Pre-Production

Concept & Scripting

The 174 Power Global Community Solar video kicked off with a well-structured concept grounded in visual clarity and local relevance. From the start, the script set the tone—introducing community solar as a forward-thinking, environmentally sound solution for renters, homeowners, and businesses in New York and New Jersey. Visually, the strategy leaned on isometric aerial shots paired with bold on-screen graphics and clean callouts. The goal: show infrastructure at scale, but keep it simple enough for anyone to grasp fast.

Script development was iterative and grounded in client input—especially around illustrating how electricity flows. A key directive was to clearly differentiate between buildings generating solar and those receiving distributed energy. That note reshaped both animation logic and how we staged the camera.

Visually, we started with a minimalist look, clean lines, and natural lighting. But as things evolved internally, the team shifted toward a semi-photoreal look. That choice drove a deeper level of technical exploration during Rapid Prototyping (RP), raising the bar for what full production needed to deliver.

Rapid Prototyping

RP focused on setting the backbone of the animation—scene structure, pacing, and how the camera moves through space. Built entirely in Cinema 4D, the RP skipped textures and shaders for clarity, using gray geometry to focus on flow and alignment with the voiceover.

We built the city using a C4D cloner system and a small library of basic blockouts—gray cubes that stood in for real buildings. These rough models helped us visualize a dense urban space while leaving room for full-detail work later.

One spotlight scene involved solar panels dropping onto wide, flat-roofed buildings. That required early geometry detail and staging, plus a plan for showing vertical cross-sections that hinted at urban density. Motion tests in this phase included green power lines animated via spline tools and Mograph setups for panel drops.

On-screen graphics and transition motions were roughed in with After Effects—these included placeholder assets like the ConEd logo, which was later replaced with a more brand-neutral "Utility Bill" visual after review. These motion layers helped us validate how callouts would live within the composited scenes.

Feedback at this stage included:

• More variation in building heights for added realism

• Removing green windows from buildings that weren’t off-takers

• Ensuring powerlines drop to street-level infrastructure before reaching buildings

• Representing apartment tenants with selective lighting in multi-unit setups

All feedback was confirmed for full production, with RP signoff contingent on final script alignment and visual structure approval.

We explored two contrasting looks: a low-shader, isometric approach and a richer, more detailed semi-photoreal look. Internal consensus leaned toward the photoreal direction, so we began sourcing premium building assets from TurboSquid and Evermotion, optimizing them for procedural workflows in Cinema 4D.

Animation testing during RP wasn’t just about layout—it helped us dial in how electricity would move, how solar panels would animate into place, and how transitions would tie scenes together. Originally, powerlines ran directly from solar sources to buildings. But after client review, we rerouted that logic so energy traveled across city-scale splines, visibly connecting the whole infrastructure.

Additional prototyping included:

• Testing traffic movement with vehicles constrained to splines

• Early environmental placement using procedural scatter systems

• City flyovers using isometric-style camera moves

Every RP animation was designed to plug directly into full production, acting as both a testbed and a foundational rig for future work.

Full Production

Look Development

We kicked off full production by importing and refining high-quality building models from TurboSquid and Evermotion. These assets offered photoreal detail and flexible geometry. Each building got custom-applied PBR textures covering everything from glass and concrete to rooftops, stairwells, and HVAC. City blocks were laid out using Mograph Cloners, randomized to minimize repeats.

To maintain efficiency while upping visual quality, we created a modular city system. It featured four distinct city blocks, each built from a handpicked selection of 10–15 high-quality buildings. These blocks were randomized and rotated for variety, minimizing repetition while keeping the render load manageable. We also locked in a shader and lighting direction at this stage, opting for PBR textures and a natural daylight rig.

Environmental elements like trees, roads, and infrastructure were added to enhance the solar narrative and sell the green city vibe. We used high-poly trees only where they’d show up in-camera, keeping performance in check. Road systems were fully custom-built and included touches like signage, bus stops, and traffic lights—all designed to fit the animation plan for vehicles and powerlines.

