REGENT Seaglider Introduction: A 3D Animated Flight from Water to Dock

REGENT's all-electric seaglider floats like a boat, rises onto hydrofoils, then flies just above the waves. The brief landed with us at Motion Giraffx as a question of order: show the vehicle in each mode, in the sequence a passenger trip would use them. The audience was transit operators, coastal transportation authorities and investors in sustainable regional aviation.

In 52 seconds the 3D animation opens with the REGENT logo over open water, then follows the craft as it accelerates across the waves, rises onto its hydrofoils past an urban waterfront skyline and lifts off. It skims low over the water at sunset, approaches San Francisco Bay near the Golden Gate Bridge, settles back onto hydrofoils and hull, and slows alongside a wooden marina pier. Passenger doors open, a fast-charging cable plugs in, and the REGENT card closes the film.

The craft call was to end on the charger instead of the flight. For the people who would run a service like this, the pier is where a vehicle turns into an operation, and a familiar landmark like the Golden Gate gives the speed and scale something to be measured against.

A vehicle that works across water, air and dock does not fit in a single photograph. 3D animation lets us carry it through all three in one film. If your product changes behavior as it moves, 3D animation is where we would start.