Creating an "ordering menu" of 3D viz choices for clients and project managers...

[hockley91]

Our office is growing and we are integrating 3D Viz into pretty much all of our projects since we are already utilizing Revit to a very large capacity. Not with just the 3D end of it, but we are integrating all areas of Project Design into it with smart objects and getting the specs and parametric data organized into the workflow.

 

In any case, as these projects get funneled to me, I get many requests to either make a rendering, animation, mass model...yada yada yada. I can sometimes get bogged down by these requests and some of them are not realistic for the timetable that we have for that particular project. There has been some stress, and late nights getting some things done for certain deadlines. It reached a point to where it was not very productive and not very "fair" for the 3D guy to get the tail end of the stick with all the pressure resting on his shoulders from time to time.

 

This is new territory for all of us and I went into a meeting with the "bosses" to discuss how to make things a little easier for me when I get these requests to do animations and renderings.

 

Clients, Project Managers and the bosses would like to see what "choices" they have in the amount of time that they have. A lot of them don't understand the 3D process and what it takes to get the result you want. I find myself repeating the same thing over and over and it came up that if they could see what their options were, then they would have a better idea of what they can get.

 

So, we discussed the possibility of me creating a kind of "menu" that can show clients, project managers and such what is realistic in the time that is given.

 

Have any of you had to create something similar?

[BrianKitts]

Yes we have something exactly like that. I went back and took snapshots of different styled projects and each page has a couple images and a small blurb about the project. This also lists the time required to completed (listed both rendering and working time), software used, and resources required.

 

Something to note though is the giant caveat on the front page of the sample guide noting that every project is unique and different scenarios require new workflows and treatments to best showcase a project. Although we can use past projects as a jumping off point to lead us in the right direction... we aren't trying to revinvent the wheel with every project, but rather make a better wheel.

 

 

sidejoke....

"If you must reinvent the wheel, remember that it works best if it is, like, roundish"

.... always loved that quote from Fran's signature!

Edited December 16, 2009 by BrianKitts

[ihabkal]

maybe it is time for your boss to hire a helper for you!

[Joelp]

I created a very similar document as well. It shows examples of rendering styles; sketchy, massing, illustrated, and realistic….. on one side of the page. On the other is a disclaimer about every project being unique and example images with average costs broken down by building type and type of project; Office, Institutional, Retail….. Interior, exterior, Aerial Composites, Massing ect…

 

I re-calculate the averages every year but they do not fluctuate that much. I also keep a “book” of all projects completed by my team and myself, with prints of the final renderings and a stat sheet with info on who worked on the project, time, billing, estimated vs actual cost ect… Any useful information to gage costs performance and tracking.

 

Unfortunately with the recession the there are a lot fewer projects so it is a lot easier to track

[Devin Johnston]

I've done the same as above creating a book showing different rendering styles with each style having a minimum time to complete associated with it. Unfortunately that was about 5 years ago and I haven't updated it since because no one used it. I also tried setting up a template in MS Word so the person requesting a rendering/animation could just submit it to me but that didn't work either. What I've wound up doing is just having anyone who wants work done come to me directly, they explain what they want and when and I schedule it on my Outlook calendar. Oddly enough that has really worked out pretty well, I have a graphic representation of what my schedule looks like week to week with each project having all relevant info in the calender appointment. I make sure to send out an invitation to those people I'll be directly working with so they know what's coming up. I can easily re-arrange things as needed and see what my other team members are doing in-case there are conflicts. The problem with books and templates is people are just lazy, they don't take the time to understand that using those tools would make your life easier and they just wind up comming to you anyway.

[ihabkal]

 

I re-calculate the averages every year but they do not fluctuate that much. I also keep a “book” of all projects completed by my team and myself, with prints of the final renderings and a stat sheet with info on who worked on the project, time, billing, estimated vs actual cost ect… Any useful information to gage costs performance and tracking.

 

That's a great idea. you should keep safe the digital copy as prints fade over time. maybe they last longer in plastic sleeves...

[1d2d3d4d]

-wow, this sounds like where I work...

 

-"I also tried setting up a template in MS Word so the person requesting a rendering/animation could just submit it to me but that didn't work either."

 

We also have something like this too but no one uses it...

 

-and it seems like they always come to you with requests when the deadline is 3 days away and then show you the competitor’s website and the animation or rendering they used that took weeks to do...

so you agee to do it but when you get their line work you realize it will take a whole day just to clean up the drawings...

