CASS Product Rendering & R&D

CASS Product Rendering & R&D

Cass Fresh Product Rendering & R&D
Ahead of full production, HTaak Studios led a dedicated phase of product rendering exploration and R&D to define the visual benchmark for the Cass Fresh relaunch. The aim was to craft photorealistic CG assets that felt tactile, confident, and adaptable — whether placed in live-action environments, static campaigns, or motion sequences.

This process allowed us to refine every visual element, from materials and lighting to FX and camera language, building a flexible toolkit that could support creative decisions across the campaign.

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Visual Fidelity Through Craft
At the heart of the R&D phase was a commitment to realism. We focused on capturing the physical qualities of the product, the chill of condensation, the sheen of aluminium, the subtle texture of glass, all to blend seamlessly with photography or live footage when needed.

Key Focus Areas During R&D:

  • Material Development: Built custom shaders for glass, aluminium, liquid, and packaging elements using Redshift, layering imperfections and reflectivity to achieve life-like surfaces.

  • Lighting Tests: Ran extensive lighting scenarios to explore how the product responded in both studio and lifestyle setups, ensuring flexibility for future compositing.

  • FX Prototyping: Used X-Particles to create a library of condensation and splash simulations. These were optimised for retiming and editing, enabling a fast, iterative workflow later in production.

  • Camera & Lens Language: Explored focal lengths, tilt, and framing to establish a signature style — one that balances sharp detail with a bold, energetic presence.

Challenges and Solutions:

  • Photorealism with Control: Balancing realism with art direction required building custom controls into the shaders and lighting rigs, giving us flexibility without compromising quality.

  • Fast Feedback Cycles: By optimising render settings and building a re-usable asset pipeline, we were able to test looks quickly and respond to creative changes in real-time.

  • Seamless Integration: Every asset was developed with real-world blending in mind — ensuring consistency across stills, animation, and live-action compositing.

The R&D phase laid the foundation for a confident and elevated final product, giving us the visual language, technical control, and creative flexibility to bring Cass Fresh to life at the highest level.

Outcomes of the R&D Phase:

  • Fully developed CG product toolkit

  • Material and lighting presets for scalability

  • FX library for condensation and splashes

  • Motion-ready assets for seamless rollout

  • Established visual benchmarks for final delivery