Pre-Production

Concept

The Alpine Company Overview animation was built from the ground up as a sharp, technically credible explainer—tailored for decision-makers across utility and telecom. From the start, the goal was clear: deliver high-clarity, 3D conceptual storytelling.

Initial strategy sessions locked in the video’s tone: clear, visual, and informative. The concept leaned heavily into Alpine’s core differentiator—joint-use pole expertise—while highlighting the revenue upside through data-rich storytelling. The final script followed a simple, effective arc: introduce Alpine’s authority, showcase revenue value, and close with a focused call to action that reinforced brand credibility.

Rapid Prototyping

The Rapid Prototyping (RP) phase acted as a functional bridge between script concepts and final visuals. By leaning on a simplified shader setup and placeholder lighting rigs, we were able to move fast—testing out camera timing, animation blocking, and AE-linked data overlays without sacrificing turnaround time. This approach prioritized speed and clarity, giving us fast, iterative feedback loops while keeping the door open for refinement.

Instead of going with placeholder geometry, we built the pole models out with full attachment logic from the get-go. Each one included transformer cans, crossarms, insulators, bolt positions, drip loops, telecom boxes, CATV units, and lash wires. Every attachment was rigged with control empties for both animation and labeling. Just as important: the pole was broken into named parts. That detail made it possible to feed structured attachment data directly into After Effects during the callout label phase.

For the RP, we used flat grey shaders with almost no reflectance, highlighting attachments, wires, and transmission paths in Alpine’s green. This gave everything a high-contrast, readable look—without diving into textures or heavy light rigs. The goal wasn’t polish; it was communication.

City Layout and Procedural Population

To speed up layout iteration, we used the Blosm plugin to generate a city-wide layout. We then used procedural nodes to populate poles along sidewalks and intersections, and rigged those into two systems:

– A simplified grid layout for long-distance flyovers
– A detailed pole network for medium and close-up scenes

On the wire side, we started with Blender’s native curve system using shrinkwrap and hook modifiers. But it couldn’t keep up with the complexity of crossing lines and telecom bundles. So we pivoted to a custom geometry node setup that handled wire mapping between poles, dynamically adjusting slack and tension based on spacing and attachment height.

RP scene animation was roughed out in Blender using the dope sheet and graph editor. Camera moves followed Bezier curves with ease in/out keyframes to create the dolly, orbit, and zoom effects that matched the visual spec. 

We exported all camera data—including position, rotation, and focal length—using Blender’s AE export script (.jsx and nulls). That gave us anchor points for text layers and financial overlays inside After Effects. AE was structured with nested precomps for:

– Pole callout labels
– Attachment height markers
– Animated revenue counters
– UI elements (tablet scene)
– Logo overlays along cables

Each AE layer was connected to nulls synced with Blender’s camera animations, keeping the parallax and depth consistent across both platforms. For financial overlays, we linked expressions to slider controls to animate back-bill totals dynamically during zoom-outs.

To build the tablet interface, we modeled a generic iPad-style device and parented it to a stationary box in Blender. The AE overlay was animated in 3D space, complete with displacement and shadow-casting to make the floating panels feel grounded. All icons were pulled from Alpine’s field docs, vectorized, and given subtle movement to keep things visually active.

Client Feedback & Directional Revisions

Alpine’s feedback on the RP was detailed and gave us clear direction for final production. They shared screenshots from real field audits, which we used to tighten up label accuracy and improve visual hierarchy. Based on their notes, we refined how attachments were named, how heights were displayed, and how labels aligned—adding support for horizontal and diagonal pointer flows, and alternating left-right anchoring to preserve legibility in busier shots.

There was also a call to improve pacing, especially in the revenue aggregation segment. The original zoom-in lingered too long. So we tightened that portion and shifted to the macro-level pole count earlier, making more room for the $1.5M revenue animation. That change helped shift focus from individual recoveries to Alpine’s overall financial impact.

Brand integration also got a refresh. We added more telecom providers into the attachment scene and layered in additional company logos using alpha masks and color-corrected precomps. The result: a broader, more realistic picture of who’s on the pole and what Alpine helps uncover.

Production (Full Production / FP)

Shader and Lighting Refinement

Once Rapid Prototyping got the green light, we moved into final shader development—swapping placeholder greys for a production-grade material set tailored to the project’s visual language. We kept things streamlined at the base level, but layered in refinements: tighter roughness control, soft reflectivity to suggest depth and light behavior—without chasing hyper-realism.

Alpine’s signature green was deployed intentionally. We used it only on utility poles, network cabling, animated transitions, and key UI callouts. That kind of color discipline helped focus attention in scenes where negative space played a big role. Pole materials were also set up to animate—transitioning from grey to green as a way to show Alpine’s intervention transforming unmanaged infrastructure into clean, compliant assets. This was built using Blender’s shader animation nodes, synced with drivers to hit exact frame counts.