Design & Animation

Once the modular blocks were approved, we started layering in the systems—traffic, solar, power. Vehicles were spline-rigged and programmed with randomized types, colors, and speeds to avoid patterning. Intersection logic had to be fine-tuned to keep motion smooth and believable.

Solar panel installs were animated using Mograph effectors and falloffs, simulating synced deployment. Powerlines were created as splines with sweep objects, carrying animated textures and bursts of light to show electricity flow. Their paths mimicked real-world layouts: slightly drooped, level-aligned, and naturally spaced.

Camera moves followed isometric paths with steady pitch to reduce viewer disorientation. All camera data was exported to After Effects for use in compositing and graphic alignment.

Style Choices and Reasoning

We deliberately landed on a semi-photoreal style—not too stylized, not hyperreal. This gave us clean visuals that felt real enough to relate to, while still allowing for icon overlays and UI callouts to feel native. Using PBR materials and daylight rigs helped tie the aesthetic to the clean energy theme.

Lighting was kept simple but effective: one directional sunlight, ambient occlusion, and soft global illumination. This kept renders moving quickly while staying emotionally aligned with the solar message.

Technical Details

Models were prepped by converting to FBX/C4D, optimizing polycounts, and correcting UVs and normals. Shaders were all built as physical PBRs inside Cinema 4D. Lighting relied on HDRI skylight and one directional key for stronger shadows.

We rendered at 24fps to cut down frame count without compromising motion quality. Electricity effects were shader-based displacement on splines, with glow passes layered in post. Camera data from C4D was piped into After Effects to lock in 3D titles and overlays.

Challenges and Solutions

Rendering was the biggest hurdle. With the semi-photoreal look, some shots hit 18–20 minutes per frame—too slow and costly. We solved this with instancing, scene splitting, and render angle control. Dropping the framerate from 30fps to 24fps also helped reduce total load.

Late-stage notes included final city tweaks and ensuring solar panels only appeared on rooftops where access made sense.

Post-Production & Delivery

Post was done in After Effects, using C4D camera data for perfect parallax and depth. Color correction focused on sunlight balancing and shot consistency. We added a light sharpening pass and LUTs for cross-device fidelity.

Electric pulses got subtle glows, rooftops had sun glints layered on top, and we used depth blur to drive focus during transitions.

We layered in soft lens flares, light trails on electricity splines to sell motion. Sunlight was amped up with directional glow effects to bring home the clean energy theme.

All on-screen elements—“Save up to 10%,” subscriber icons, state maps—were built in After Effects. Motion synced with the VO and camera movement. The updated bill graphic used AE shape layers and replaced all brand-specific assets with general-purpose visuals.

User icons and data callouts were placed in 3D space using camera data and null objects. The billing sequence used side-by-side panels to show savings clearly.

Ensuring Brand Consistency

All brand elements—fonts, logos, colors—were cleared with the client. Typography matched 174 Power Global’s spec, with minor adjustments made to keep clarity high across mobile and YouTube. The Northeast region badge appeared consistently.

Delivery

Final deliverables included:

• Full-res MP4 (1080p)

• Subtitle-ready SRT

• Subtitled version with burned-in captions

With delivery confirmed and assets embedded, the 174 Power Global Community Solar video launched as a clean, high-impact piece of outreach across Northeast markets.

Transcript:

Introducing Community Solar. A new way for renters, homeowners, and businesses to receive solar power in New York and New Jersey. It is the greenest of green ways to get your electricity. Plus, save up to 10% on your electric bill.

Here's how it works.

We build community solar farms in your area by partnering with local municipalities and large property owners.

The sun does its thing and generates electricity. We distribute that solar electricity to all of our subscribers like you. You'll get two bills. First, you'll get your electric bill, including your new solar adjustment. Then you'll receive a bill from us for the solar energy consumed with a 10% discount for your support of the best renewable energy in your neighborhood. This means you always pay less for electricity. It's a no-brainer.

Support the environment. Decrease our reliance on fossil fuels and save up to 10% on electricity.

Community solar. The greenest thing in green energy.

Sign up today.