Saint-Gobain is a French multinational company founded in 1665, originally to produce mirrors for the Palace of Versailles. It has played a central role in the development of the glass and materials industry in Europe. Today, although it has diversified its activities, the company maintains a strong connection to its heritage in glass manufacturing.
For the occasion of Saint-Gobain’s 350th anniversary, a virtual exhibition on the Internet was created by Wezit. The 3D reconstruction of glassmaking was done by blending real characters filmed in the studio with a 3D environment.
This exhibition also includes numerous didactic modules explaining the techniques used in glassmaking. These devices are integrated into a dense environment, designed to be accessible to a novice audience. Work was done on both storytelling and design to make this information accessible to all.
Each module contains an animation of about 3 minutes.
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The reconstruction scenes were created on a 3D set, combining real footage of actors filmed against a green screen.
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Filming on a green screen required precise lighting conditions and the positioning of props for the future scene.
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Some objects are real and were used during filming, while others are virtual and contribute to the 3D scene’s environment.
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Seven specific scenes were filmed to show all the steps in the production of glass for the Palace of Versailles.
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The technical animations were intentionally simplified to display only essential information.
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One animation demonstrates the transformation of housing through morphing between different 3D representations of buildings.