2Reveal virtual condo tours create marketing sizzle

2Reveal virtual condo tours create marketing sizzle
By Brian R. Ball

December 7, 2007

Getting great design in motion not only can sell an architectural project, it can also lead to changes in the designs.

As designers at Brian Kent Jones Architects Inc. and Lupton Rausch Architects Inc. completed their drawings for the East Gay condo community, developer Edwards Cos. contracted with 2Reveal LLC in the Short North to create a virtual computer-generated walking tour of the neighborhood, as well as a bird's-eye view for the developer's Web site.

"After the designs were nearly complete, we brought it all to life," said Collette Feldmann, 2Reveal's president.

The three-dimensional and animated renderings, she added, "are very different from a rendering of a single building."

Kim Ulle, president of Edwards Cos.' Eclipse Real Estate Group Inc. said creating the special graphics is important to attracting buyers as well as reviewing proposed exterior designs.

"Getting everyone to understand the vision was something we talked about early on," Ulle said. The animated renderings "make it look real."

Architect Tom Marano from Brian Kent Jones said the technology gave designers another look at the homes they had designed in the context of the landscaping plans.

"We went back and tweaked how the buildings fronted the street," Marano said. "We learned a lot about the feel of the streetscape."

It may not be Hollywood, but it's the next best thing

It may not be Hollywood, but it's the next best thing
By Cindy Bent Findlay

April 7, 2006

John McNeal and Collette Feldmann used to tell each other, "We ought to be in pictures."

Now they are.

While employed at an architectural firm together, the pair got the idea to create their own company that would make digital three-dimensional animated renderings to serve the architecture industry .

McNeal was spending most of his time creating similar renderings for his firm. The pair realized that very few architects had the resources to adequately create three-dimensional images of their projects - and that clients were demanding them.

"I think we both knew and saw the potential of this long before we started," says McNeal.

Ready to roll

By 2003, the pair decided they were ready to take the leap and formed 2Reveal, a Columbus company specializing in digital images, 3-D renderings and animation created specifically for the architecture and real estate industries.

McNeal says that the need for their service grew over the past five years as new digital technology rapidly created possibilities while at the same time, smaller and mid-sized firms were unable to devote the resources to having the capability in-house.

With good ties within the industry, the pair took on 33 projects their first year.

"At first, we got a little resistance - people thought it was a Hollywood movies type of thing. Actually, we use the same technology; the way we put it together is very similar to scenes in a 3-D movie," Feldmann says.

As architects and their clients began to realize the power of images as a marketing tool, the concept became easier to sell.

Mark Ford, president and principal architect at Ford & Associates Architects in Columbus, says he used to do all renderings in-house.

"But we got so busy doing other things, it was really hard to set aside someone's time for three or four days to do a rendering," he says.

McNeal says many of his clients had similar needs.

"I can't tell you how many times I'd get calls from people who say they need something right away," says McNeal.

Feldmann would not disclose financial data, but says 2Reveal saw revenue grow 11 percent from 2003 to 2004, and 33 percent in 2005. Enough growth occurred that McNeal's wife Erin, who also has an architectural background, recently joined the firm as its first full-time employee.

"Basically, we are doing the same number of projects for roughly the same number of clients, but our project scope has increased as relationships with clients have deepened," says Feldmann.

For Ruscilli Real Estate Services, 2Reveal created front elevations and aerial shots showing the relationship of a client's Groveport warehouse to other development in the Rickenbacker area.

"A picture is worth a million words, and this helps envision what the end will look like," says Dax Hudson, vice president of Ruscilli.

Becoming the norm

Color, 3-D renderings are becoming an expectation in the industry for large new-builds, and Hudson says it's a quantum leap above offering black and white plans with tiny print and two-dimensional drawings to clients. Aerial renderings also show relationships to other buildings.

"Given that this project is over $20 million, and we only spent a few thousand give or take, it's a drop in the bucket, and well worth it," Hudson says.

Feldmann says 2Reveal's greatest opportunity to show off its capabilities have been previews of communities not yet built. 2Reveal created a DVD that takes people through an entire development that existed on paper for Gridiron Development in Cincinnati. Each unit was rendered from four camera viewpoints, inside and out.

The presentation allowed potential buyers to see trees that existed on each lot, what the views would be out of their windows and how the sun would rise and set on their sun porches.

"Clients can sit in the sales trailer and look at the TV, see exactly what condo they want, where it is, while it's still a big mud hole outside. That enables presales to happen and people to have a good vision of what they're buying. That helps a lot with the momentum of a project," says Mike Gates, managing partner of Gridiron.

2Reveal formed in 2002

2Reveal formed by ImageWorks prez
By Brian R. Ball

December 20, 2002

"The former president and majority owner of Glavan ImageWorks has formed a full-service video production and three-dimensional design animation firm.

Collette Feldmann split off from ImageWorks in early November to form 2Reveal at 3021 Bethel Road.

Feldmann says the company will offer custom graphics services to architectural firms, including those that market to schools and churches as well as office and industrial developers.

Feldmann, who co-founded the 3-D division of Glavan Feher Architects in August 1997, is joined by John McNeal and five contractors, all from ImageWorks.

Columbus architect Jeff Glavan declined to comment on the departures from his firm."