2BOT - 2013
After graduating from Auburn, I stuck around town through the end of the year, then moved off to Seattle. So my first job out of college, I lucked into this cool assignment with 2BOT.
The 2BOT ModelMaker is a really cool CNC router that takes up a fairly small footprint, is affordable enough for small offices and studios, but built with reasonably high-volume production in mind. The coolest thing about it, though, is its build capacity... that is, you can theoretically build any size you can imagine. While the 2BOT is thoroughly capable of machining a number of materials, it really shines when it comes to foam. Specifically, it was designed to utilize 2-inch-thick 14"x14" slabs of foam. Still not absolutely stoked? This means insulation foam. Like you can get at Lowe's or Home Depot. 2BOT allows you to use remarkably inexpensive material that you just couldn't use with other CNC routers. Okay, so what does this mean? It means any studio, classroom, or office can have an awesome, affordable CNC router that produces models that cost pennies. Using this sort of foam, even substantial models only cost a few dollars, and you can knock 'em out in record time. This is a fun machine to use.
What about the size constraints, you ask? Well, as I said, there aren't any. The super easy-to-use software figures out how to chop apart your 3D model to cut out, then cuts away each block of foam and you stack 'em all together once it's done.
Okay, so you're sold on the 2BOT. But what did I actually do there? What was the job? Marketing contractor would be the best description. I worked with one other individual, Perry Garvey, to design, illustrate, and animate three explanation-style advertisements to be used in a number of pitches and advertising campaigns. While we worked on a number of other additional projects, these were the core of the work.
The 2BOT ModelMaker is a really cool CNC router that takes up a fairly small footprint, is affordable enough for small offices and studios, but built with reasonably high-volume production in mind. The coolest thing about it, though, is its build capacity... that is, you can theoretically build any size you can imagine. While the 2BOT is thoroughly capable of machining a number of materials, it really shines when it comes to foam. Specifically, it was designed to utilize 2-inch-thick 14"x14" slabs of foam. Still not absolutely stoked? This means insulation foam. Like you can get at Lowe's or Home Depot. 2BOT allows you to use remarkably inexpensive material that you just couldn't use with other CNC routers. Okay, so what does this mean? It means any studio, classroom, or office can have an awesome, affordable CNC router that produces models that cost pennies. Using this sort of foam, even substantial models only cost a few dollars, and you can knock 'em out in record time. This is a fun machine to use.
What about the size constraints, you ask? Well, as I said, there aren't any. The super easy-to-use software figures out how to chop apart your 3D model to cut out, then cuts away each block of foam and you stack 'em all together once it's done.
Okay, so you're sold on the 2BOT. But what did I actually do there? What was the job? Marketing contractor would be the best description. I worked with one other individual, Perry Garvey, to design, illustrate, and animate three explanation-style advertisements to be used in a number of pitches and advertising campaigns. While we worked on a number of other additional projects, these were the core of the work.
Two of 2BOT's main markets are schools and small offices. Keeping this in mind, we made two commercials geared more towards schools, and one geared more towards professional offices. First up was speed and cost.
Since one of the primary markets is schools, we needed to explain the 2BOT and its use to the decision makers there. We were concerned with giving it an accessible feel while keeping the colors and theme of the existing website. In our second animation, we focused on safety and ease of use.
Lastly we focused on professional usability. Though it is an affordable, fast, and easy to use machine, offices and studios would be most concerned with whether or not it can help them and perform the way they would need it to. We needed to show that it wasn't just built for schools, but was so capable and easy to use, that it could also be used in that capacity.
Special thanks to best-selling author Bob Rosner for providing the narration. This was another case of learning on the job for us, and Bob, who has had quite a bit of radio and television experience, was a delight to work with.