Lighting took a major step forward in Full Production. Daylight scenes used HDRI domes with directional sunlight rigs, creating soft shadows and an evenly lit environment. To brighten buildings without washing out pole details.

For interior and focused UI scenes—especially those featuring the tablet—we used gobos (custom pattern masks) between light sources and the model. That added soft, believable shadows and anchored floating UI elements in a visually stripped-down set, giving just enough environmental context to feel grounded.

Camera Motion and Composition

Camera paths got a full polish pass to deliver cinematic motion without sacrificing clarity. Signature moves—like the opening logo reveal, city-wide pullback, and orbiting close-ups—were rebuilt with Bezier splines and carefully tuned F-curves in Blender’s Graph Editor. Every motion was timed against voiceover pacing to reinforce narrative beats.

We stuck mostly to isometric framing but occasionally introduced slow dolly-ins and axial zooms to keep scenes dynamic. The visual logic moved from macro (city-level grid) to micro (individual pole attachments), then pulled back out to reveal the big picture on revenue.

In shots with dense attachment data, slight parallax shifts were used to separate UI layers—maintaining legibility and spatial flow even in cluttered compositions.

Pole geometry and labeling were some of the most detail-heavy elements of Full Production. From day one, Alpine made it clear: this wasn’t about approximations. Every attachment had to be accurate—both in visual placement and technical metadata.

Hero pole models were built out with segmented parts matching field equipment: crossarms, insulators, transformers, spools, telecom terminals, drip loops, lash wires. Placement was guided by client screenshots and markup notes, reviewed and refined through a structured email feedback process. These notes often included attachment height corrections, positioning tweaks, and classification updates to meet real-world and regulatory standards.

To sync everything in motion, each attachment label and pointer line was tied to a 3D null object placed at the correct height inside Blender. These were exported via .jsx using Blender’s AE camera export tool, allowing After Effects to track all camera motion and overlay floating labels, height markers, and connectors exactly where they belonged in 3D space.

AE precomps were built with exposed parameters, giving us full control over label timing, animations, and pointer logic. This flexibility made feedback loops fast and precise—especially when Alpine requested label groupings to be re-ordered or heights adjusted (e.g., moving CATV from 21'3" to 19'8"). Blender and AE stayed tightly linked, making these refinements fast without slowing down the larger pipeline.

We added a high-impact destruction/recovery sequence in Full Production to show the consequences of unmanaged poles—and Alpine’s role in fixing them. The sequence hinged on believable cable physics as a pole broke and fell.

The pole was rigged to rotate from its base along a set trajectory. Cables were animated using curve deformers combined with Blender constraints, letting them stretch, drag, and snap under tension without requiring a full physics sim. Several timing tests were run to get the collapse to feel heavy and real.

The transition to a restored pole happened via shader-driven material blending—animating the pole’s color from grey to Alpine green to signal audit and approval. This moment delivered a critical story beat: showing the risk of inaction and the tangible value Alpine delivers by restoring order to the system.

City Grid and Environment Detailing

Urban environments were procedurally built using Blender’s Blosm plugin, allowing quick iteration across multiple block patterns with repeatable geometry. The system generated everything from road grids and building footprints to sidewalk layouts and pole placements—scaling easily with different scene needs.

For revenue, the flow started with one pole showing a recovered dollar amount, then zoomed out to a city grid—each pole tagged with its own value. This was built by replicating a precomp template across Blender-exported nulls, keeping labels in sync with camera motion. AE animated these counters dynamically, paced to the voiceover. As the camera pulled back, the tally climbed up, marking the system-wide financial impact of Alpine’s service.

Rendering, Output, and Integration

Final rendering used Blender’s Cycles engine with GPU acceleration and tile-based optimization. OptiX denoising kept render times fast and noise-free.

We output multi-pass renders for RGB, AO, shadow mattes, and edge outlines (via Blender’s workbench pass). These were composited in After Effects for finer control over overlays, label timing, and final polish.

The AE project was kept modular. Label sets, UI elements, and animation flows were all precomped for easy updates. When Alpine submitted late-stage markups—like height adjustments or sequence edits—we implemented them quickly without re-rendering 3D scenes.

Client collaboration stayed tight throughout Full Production. All feedback was time-coded with follow-up calls to walk through complex asks. Even multi-layered changes, like reordering label groups or updating attachment metadata, were handled fast and clean thanks to a smart, flexible pipeline.

