Pre-Production

Concept & Scripting

For TightLine – Single Use Sterile Packs, the creative direction zeroed in on demonstrating the clinical and operational edge of Exodus’ pre-sterilized hip revision toolkits. The key challenge? Boiling down a multi-layered, highly technical unboxing and surgical workflow into a sub-minute sequence that stayed sharp, elegant, and faithful to the real-world product. The client’s script laid out six essential beats: product intro, unboxing mechanics, component highlights, surgical positioning, packaging value props, and a branded outro.

Client input during scripting was unusually dialed-in. Surgical goals were laid out clearly—everything from minimizing bone loss to showing access pathways with precision. The team supplied a full toolkit of physical and digital references to lock down spatial design: STEP files for each blade type (medial, lateral, and chisel osteotomes), exploded packaging diagrams, high-res product photography, and a mechanical demo of the Hudson handle in action. One of the top-priority visuals was the strikeplate handle’s quick-connect locking system—it had to show the actual mechanical snap in motion. Packaging graphics came in early, which gave us a solid base for accurate texture placement both in rapid prototyping (RP) and final rendering.

The voiceover followed a deliberate structure—starting with outer packaging, then zooming into components, and finally clinical application. Visually, this structure came to life with tight zooms, modular cutaways, and camera choreography synced to the narration’s rhythm. We pulled continuity cues from previous TightLine content, especially the reusable Exodus 3-tray system, to make sure design and framing stayed on-brand across product lines.

Rapid Prototyping

With a build this complex, rapid prototyping was more than just an animation sketch—it acted as a fully functional previsualization of mechanical behaviors and packaging mechanics. Built in Cinema 4D, the RP pass included mostly locked camera angles, rigged objects, and core logic for all primary movements. The sterile pack’s vacuum pouch, HDPE support card, and outer carton were modeled and placed with spatial accuracy. We rigged out the animation for packaging tear-downs and tool extraction with enough physical nuance to mimic real user interactions.

STEP files were cleaned and converted into animation-ready meshes. We used polygon reduction and retopology to keep the engineering integrity while optimizing for animation speed and Redshift rendering. Each blade was QA’d for geometry and visual consistency, and edge loops were tuned to ensure smooth specular roll-off under production lighting. Basic materials—like surgical steel for the blades and matte plastic for the HDPE card—were roughed in with temporary reflectance settings for clear previewing.

We also built a custom rig for the main carton to open along multiple hinge lines. The clear vacuum pouch was prototyped with cloth dynamics to simulate both deformation and physical interaction with the tools inside. IK rigging and bend deformers helped the pouch pull away like it was being handled by a surgical tech. While the sterile nylon tear pouch wasn’t custom-modeled, we used proxy geometry with layered tear animations to prototype its behavior.

One standout detail was a semi-transparent femur model with embedded canal geometry. This let us preview the osteotomes' motion paths inside the femoral stem, and later, animate their clinical entry points. In RP, this was shown in a three-panel layout—medial, lateral, and chisel blades each working into their respective anatomical zones in parallel.

A rough 3D logo outro was built in After Effects using Element 3D, which served as a placeholder for the final branded animation. This would later get the full treatment with compositing, lens flares, and glow effects for depth and focus.

Early Visual Styles Explored

We tested a few different looks before landing on the final high-contrast, photoreal style. Early versions leaned lighter—soft shadows and clean-room tones to mimic surgical environments. But the final choice went darker: dark background, high-contrast lighting to make the stainless steel pop. The look felt premium, cinematic, and matched the visual tone from the earlier TightLine animation, keeping everything consistent across the product family.

Shader work during this phase stayed basic—viewport-friendly surfaces and material placeholders. But we did test stainless steel IORs, surgical polish coatings, and transparency settings for both the pouch and bone materials. These early tests weren’t production-ready, but they gave us a solid read on how materials would behave under specular lighting. We also ran motion tests on the HDPE card and blades to dial in pivot points and physical constraints.

Prototyping Animation Concepts

Since we weren’t using live-action or hand models, the entire animation had to feel tactile using just geometry. Every movement—lid flips, blade lifts, pouch peels, and mechanical clicks—was animated with a focus on weight and realism. Cloth sims for the vacuum pouch were particularly detailed. We tested different pin setups to make sure the pouch could flex and peel naturally around the enclosed tools.

The Hudson handle demo was a mechanical challenge. Based on the client’s reference video, we modeled a retraction sequence where the locking bell slides back to disengage the ball bearings and connect the blade. This was built using nested parenting and constraint setups to make sure the engagement felt exactly like the real tool.

We also refined the femur transparency concept. Using a femoral mockup, we applied a low-IOR, semi-transparent material to simulate radiographic visuals. This let us animate blade insertions that appeared anatomically correct—just skimming the inner canal to suggest surgical depth without going full penetration.

Throughout RP, everything was timed to a scratch VO track. This gave us the flexibility to fine-tune movement speed, especially during transitions—like a pouch peel dissolving into a blade insert. These beats were matched to the voiceover’s punctuation for maximum clarity and visual rhythm.

