Script drafts and visual reference boards for the 3DGS promotion video
Left: storyboard sequence. Right: reference mood board for visual direction.
3D Gaussian Splatting is a breakthrough technology that creates photorealistic 3D scenes from ordinary photographs — but explaining it to non-technical users is nearly impossible with words alone. The term itself sounds academic, and the underlying concept of neural radiance fields means nothing to the real estate agents, architects, and retailers who would benefit most from the technology.
iStaging had integrated 3DGS into the ONE App, but adoption was low because users didn't understand what it was, why it mattered, or how to use it. Meanwhile, competitors were entering the 3DGS market, making it urgent for iStaging to establish authority and make the technology accessible. The sales team also needed a compelling visual asset for exhibition booths and client demos.
Before I could explain 3DGS to anyone, I had to understand it deeply myself. I worked with the engineering team to grasp how Gaussian Splatting differs from traditional photogrammetry — the speed, the visual fidelity, the real-time rendering. The key insight was that 3DGS produces results that look real in a way that previous 3D capture methods couldn't. That became the story: "Your photos become a place you can walk through."
The biggest temptation was to make a tutorial. Instead, I chose a cinematic approach — leading with the emotional payoff (the wonder of seeing a space come alive in 3D) before explaining the technical process. The script followed a "show, then explain" structure: open with stunning 3DGS output, reveal it was captured with just a phone, then demonstrate the workflow. This reversed the typical tech demo pattern and kept non-technical viewers engaged.
I directed the visual style to feel premium and aspirational — cinematic color grading, smooth camera movements through 3D scenes, side-by-side comparisons of photos vs. 3DGS output. The video had to work in two contexts: social media (attention-grabbing, fast-paced) and exhibition booths (looping, visually stunning without audio). I designed both cuts from the same footage, optimizing each for its context.
Rather than abstract demos, I built the video around three concrete use cases — real estate walkthroughs, retail product visualization, and architectural documentation. Each scenario showed a real person using the ONE App to capture a real space, then the 3DGS reconstruction appearing in full photorealistic quality. This grounded the technology in practical value that viewers could immediately relate to their own work.
A tutorial would serve existing users but fail to attract new ones. The cinematic approach created an emotional hook — awe at the visual quality — that made viewers want to learn more. This decision optimized for top-of-funnel awareness over bottom-of-funnel instruction, which aligned with the business need to grow the market, not just serve it.
Instead of producing separate videos for social media and exhibition, I designed the shoot and edit to support both formats from the same footage. The exhibition version was wider, slower-paced, and optimized for visual impact without audio. The social version was tighter, faster, with text overlays. This doubled the output without doubling the budget or timeline.
Conventional product videos start with "here's how to use it." I reversed this — opening with the stunning 3DGS output before revealing the simple capture process. This created a "wait, that's all it takes?" moment that was far more persuasive than any feature walkthrough. The technique leveraged the gap between expectation (complex) and reality (simple) as a storytelling device.
The video transformed how iStaging presents 3DGS to the market. What was previously a technical feature buried in the app became the centerpiece of exhibition presentations. Sales teams reported that the video was the single most effective tool for explaining 3DGS to prospects — accomplishing in 90 seconds what previously took a 15-minute live demo.
Directing this project reinforced my belief that the hardest design problems aren't visual — they're translation problems. The technology was extraordinary; the challenge was making its value obvious to people who don't think in technical terms. This is the same skill that drives all my product design work: bridging the gap between what engineers build and what users understand.