3D product animation for C.P. Bourg: turning technical complexity into visual clarity

C.P. Bourg builds print finishing machines that are precise, powerful, and built for the most demanding production environments in the world. But explaining what happens inside them, where every step is hidden behind closed panels, takes more than a brochure or a factory tour. That’s why they approached us for a 3D product animation that turns invisible engineering into something anyone can follow.

How do you explain such complex machines and make them easy to understand?

C.P. Bourg’s machines don’t just finish books; they replace traditional bookmaking with one continuous, automated workflow. Once a job is submitted electronically, a finished, trimmed, perfect-bound book comes out, all in minutes. No manual labour. No human error. Just precision engineering at scale. And that was exactly the story they wanted to tell.

The client shared older videos to help us understand the process of how these machines work and a brand frame they wanted us to keep. But they wanted something better. More elevated. Something that would showcase the full power and uniqueness of their solutions. It was up to us to capture that on screen and make it easy to understand and visually compelling.

Before we could start, we had to learn everything about these machines. Our team spent hours studying technical brochures, combing through the C.P. Bourg website, and watching YouTube videos just to understand how it all works. What comes first. What connects to what. Why the order matters. Only then could we start designing something anyone could understand.

What makes a great 3D product animation? Start with the right visual language.

The answer to C.P. Bourg’s challenge wasn’t just animation. It was the right kind of animation.

Live video would have shown the outside of the machines. But the outside isn’t where the story is. The story is in the paper path, the barcode triggers, the milling, gluing and trimming that happens in a matter of seconds. 3D product animation gave us something live video never could: the ability to go inside the machine, slow down the process, and show exactly what happens at every step. We could even strip away the casing entirely and let the viewer watch a sheet travel through an X-ray view of the system.

One creative decision shaped everything. A monochrome factory environment with the machines, the processes, and the workers rendered in full colour. Everything else fades to grey. The machines pop. The viewer’s attention goes exactly where it needs to.

The voiceover was precise and technical by design, written to speak directly to print industry professionals who know their terminology, while still being clear enough for anyone watching for the first time. Electronic, near-futuristic sound design kept the focus on the machines rather than the music.

Initial sketches of the animation concept:

A tight deadline, a yoga studio, and cardboard machines

We built and animated the machines in Cinema 4D, rendered them in Redshift, and finished everything in After Effects and Premiere Pro. The CAD files and technical brochures the client shared with us made the modelling phase much faster than starting from a blank scene.

But the biggest challenge wasn’t the machines themselves. It was the people operating them.

C.P. Bourg specifically requested realistic human characters interacting with the equipment. To capture their movements, we used an Xsens Awinda motion capture suit. The only problem? We didn’t have access to the actual factory floor. So we did what any resourceful team would do: we found a yoga studio, built rough approximations of the machines out of cardboard boxes and simple shapes, and recorded the mocap sessions there. Every gesture, every interaction with the equipment captured in a yoga studio, then reworked frame by frame to fit back into the 3D scene.

The client was deeply involved throughout. Multiple people on their side reviewed each step, not just for creative quality but for technical accuracy. We used Filestage to manage feedback, and held several calls to clarify details that couldn’t be resolved through comments alone. The communication had to be fast and precise. From kickoff to final delivery, we had just over four weeks.

Renders of the machines:

Three videos, three workflows, and results that exceeded expectations.

We produced three videos showcasing three different workflows: one for the Book Factory, one for the Booklet Maker, and one for the Cut Stack. Each has a different level of complexity and a different story to tell through animation.

The C.P. Bourg Book Factory presents an advanced automated solution for book production, reducing manual labor by electronically submitting jobs, dividing them into covers and content, matching them through barcode-driven workflows, and producing finished, trimmed, perfect-bound books within minutes.

The C.P. Bourg Booklet Maker introduces a modular, scalable system for high-demand production environments. It prints booklet content and covers, merges them with barcode-reading options for job integrity, and supports enhancements such as perforation, creasing, folding, and saddle stitching to create high-quality booklets.

The C.P. Bourg Board Cut Stack Solution replaces manual cutting and loading with an automated sheet-to-book-block workflow. Using the Bourg Preparation Module for precise bleed, trim, and rotation, it supports one-up, two-up, and four-up production, adds optional finishing features, and connects with stackers, binders, or booklet makers for flexible, continuous production.

These videos are now a critical part of C.P. Bourg’s sales cycles, used in their sales toolkit, on their website, and by their global network of sales reps and partners. They consistently draw interest, help visitors understand the workflow quickly and clearly, and their partners and customers regularly compliment the videos.

The videos have also been used at Drupa, the largest trade show in the print industry, as well as at various other trade shows since then. As Marketing Lead at C.P. Bourg said, “When working with a global team, it is critical that we can get our message across easily and clearly. These videos have helped us immensely in getting that message across and giving our sales teams the confidence to discuss the machines with customers.”

On the collaboration itself:

“I wanted to pass on a MASSIVE THANK YOU for producing these fantastic videos. Your ability to interpret an extremely complex process that you knew nothing about a couple of months ago into a clear and articulate video is very impressive, and the outcome has exceeded our expectations. I would also like to thank your Project Manager for politely but firmly pushing us through the process. It is easy for the day-to-day activities to get in the way of updating our tasks, but you were always there to give us a nudge and ensure we could meet the deadline.” Dan Attew, Sales and Marketing Director/Lead, C.P. Bourg

Need a 3D product animation that turns complexity into clarity? Get in touch.