Summit Tutorials

Producing the tutorials

Montblanc asked me to produce ten video tutorials explaining the functions of their new Summit 3 smartwatch. Working from their scripts, we designed and animated all ten, from the 3D watch interactions to the motion design text.

I handled the art direction and look dev. I built a pilot tutorial first to set the mood, the design system, the procedural background animation and the lighting, so the whole series had one language to follow. From there, Samuel Fiser and Rémi Loger animated the other tutorials, and Morgane Costantini modeled the watch and its straps.

A versatile motion design system

I designed a motion system that runs across 18 minutes of animation. The type layouts and text animations had to flex to any text length or duration, so I kept them procedural, driven by a minimal set of keyframes. That let us iterate fast on client changes and drop in new copy without rebuilding anything, while holding the balance between readability and appeal.

UV mapping the screen

While we were producing the tutorials, Montblanc's design team was still finishing the watch UI. To avoid re-rendering, I composited the screen animation onto the 3D render in Nuke with UV maps, using the STMap node, and kept the glass reflections intact for realism. That way I could update the on-screen UI at any time without touching the 3D.

Reveal teaser

Ahead of the launch, I made a short teaser for the new smartwatch. I played with light and strong contrast to hint at the silhouette's elegance without fully revealing it.