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 with a view to blending 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