Turn Any Screen 3D: The Popout Effect That Stops Thumbs and Feet
- James Alas
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
Most ads still treat screens like flat posters. A product floats in the middle, type stacks politely around it, and everything hopes for the best. Meanwhile, feeds are louder than ever and city screens are a blur. If you want people to actually look—on a phone, on a laptop, or six meters across a concourse—you have to give the eye something it doesn’t expect.
That’s where our 3D Popout effect comes in. We design to the frame, not just inside it, and stage one clean moment where your product or message appears to breach the border. It’s a tiny act of creative mischief that makes the brain sit up. No special hardware. No gimmicks. Just a border-aware, forced-perspective approach that reads fast, loops cleanly, and travels to any screen you use.
We package that creative with turnkey campaign planning through our partners—so the same idea can scale across DOOH, mobile, and desktop without you juggling vendors. And if you want the cherry on top for events, we can extend the Popout language into a 6-meter LED tunnel that turns arrival into a moment people talk about.
What is "Popout"?
Imagine the screen is a small stage with a hard edge. Instead of pretending that edge isn’t there, we make it part of the scene. A shoe toe slides past it. A phone corners into it. A jar lid lifts over it. For a split second, the image feels like it’s not just on the screen but in front of it. That’s Popout.
The mechanics are simple, and that’s by design. We put one hero object in charge. We light it for silhouette and clarity. We build in depth cues—occlusion, believable shadows, perspective lines, a touch of atmospheric falloff—so your audience understands the space at a glance. Then we choreograph a single z-axis move with real weight. It breaches the border, settles, and resets behind the frame so the loop can run forever without feeling mechanical. The whole illusion is built to read in a heartbeat, whether you’re a meter away from a kiosk or leaning back with a phone.
This isn’t a technology trick. It’s creative direction plus craft, tuned for how people actually look at screens.
Any Screen. Really.
Popout isn’t tied to a specific placement. If it has a border, it can Popout.
On DOOH, the effect is bold, legible, and surprisingly elegant. We design for different approach angles so the breach reads from the side of a corridor and across an open atrium. A clean silhouette and a strong shadow do a lot of heavy lifting at distance. The moment lands early in the loop so people don’t miss it in passing, and the reset is gentle enough that repeat viewings don’t feel repetitive.
On mobile, momentum is everything. People scroll fast, so we preview the border quickly, then let the hero break it in the first beat. Safe areas are respected, contrast is high, and the background doesn’t compete with the subject. It plays beautifully on mute. The same cut can live as a Story, a Reel, Shorts, a paid placement—whatever mix suits your media plan.
On desktop and web, the viewport becomes a box. It’s a natural fit for home-page hero panels, landing pages, or mastheads where the CTA can feel like it sits just behind the object. The breach adds a tactile feel to otherwise minimal UI, and the loop keeps the page alive without overpowering the message.
Kiosks, tablets, retail screens—they’re almost too perfect. The physical bezel helps sell the illusion, and a hint of reflection or contact shadow on the frame itself nudges the effect from fun to convincing. Whether your screen is square, portrait, or a wide banner, Popout adapts.
From 2D to “Whoa” (Even If All You Have Is a PDF)
Here’s the part most marketers don’t realize: you don’t need to rebuild your campaign from scratch to get this effect. We can usually take existing 2D assets (even a PDF from your current campaign) and re-stage them for depth.
We separate elements, rebuild what we need in 3D, and light them to match your brand’s look. Then we prove the moment with a blocking animatic so you can see the breach and pacing before we polish. It’s the fastest way to breathe new life into a campaign that’s already approved, already familiar to your audience, and already working - now with the added punch of real depth. One core scene can generate a family of outputs: 9:16 for stories, 1:1 for feeds, 16:9 for web, and the DOOH spec you’re buying this quarter.
If you’ve got a PDF, you’ve got a Popout.
The Complete Package: Creative + Planning in One Workflow
Great creative deserves a clean runway. We pair Popout production with campaign planning through our partners. Through them, you get access to the major DOOH media planners - such as WallDecaux and Ströer - along with partners for mobile and desktop. In practice, that means you can explore placements, see costs clearly, target the right areas, and coordinate a cross-screen flight without spinning up five separate threads.
We keep it tidy. You approve a concept that’s already thinking about where it will live. We build with those placements in mind. Our partners line up the buy, provide the required specs, and support reporting after the launch.
You get one cohesive package that’s easy to start and easy to scale. The media planner allows you to easily and quickly set your budget, location and mediums, all on one dashboard.
How We Work (Low Touch, High Speed)
We´ve tuned the process so you don’t have to spend your week in feedback purgatory. It’s structured, quick, and light on your calendar.
It starts with a short call. We align on the message, the hero object, and where you want to run it. If you have existing campaign assets, we review what’s usable and what we’ll rebuild.
We follow with a treatment and a blocking animatic. The treatment shows the idea in words and reference frames; the animatic proves timing and the frame breach. This first checkpoint is where speed comes from—once you’ve seen the illusion, everything else is refinement.
Next, we send styleframes. You’ll see the look: materials, lighting, color, and how the border reads in your chosen aspect ratios. It’s a visual contract for quality, and it keeps surprises out of the final round.
