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From the TheGenieLab US - TheGenieLab Blog blog
With today’s technology, a 3D Photo can help clients get a better feel for the products you have on display and it is a lot easier than you may think. Video, on the other hand, is a new effort that adds a lot more context to your product highlighting the situation, context in which it is being used, and the overall fit.
3D Photo
Tools like www.omnivirt.com/3d-photo/ allow you to upload a photo for Facebook, or banner Advert where the source image can either be prepared by your graphic artist, or by using their “automatic” Predict (BETA)* mapping algorithm. Experimenting with a few images will give you the feel for the tool’s capabilities on the generation of the image. The output is almost immediate and the results are impressive.
If your images are white in the background the photo will require a depth map as the Predict algorithm does not do well on the edges of the object – it requires proper edge definition, thus will need a Photoshop depth map to be uploaded for it. The Predict (BETA) works pretty well on regular un-staged photos where a background is provided.
In the world of 3D/Video content, this tool or something similar to it would be the first step to consider as the next ones do require a process to generate and prepare the content for publishing the right results.
Video Content
Starting with video, creating a 10sec maximum video of the object being utilized in its context can go a long way. Making them into an animated GIF will give you the page load speed you desire for the product page. The process would be as follows:
Capture the Video --> Video Edit to 10sec --> Video Convert to Animated GIF
This, however, is still a 2D outcome where the video camera is static and is capturing the object of interest in action.
3D Augmented Reality
Adding additional information within the image will take you Augmented Reality where a product is digitally uploaded as a model, and can then be viewed top/bottom and 360deg all around. Additionally, with Augmented Reality, you can augment the product with effects to highlight the item though movement or adding new 3D objects to the animation. Sparkar.facebook.com/ar-studio/ has a great set of tools to accomplish these types of effects and prepares images for Facebook/Instagram which would assist in your advertising and product placement.
Another way to interact with the client and Augmented reality is to insert your product in their visual space. The app that configwise.io provides is a product image that will insert into a picture taken by their user to place it in their setting. Just like the previous example, the product is scanned in as a 3D top/bottom 360deg object, and their technology inserts the object in a scaled fashion into the image of the space in which it is being considered to be placed. Configwise.io claims a 16% boost in conversion when applied to a furniture eCommerce store.
Augmented Reality together with virtual reality within the video and animation space gives you the ability to better describe a more complex product like a computer, or other more complex products. Features like annotations, see-through visualization, virtual operation, and explanations of various operations/chemical reactions/mechanical movements can all be applied in this approach. This is by far the more complex of all methodologies in the representation of a product and would require a significant amount of effort for just one product image. However, if it is your homepage's main image, then it might be worth it.
The process is enhanced from the above one as follows:
Capture the Product in 3D modeling with texture/color assignments --> Apply the object into the AR tool you see as most appropriate --> Load background or setting for the model to sit in --> Generate video/interactive image.
Conclusion and Integrating into Shopify
Partners at the eCommerce platform are integrating these tools into the platform in order to boost your conversions. Working with your eCommerce developers to achieve these integrations can help you plan and have an approach to achieve your desired rollout of video/AR and 3D representations. For more information on how Shopify is engaging with this type of content see the below link.