 

-a sheet with image examples and a basic time breakdown is helpful... if the company is growing, it might be helpful to give a lunch-time presentation to your co-workers about what you do and the steps involved....it's helped both our department and our firm get work.

Edited December 16, 2009 by 1d2d3d4d

[hockley91]

Wow, thanks for all your thoughts on this....hmmmmmm....I may rethink my approach. Sounds like the "manual" may have some drawbacks depending on the people that may or may not use it.

 

I started on one this morning for a basic, mass modeling for an interior or exterior animation...got sidetracked with some other duties today though...I'm referencing a previous quickie project as an example.

[hockley91]

Here are two samples that I created for our firm. What do you all think? Am I missing some items or does this appear satisfactory?

 

Adam Hockley

[Frosty]

This is very cool. Thanks for sharing Adam. Any others willing to share their "dialogue documents"?

[Tommy L]

I find that GanntProject (http://www.ganttproject.biz/) is a great free app for tracking resources and schedules. You could use it to convey available resources as a viewable document over a network.

I personally use it to track project/freelancer deadlines and plan upcoming schedules, but there's only me in the studio. However, I can see it working incredibly well as a human resources management tool.

[BVI]

Here are two samples that I created for our firm. What do you all think? Am I missing some items or does this appear satisfactory?

 

Adam Hockley

 

Hey Adam,

 

Thats a very good idea. Thanks for posting.

 

Nic

[hockley91]

Thanks for all your thoughts and ideas.

 

I'm finding that even after I created this, I still had to do a "nice" animation within a one week period while doing 2 other 3D projects that have deadlines.

 

Been up all week till the wee hours of the morning gettin' 'er dun!

 

So, this ordering menu doesn't work if the client is demanding something by a certain date....interesting.

 

However, I suppose you could say this menu is for "quality" work and it meant for the employees so they can manage their schedules a tad easier with the 3D stuff.

 

The animation they are getting is not even close to "quality" work in my opinion. I had to turn all shadows off and minimal lighting so I could render out the frames in time.

 

I did bring it into Adobe After FX and used Magic Bullet to vignette and enhance it to kind fake it as a quality animation. Worked fine and everyone liked it. I guess it got the point across to everyone.

[1d2d3d4d]

Are the hours you have posted on the sheets "billable hours" , hours to bill the client, or hours in terms of time?, i,e, 24hours = 3 days not 2...

[Tommy L]

If you are not self employed and working til the small hours, then there is something wrong. You are a person, an employee. They are treating you like a slave. Stand up to the designers asking for these animations. Just say no, just once. Flat out no and they will respect the fact that they have to play by your rules to get a product from your department. I had a similar issue with an architect at a firm when I was working in-house. He flipped his lid, but the long term benefits were great.

[1d2d3d4d]

"If you are not self employed and working til the small hours, then there is something wrong. You are a person, an employee. They are treating you like a slave. Stand up to the designers asking for these animations. Just say no, just once. Flat out no and they will respect the fact that they have to play by your rules to get a product from your department. I had a similar issue with an architect at a firm when I was working in-house. He flipped his lid, but the long term benefits were great. "

 

i agree, but the nature of this profession (architecture) is long hours, last minutes, changes, revisions...

[hockley91]

Thanks for your comments, I due appreciate them.

 

I've already brought this up with the people in charge and that is why I am creating this menu. They are aware that I have a family and I have a life outside of work. They do not want ANYONE working late.

 

However, at the same time, I don't have to stay as late as I do. I can do an average job on it and just render it out with the scanline renderer with no shadows and be done with it.

 

But, I just want to do the best I can and I don't want to deliver an average or below average product. That's why I push myself and stay late and do what I need to, to deliver a great product for our clients and it's something that I can be proud of.

 

Also, as mentioned before, it is the nature of this profession to constantly make changes and more changes and more changes and then finally give it to the renderer or modeler and you're at the tail end of the timeline and everyone's counting on you. I've worked at 3 other firms and this is the first one that is trying to do something about that and address the issue.

[Kyle]

To help streamline the workflow in our office I created a checklist for the designers which they could use before giving me a brief. Needless to say they don't use it and simply come and discuss what they want with me.

 

Thought I'd attach the checklist I created anyway, it is structured around interior design, hopefully it may be of use to someone.