Client Feedback Shaping Direction

Client feedback during RP made a measurable impact on both story clarity and technical accuracy. One of the first notes flagged an osteotome labeling error—on-screen overlays didn’t match real-world usage, so we reworked graphic IDs and adjusted pack labeling. Another correction focused on the vacuum pouch’s tear notch. It was missing in early drafts, and the client emphasized how crucial it was for viewers to understand the sterile workflow: outer carton gets opened outside the sterile field, pouch is handed off, and the tear happens inside.

Thanks to the level of detail in RP, we kept revisions minimal moving into full production. Final client sign-off confirmed timing, camera work, and geometry were all approved. The packaging was still in testing during early RP, but once finalized—a triple-layer system with HDPE card, vacuum pouch, and outer nylon seal—we had every component locked for final photoreal renders.

Production

Look Development

With the rapid prototype providing a mechanically accurate and compositionally sound foundation, the production phase zeroed in on look development—transforming placeholder assets into photorealistic renders. This meant building materials, lighting, and environmental elements from the ground up using Redshift as the rendering engine.

Shader refinement was the core lift. Each surface required deliberate tuning to faithfully match its physical counterpart. The vacuum-sealed pouch was even more complex. We treated it as a layered material system: a glossy, slightly distorted outer shell; semi-translucent compression zones; and internal soft shadows cast onto the HDPE card and instruments. A combination of procedural textures and high-res displacement gave the plastic a naturally crinkled feel without dragging down performance. Careful tuning of refraction and subsurface scatter values helped maintain visual depth while keeping interior tools readable.

The HDPE card was modeled from vendor-supplied DXFs and shaded with subtle surface grain and a matte finish—contrasting visually with the high-polish steel. Silicone and rubberized parts, like grips and bushings, used high-SSS, low-spec materials to give them soft, tactile realism. The bone was shaded with a foggy glass-like material—transparent but muted, with internal AO simulating cortical layers. Lighting and shader settings were iterated until the blades remained visible while preserving anatomical accuracy.

Lighting followed a surgical logic. A dark background isolated each object, letting edge highlights hit with clarity. We used high-res HDRIs for base reflections and layered in area lights to shape the form of each asset. Keylights were placed overhead and offset to rake across surfaces, creating sharp contours on bevels. Rim lighting separated elements from the background. In complex scenes—like the pouch or bone cross-sections—we embedded micro area lights to illuminate interior volumes. Shadow softness was dialed in per shot to balance mood and function.

We ran extensive test renders. Every material—metal, plastic, packaging, bone—was iterated across lighting environments, DOF settings, and camera moves to ensure top-tier fidelity. We tuned for highlight clipping, GI intensity, and detail retention in shadows. Render settings prioritized visual precision over speed, pushing ray depth, reflection samples, and anti-aliasing to preserve geometry crispness and eliminate flicker on slow pans.

Design & Animation

With structure and pacing locked in RP, production animation focused on smoothing motion and tightening physical detail. The unboxing sequence was updated with new curves for better weight and realism, particularly during the double-pouch reveal. Rigging controls were added for flap articulation, enabling tight, frame-accurate movements that mirrored the VO timing.

Tool extractions were paced to feel deliberate, easing in and out to match surgical workflows. Blades released with slight delays to suggest friction on the HDPE card. Mid-motion tool paths were fine-tuned to align cleanly with the Hudson handle’s receiving point. The strikeplate connection sequence was rigged with a layered constraint system—enabling realistic engagement and retraction of the locking bell housing. Camera angles were adjusted to clearly showcase this action.

The blade showcase—where all three osteotomes rotated on a central axis—was upgraded from RP with individual motion paths, dynamic DOF, and exposure passes in compositing. Use-case animations—showing each blade entering femoral bone—were tweaked for anatomical correctness. Curvature and angle of entry were validated against reference imagery to lock in clinical realism.

Packaging scenes, especially the boxed-overview with on-screen callouts, were elevated through push-ins and animated overlays. Box textures were updated with high-res source files and refined using bump and displacement maps to interact correctly with lighting during final renders.

Style Choices and Reasoning

Redshift was chosen for its ability to handle nuanced reflection layers, transparent materials, and shader detail—while still allowing fast feedback loops. Integration with Cinema 4D made the RP-to-final transition seamless, with no need for shader rebuilding or rig rewiring. Redshift’s multi-pass workflow enabled flexible post-production compositing.

The dark background wasn’t just a look—it was a strategic decision. It let micro-reflections and soft packaging shadows stand out while keeping the focus entirely on the product. The setup echoed surgical lighting—controlled, intentional, and distraction-free. We used DOF selectively: rack-focus transitions on key product features, soft bokeh behind tools, and tight focus on blade connections. Camera work relied on slow arcs, dolly-ins, and lateral slides to give the animation poise and precision. Every shot was designed for clarity, sequencing, and usability.

Technical Details

This phase marked the full handoff from RP-safe models to render-optimized scenes. Shaders were authored using Redshift’s node-based system. Reflection layering came from nested Fresnel nodes, with roughness driven by curvature masks and procedural maps. Bone transparency relied on volumetric fog and absorption settings that balanced translucency with interior detail.

