What happens

    Light, materials, colour, final frames at full canvas resolution. Long machine hours.

    What you do

    Nothing. Watch the renders come in.

    The craft
    • Lighting
    • Shading
    • Ray-traced rendering
    • Render passes
    • Compositing
    • Colour grading
    • Depth of field
    • Motion blur
    • Denoising
  9. Casino floor at night with a tall LED portal glowing with the golden dragon animation, a waiter's tray in the foregroundDelivery & commissioning

    The Serve

    Front of house, first table

    What happens

    The piece goes onto the actual wall and we stand in front of it. Colour, brightness, sightlines, loop points.

    What you do

    Be there if you can. It is the good bit.

    The craft
    • Encoding and codecs
    • Pixel-mapped delivery
    • Loop points
    • Colour calibration
    • Brightness and gamma
    • On-site QA
    • Playback handover
Cost of change

Cheap at the sketch. Expensive at the handoff.

The three client sign-offs exist so that changes happen at the sketch, not after plating.

  1. 01Grocery List
  2. 02Menu Sketch
  3. 03Test Recipe
  4. 04Prep
  5. 05Plate
  6. 06Let Them Cook!
  7. 07Garnish
  8. 08Handoff
  9. 09Serve
Cost of a changeTime
  • After 02 Concept signed off by client
  • After 03 Storyboard signed off by client
  • After 06 Final animation signed off by client
One number worth knowing

30%

of a real twelve-week schedule was client feedback, revision and approval. Twenty-two of seventy-four working days. One approver and consolidated notes is the single biggest thing you can do to protect your date.

The next step

Ready to write the grocery list?

Step one is six questions. If it is a Simtech screen, it is one.

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