Post-Production & Delivery

Final Compositing and 2D Integration

Everything in post was handled inside After Effects, where final compositing, UI overlays, animated 3D labels, and motion design were locked in. The entire pipeline was built to keep Blender’s geometry synced with AE callouts, allowing pixel-accurate placement of text, data, and brand visuals—even in scenes with complex camera paths.

We brought in Cycles render passes from Blender, including ambient occlusion, shadow mattes, and outlines generated via workbench mode. The outlines were used sparingly—just enough to add edge clarity when white geometry ran the risk of blending into itself, especially in pole clusters or dense city views. This helped preserve legibility without breaking the clean, minimal look.

Color correction was subtle. A bit of contrast shaping and global white balance correction kept the visuals crisp without overgrading. Alpine green—used on poles, wires, and UI—was left untouched. It had been color-matched from day one and stayed consistent across every platform. Final touches included a controlled layer of film grain and slight sharpening to bring AE overlays and 3D renders together into one cohesive visual.

AE acted as the final integration hub—connecting Blender-exported nulls with UI overlays, label animations, attachment data, and revenue visuals. Technical stacks, spacing data, and component labels were all built using nested precomps with exposed animation controls. This made feedback changes fast and scalable, even when multiple scenes needed late-stage tweaks.

Attachment Label Revisions and Technical Callouts

One of the most detail-intensive parts of post was refining the pole attachment visuals to reflect real audit outputs from Alpine’s field work. These markups needed to be technically accurate—down to the inch—to resonate with industry viewers.

We pushed through several rounds of client markup in the final stretch, handling exact height corrections for telecom, CATV, and telephone attachments. AE’s camera-synced label system made it possible to fine-tune visual separation between close-stacked attachments, update names, and restructure vertical logic without breaking the animation.

Annotated screenshots guided these changes. Heights like 23’8” for Telecom, 19’8” for CATV, and 18’8” for Telephone were dropped in precisely using AE nulls matched to Blender’s geometry. All movement stayed in sync with camera paths, preserving visual continuity and data accuracy.

Thanks to the modular comp setup in AE, none of these edits required re-rendering. That kept the production efficient and focused on detail. Every label, pointer, and height marker was crafted to Alpine’s internal standards, helping build brand credibility while delivering dense information in a clean, accessible format.

UI Elements and Motion Design

The tablet interface, introduced mid-video, was a hybrid scene: Blender-built geometry for the device and base lighting, with AE powering the floating UI motion. Terms like “field data collection,” “permit preparation,” and “permit review” were animated in AE’s 3D space, rising smoothly from the tablet screen with parallax and shadow casting for depth.

Motion design emphasized legibility and rhythm. Each phrase synced with voiceover beats using a mix of scale pops, opacity fades, and slight motion trails. Elements held long enough to read without dragging the pace.

That same discipline carried into the revenue aggregation sequence. Starting with one pole showing animated rent recovery, the camera pulled back to reveal a full city grid—each pole labeled with a real-time counter. These labels were built using AE sliders linked to narration timing, giving the segment a sense of structured growth. The final tally—over $1.5 million—capped the scene and reinforced Alpine’s broader financial impact.

Branded elements were finalized during this phase. Based on client feedback, logos from Spectrum, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Crown Castle were composited directly onto transmission lines. AE’s 3D layers let us warp and track these assets so they followed cable motion and held perspective.

Client Review and Final Approvals

Client collaboration stayed active through final delivery. Updates were reviewed in Frame.io, with time-coded notes on label clarity, logo use, and height corrections guiding the last batch of changes.

Screenshots of pole diagrams were shared side-by-side with scene stills to verify accuracy. Revisions were turned around quickly inside AE using the existing modular comp structure. Once the final attachment values and label orders were approved, we locked the animation.

Final Delivery

The completed Alpine Company Overview video was delivered in 1080p H.264 format and shared with Alpine. 

All updates were reviewed and approved, with feedback implemented and confirmed before marking the project final. The video was approved for full deployment across Alpine’s website, social channels, and industry-facing platforms.

Transcript:

Alpine Communication is America's leader in joint-use pole attachments. 

We provide utilities with turnkey permit administration and joint-use pole auditing, with tens of millions of poles and counting under our belts. 

During an in-depth Alpine joint-use pole audit, our techs analyze who is using your poles, the safety of all attachment construction, the billing standing for all attachers, and more. 

Thanks to our revenue recovery work, our utility clients have recovered millions in back-billed and future rent revenues. 

We also save utilities significant time and money with our experienced permitting and administration services which include field data collection, permit preparation, and permit review by the Alpine quality control team.

So whoever wants to attach to your poles, they’ll be accustomed to working with the experts at Alpine in the permitting process.

Don’t let unauthorized attachments bring you down. Choose Alpine and let us get your joint-use pole network in order.