The cloth sim on the vacuum pouch was one of the most complex parts of the build. We used proxy meshes, pinned constraints, and force fields to simulate real-world peeling behavior. Once the sim was cached, we hand-refined timing to sync with the voiceover’s flow. The strikeplate locking system required a custom constraint rig—parent switching, animated dampening, and timing curves—to deliver a believable snap-lock effect.

Light groups let us test multiple lighting profiles without duplicating scenes. Each asset—blades, bones, pouches, text—got its own compositing ID for fine-tuned control in post.

Final renders included beauty, diffuse, specular, reflection, refraction, shadow, Z-depth, and object ID passes. All outputs were rendered in 32-bit EXR for full dynamic range and post-processing flexibility. 

Post-Production & Delivery

Final Compositing & Color Grading

Post-production for the Single Use Sterile Packs animation was built out in After Effects using layered EXR files from Redshift. A modular workflow separated each render pass—beauty, reflection, refraction, shadow, and Z-depth—into discrete controls, giving us the precision to dial in highlights, manage transparency, and shape depth without rerendering any base geometry.

The goal was to preserve clinical clarity while sharpening the viewer’s path through each scene. Vignettes were introduced with surgical intent—subtle, mask-driven exposure shifts that focused the eye on blades and packaging tiers without drawing attention to themselves. These were functional compositing tools, not aesthetic overlays.

Color correction was handled with curve adjustments and targeted HSL tuning. Stainless steel was kept in the neutral-cool zone, while surgical bone took on a slightly warmer tone, balanced against the soft blue of the packaging. Semi-transparent bone elements were carefully managed to maintain depth and clarity against the dark void background. Blade highlights were cooled slightly for sharpness, while plastics were softened in the midtones to avoid dominating the frame.

VFX Enhancements

To avoid the sterile flatness of CG renders, we added a minimal, filmic grain layer across the board—tight, subtle, and clean. For high-gloss elements like blades and packaging edges, we used masked high-pass sharpening to accentuate micro-geometry—especially effective in macro blade shots.

We added lens flares to the final Exodus logo using Optical Flares. These weren’t exaggerated bursts but restrained, physics-aware glints tied to camera motion via 3D null. Their movement was synced to the camera’s orbit, creating subtle moments of realism at the brand reveal.

Z-depth data was used to create rack focus transitions where in-camera DOF wasn’t practical. This was key in the femoral blade comparison scene, where multiple blades had to share screen time while rotating through focal zones.

Motion blur was applied in post using vector passes, not baked in during render, giving us control to sync visual pacing with the narration.

Infographics, UI Overlays, Data Visualization

On-screen labels and data graphics were composited in 3D space using camera tracking from Cinema 4D. This kept everything anchored and responsive to camera movement, avoiding flat overlays. Callouts near the rotating package hovered just above the surface and moved naturally with the arc of the shot.

Text and typography followed TightLine brand standards: clean sans-serif fonts, restrained kerning, and subtle motion cues. For bullet-point screens (e.g., packaging benefits), we staggered entrance with opacity and position ramps synced to the VO. Directional line animations pointed toward mechanical interfaces and packaging seams, using trim-path techniques and soft easing.

The blade access comparison screen featured quadrant-specific notes with tool identifiers. These held static with high contrast and minimal animation to maintain clarity, and all text was tested for legibility at 1080p playback.

Ensuring Brand Consistency

Color and type were matched across all frames to established Exodus and TightLine guidelines. Typography mirrored product documentation—weights, sizes, and spacing directly referenced from packaging and sales materials.

Lighting was tailored in every shot to emphasize brand touchpoints: sterile packaging, the strikeplate handle, and the Exodus tray. Composition always led with the product’s single-use advantage, sequencing attention from outer pack to tool to use-case.

Collaboration & Revisions in Post

Client feedback in post was tight and tactical. Requests included repositioning “Single Use Packs” labels for clarity, updating VO to emphasize Exodus’ proprietary strikeplate handle, and making sure the tear-away behavior felt accurate and weight-appropriate. These were addressed via compositing layers, VO swap-ins, and minimal re-renders.

Final approval came with no further changes.

Delivery

Final deliverables included:

• High-bitrate 1080p H.264 master video

• SRT caption file synced to the voiceover

• 4K still frames rendered as PNGs with embedded color profiles

• Thumbnail frame for use as a preview image

All assets were packaged for multi-platform use—surgical presentations, sales decks, digital libraries, and online deployment.

Transcript:

Introducing Exodus single-use sterile-packs.

The first offering in Exodus’ line of single-use sets is the ultimate combination of pre-sterilized convenience and utility in hip revision stem removal tools.  

Equipped with the stem-contouring medial blade, lateral blade, and chisel, the kit combines with Exodus’ flagship strike plate handle to complement the Exodus 3-tray reusable set.

Each stainless steel blade features proven geometry that enables optimal access to the stem while preventing bone loss and preserving your options for the revision implant. 

Single-use packs also make for simpler case prep, deliver low-cost entry to the latest in stem removal blade technology, and provide more flexibility for providers with high volumes of hip revisions.

Exodus: Designed for revisions, designed for surgeons.