CGI offers a cheaper and more accessible alternative to air-to-air photography. Airlines no longer need to take an aircraft out of circulation or ensure it’s in pristine condition. CGI allows for a more efficient creative process, giving complete control over every detail. Instead of hoping for favorable weather and lighting, airlines can manage the entire creative process right from their desks.
CGI brings many benefits to airline content. It supports and promotes new routes, assists with brand or livery updates, announces fleet expansions, and meets daily marketing and sales needs. What used to require a complex operation now only takes a brief. We work closely with all our customers to achieve the perfect shot. We adjust aircraft positioning, lighting, cloud cover, and other visual elements without relying on ideal conditions or locations.
At Neutral Digital, we focus on every detail to accurately replicate aircraft in 4K. Getting the aircraft’s look just right takes a careful eye. For movement, we aim for realism. This often means studying flight paths, how light reflects off the aircraft body, and how fan blades or turboprop blades rotate.
Recently, we completed animations and images for WestJet Encore, the regional arm of WestJet. They operate multiple De Havilland Dash 8-400 (Q400) – a turboprop aircraft that is more lightweight than a jet propulsion aircraft. This difference changes the way the plane moves, something our team needed to pay close attention to.
While some details might not stand out to passengers, they’re crucial to airlines, aviation enthusiasts, and us. For example, the Q400 has a lower maximum altitude than other WestJet aircraft and a different blade rotation speed. Capturing these details makes CGI feel real. Only by paying close attention to the development process can we bring this realism to life.
Over time, we’ve perfected our approach to managing these details. Whether it’s blade rotation speed, cruising altitude, or the way aircraft lights blink, we time these elements to match real life. Aircraft lights are easy to overlook, but our team has spent years perfecting them. The extra effort is worth it because it leads to photo-realistic, stunning imagery that delights our clients.
To learn more about our CGI process, contact us at hello@neutral.digital.