Art Direction and Video Production

In the official music video for 'The Climb,' I served as the creative director, executive producer, and artist, overseeing every aspect of production. The challenge of filming during the pandemic underscored the importance of location. After assembling a skilled crew of local professionals, including a director, cameraman, assistant director, makeup artist, wardrobe specialist, and key production assistant, I ventured to the open air of the Arizona desert.

From capturing breathtaking drone shots outside Gates Pass to creating a safe filming environment at the lively El Pais Motel and Campgrounds, the video embodies a sense of freedom and strength, drawing inspiration from iconic films like 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' and 'Natural Born Killers,’ as it was depicted in my original storyboards. My vision and execution evoke the rebellious spirit, with every frame infused with energy and attitude, resulting in a Semi-Finalist in the MAGMA Film Awards.

The collaboration between Girl Scouts and DreamWorks' Spirit Untamed for 'Find Your Adventure' offered a unique opportunity to generate excitement and awareness of a major brand partnership, but with the challenge of merging the very high-end animation of DreamWorks with GSUSA still images.

In close partnership with an outside agency, I oversaw the integration of graphical elements from our new brand identity as animated frames around the static photography and messaging. The spots were intertwined with significant scenes and lines from the movie that perfectly align with the representation of those moments, while they harmonized seamlessly with the movie's score, conveying the spirit of adventure through both mediums and resulting in a beautiful promotional video that significantly increased engagement around this initiative.

For the music video of the song 'Away From Me,' I faced the challenge of translating profound personal experiences into visual storytelling. This song, born from the grief following the loss of my father, required the balance of honoring the lyrics and conveying the importance of the song's inspiration. Opting for an official lyric video, I employed animation to the lyrics against a backdrop of the view from a driving car to depict the song's narrative.

The view unfolds from a rear perspective of a drive, symbolizing the journey of moving 'away from' grief. As the lyrics unfurl, they mimic passing cars, alternating between tunnel and street scenes to evoke different emotional tones. Some words were placed to reflect their meaning, such as 'high' appearing at the top of the screen, and 'eye' shifting angles to the street below, conveying the idea that grief can be difficult to grasp or understand fully, like trying to catch something that's constantly shifting or changing.

The result was a poignant yet powerful video that resonated with over 12k viewers on YouTube with a notable press feature. It serves as a gift to its viewers—a reminder that while the pain of loss is profound, our loved ones ultimately want us to find solace and continue living.

This promotional video for Girl Scouts x Hasbro's 'My Little Pony' for 'The Make Your Mark Challenge' aimed to impart valuable lessons on friendship and positive impact, aimed at attracting new memberships and renewals. The challenge? Seamlessly blending the fantastical world of My Little Pony with real-life Girl Scout experiences. A strategy was developed in collaboration with an outside agency, centering on the question: “What can a girl gain from a box of cookies?”

The video portrays a Girl Scout pulling items from a magical cookie box, each representing the benefits and skills acquired through being a Girl Scout. These items emerge from a bottomless box, accompanied by flickering blasts of animated embellishments, enhancing the sense of magic and excitement surrounding each pull. As the Girl Scout discovers the gains of her journey, the video culminates with her pulling out a mirror, revealing herself in uniform surrounded by new friends, including the flying ponies above. The result was in a significant increase in new memberships and in current member participation in the challenge activities.

As seen in The Fiore Escape section, this video sought to convey the intensity and uniqueness of these performances, the intricate details of the experiential design, and the excitement of the city streets. Given the limitations of ground-level views, I chose to exclusively utilize drone footage to capture the essence of the event with captivating aerial perspectives.

Selecting the song 'All The Mychelles' proved instrumental, aligning some of the lyrics with key moments throughout the video—from 'walking their dogs' synchronizing with passersby to 'taking you home' coinciding with the slipping off of my jacket—each transition was to enhance the viewer's experience, including guitar riffs synchronized with screen shifts and visual hits of the drum beats highlighting the live drummer playing in my bedroom window

The resulting video garnered significant attention, amassing 6.6k views on YouTube. Additionally, it is serving as a compelling sizzle reel for a new potential artist grant, laying the groundwork for the next iteration of The Fiore Escape in 2024.

In collaboration with Warner Bros.' DC Super Hero Girls, this video was to create an inspiring and empowering experience that showcased the partnership between these iconic brands while highlighting the 'Cookie Pro' initiative and registration. The challenge was integrating the detailed animated characters of DC Super Hero Girls with our stylized illustrated representations of the 'Cookie Pro' girls in a seamless and visually engaging way.

To address this, I focused on maintaining a consistent stylistic illustrated atmosphere throughout the video, with vibrant backgrounds with dynamic motion to evoke the sense of superheroes in action, including the girls running to a Warner Brothers Studio reveal. where their participation in Cookie Pro could win a trip.

The music and animation were thoughtfully synchronized to underscore the theme of a heroic team-up, emphasizing the message of empowerment and that “girls can change the world.” The resulting video effectively capturing the spirit of the collaboration, contributed to increased engagement and awareness of the 'Cookie Pro' initiative, with a significant increase in sign-ups.