Kabum founders explained how the work is organized in the company, talked about their approach to education, and shared some tips for artists willing to join the team.
Introduction
We are Marco Testini and Teresa Romano, two Italian artists. We met in 2007 at Bari’s Fine Arts Academy where we started collaborating, doing artworks matching our passions: technology, 3D art, and photography. In 2017, we won the fund "PIN-PUGLIESI INNOVATIVI" and in 2018, founded Kabum.
Working at Kabum
We like to adopt a fluid approach: our network is the key aspect of our studio, through our community on Discord we gather the right talent for each project and match our best talents for the projects we are working on. We get in touch with each member of our community as we like to know everyone personally and professionally; once the team is formed and roles are established, we handle the communication with the client.
Every project is a reason to be proud of! We believe curiosity is the strength that motivates us to keep improving. Currently, we're working on a project which is very important for us as it's the first one entirely produced at Kabum. It's a full-fledged multimedia project, in the form of a hyper-realistic virtual human. We adopted a unique workflow by using a combination of industry-standard software such as Maya, Substance 3D Designer, ZBrush, Marvelous Designer, R3DS Wrap, and Nuke, as well as our in-house texture and HDRI capture pipelines, photogrammetry software like 3DF Zephyr and plug-ins that improved our workflow, such as Maya Groomer’s Tool by No Brain Tools.
3D and Virtual Production Market in Italy
The Italian market is slowly expanding. There's still plenty of work to be done, especially in the south of Italy where Kabum has its roots. The company has been founded with the intent to fill this gap and to help our market grow, creating opportunities for our local talents.
Working with a New Client
We could say that our first step when working with new clients is for our creative team to agree on a timeline for communications. We usually try to understand the client’s needs and objectives, digging deep into their vision.
Outsourcing
We think 3D modeling is the most outsourced service. A service we are particularly fond of is our B2B-only outsourcing service of 3D Custom Assets optimized for video games, AR and VR. We decided to redirect our business in this direction for two reasons: the increased demand for 3D outsourcing during recent years and the fact that the production pipelines feel open and more interactive than the movie industry workflows.
Education
We collaborate with schools and industry professionals to offer discounted courses to the community, as well as keep everyone updated about software, hardware, and job requests. We often host on Twitch live streams guests of the caliber of Victor Perez to share some tips and tell their stories.
Joining the Team
Don’t be afraid to share your work regardless of your skill level and be yourself. To become part of our team, technical skills are important, but at the same time, we believe it is important to know how to work in a group and be able to adapt to any situation, trying to solve recurring problems in production pipelines.
We welcome and encourage applications from qualified candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion, or belief.
It is important to have a proactive and inquisitive mind to achieve the best possible results.
Marco Testini and Teresa Romano, Founders of Kaboom
Interview conducted by Arti Burton
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