We then build and animate the complete scene. Because we constructed it with multiple outputs in mind, the same scene can be optimized for DOOH, mobile, desktop, and retail screens without reinventing the wheel. The loop is designed to play indefinitely without fatigue.
For feedback, we use Frame.io and our project dashboard. Comments are timestamped, versions are tracked, and responsibilities are clear. You’ll see exactly what changed and why. Most clients need only a couple of short rounds because the checkpoints make each decision obvious.
Before we call it done, we run QA. Where possible, we test on physical devices and match the specs of your DOOH placements—format, codec, brightness, color space—so delivery is literally drag-and-drop.
Finally, we deliver and launch. Files go to you and to our planning partners for traffic. Your campaign goes live with a creative idea that was built for its environment from the first sketch.
Minimal input from you. Maximum clarity from us. Momentum throughout.
Why Teams Keep Choosing Popout
Popout is the rare combination of memorable and manageable. It’s arresting without being loud, clever without being complicated. It feels premium on a mall screen and effortless on a phone. It’s also versatile: one idea can cover your DOOH hero, your mobile cutdowns, your site’s masthead, and an in‑store loop without losing its charm.
It’s also scarce. Despite a few high‑profile examples in the wild, this approach is hardly used outside a handful of brands and media owners. That’s good news for you: the frame breach still feels fresh, which is exactly what attention rewards. You’ll notice it in the small, human ways - heads tilt toward the screen, thumbs pause mid‑scroll, people nudge each other and say, “Look at that.” When you’re buying media in a crowded landscape, that reaction is gold.
And because we’re set up for quick iterations, especially from your existing assets, you don’t have to wait for the “perfect brief” to get started. We’ll make a strong version quickly, then improve it in tight loops. Speed with taste beats slow perfection every time.
Industry Scenarios (So You Can Picture It)
Product launch, consumer electronics. The phone edges forward until the camera bump clears the border, then clicks back into place as the feature line appears. Ten seconds, clean reset, three crops, live everywhere you need it.
Footwear drop. A toe box glances over the frame and catches light as the outsole pattern rotates just behind the border. The CTA sits “inside the stage,” so the breach feels like a reveal, not a jump scare.
Beauty and personal care. A lid lifts past the edge, atomized product trails hover in front of the frame, then the jar settles back and the message clarifies. Soft shadows and gentle easing make it luxurious rather than loud.
SaaS and fintech. Interface tiles lift out of the UI, stack neatly over the border for a beat, then snap back into the dashboard as the value prop lands. It’s tactile and clear, even on a small phone.
Automotive. A badge glides forward until it “touches” the frame, chrome catching light, then slides back as the trim level or feature name resolves. It reads from across a concourse and still feels crisp on a 9:16 story.
Hospitality and travel. A doorframe blossoms from the border - half window, half portal -teasing a destination as the logo mark breathes forward, then returns to rest. It’s an invitation, not a command.
None of these need sound. None depend on a specific platform. And all of them use the same simple vocabulary: treat the border like it’s real, then cross it once with intention.
The 6-Meter LED Tunnel (By Inquiry)
When a screen isn’t enough, we bring the Popout spirit into the room. Our LED tunnel is a six‑meter, walk‑through experience that wraps guests in synchronized visuals and light. It’s one‑of‑a‑kind in DACH and rare across Europe, which is part of its magic. People film it. People talk about it. And when you design the tunnel content with the same depth language as your Popout creative, your campaign feels like a single story told in two mediums.
We treat it like a stage - it’s perfect for product reveals, store openings, galas, press days, festivals, conferences, roadshows, and anywhere else you want arrival to feel intentional. Availability is limited and interest is high, so we handle it by inquiry. Ask about the tunnel on our call and we’ll explore dates and logistics.
FAQs
Do we need special screens?
No. Popout is a creative approach that works on standard screens across DOOH, mobile, desktop, and retail displays.
Will it read from the side on DOOH?
Yes. We exaggerate key depth cues so the breach is legible from typical approach angles, not just straight on.
Can you work from our existing assets?
Absolutely. We often start from 2D campaign files (including PDFs) and re-stage them for depth and motion.
How long should a Popout be?
Short loops are ideal. We usually land the breach early and keep the motion elegant so it doesn’t feel repetitive across replays - the industry standard is 10 seconds for a DOOH ad.
Can you handle the media plan and buy?
Yes. Through our partners you’ll have access to major DOOH planners like WallDecaux and Ströer, plus partners for mobile and desktop.
Can you help with performance visibility after launch?
Yes. Our partners provide campaign dashboards and reporting, so you can review how the rollout behaved across channels.
Is the LED tunnel available worldwide?
The tunnel is available by inquiry, with a current focus on DACH/Europe. We’ll discuss feasibility and scheduling on the call.
How do we start?
Book a call. We’ll align on placements, assets, and timing, then move straight into treatment and the blocking animatic.
About TGW
We’re The Great Wanderer Studios - a 3D and motion team that designs for attention without shouting. We build Popout creative that turns flat screens into small stages, then help you deploy it across DOOH, mobile, and desktop through our planning partners. If you’d like to see how we tier projects by budget and complexity, explore our Motion Panels, or get a broader sense of our work at www.greatwanderer.studio.
If a screen has a border, we can make it Popout.
Book a call → https://calendly.com/jaws84/60-minute-call
