Anchorpoint at GETPIONEERS

GETPIONEERS is a tech service provider and digital innovator, known for creating interactive, visually engaging solutions for complex products and processes. They work closely with clients to enhance visual and digital communication, supporting B2B marketing, sales, and product management. The customer base includes engineering and chemical companies such as BASF, SEW-EURODRIVE or renowned research institutes such as Forschungszentrum Jülich.

In this interview I talked with René Frassek, who is a 3D Artist & Product Owner and also responsible for the pipeline at GETPIONEERS.

René, could you tell us more about yourself?

I started out with level design and modding when I was around 13 years old. Because of this, I came into contact with general 3D work and started learning Cinema 4D a couple of years later. One thing led to another and when I finished school, I went to get my B.A. in “Mediadesign” in Ravensburg. After a couple of years of experience in another job, I got my current position at GETPIONEERS.

Can you tell us about GETPIONEERS? What kind of work are you doing?

GETPIONEERS is a visualization & technology service provider and covers a wide range of digital solutions. From classic 3D renderings from our clients' STEP data, to animations and film production, to interactive applications and virtual showrooms. In recent years, virtual 360° tours with interactive elements have been in great demand as a replacement for physical trade fairs. Currently, we are again increasingly creating interactive applications and concepts for trade fairs on site or on our customers' websites. A completely new area that has recently been added is digital twins and digital training. Here, we use technologies such as AR/VR or real-time development environments such as Unity or Unreal, to make the digital experience as exciting as possible for our customers and their customers. Whether for marketing, sales, production, or research & development, we work closely with various departments.

Tell us about your pipeline?

What we offer our clients is constantly evolving, and so is our pipeline. During the pandemic it became, for obvious reasons, very clear, that the classic approach “all the data is only accessible in the office” doesn’t work anymore. Therefore, we did a major restructuring of our entire pipeline. We moved most of our data into the cloud so we can work from anywhere, at any time. One of the most important points in this process was to ensure data security at all times. Anchorpoint is a core part of this. It offers a flexible, customizable and central piece of software with all projects inside. At this point, we use Git for all our projects.

When did you start using Anchorpoint?

We started switching to Anchorpoint and testing when it was still in early Beta. Restructuring our pipeline took a long time. So we’ve only recently moved our entire production to Anchorpoint.

Was it easy to get started?

Yes, very! Anchorpoint makes many very complex things easier to grasp. Namely Git, which is a game changer for our artists who need to interact with it. Everybody who has ever come into contact with Git knows how intimidating it can be. But Anchorpoint breaks it down to only the most important features in a very understandable way through the interface. Artists don’t need things like rebasing or squashing. They just want to get their work on the servers.

What problems does Anchorpoint solve for you?

It enables our artists and developers to work together on the same pipeline. Previously, our developers used Git and our artists used network drives. This meant that the developers had to copy files around if they required them, and artists couldn’t easily see and test how their artwork looks in development builds of projects. Now everyone has access to everything they need for realising their project, while the necessary requirements for data security are always taken into account. Branching allows us to still have a degree of separation so we don’t ruin each of the others' version history.

The action system allows us to automate little things, which in the end make a decisive difference. Things like creating folders with the current date, or preset folder structures are very useful. But also the file previews are superior to the very limited and often unusable windows preview.

Which features do you use the most?

Definitely Git version control and the general project management features. I am sure we will use more in the future, but as we all know, it takes time to learn new things and integrate it into everybody’s workflow.

How did you hear about us?

At the time when Anchorpoint became available as a public beta, I was very active on core4d.com (formerly c4dcafe.com). Anchorpoint had an ad banner there, and the timing was just right.

Thank you so much Réné for taking your time. Learn more about GETPIONEERS.