Earlier this year I had a blast working with the good people at BLIND on their amazing project: The Xbox “Scorpio” debut trailer. This officially introduced the world to the Xbox One X, and it’s always an honor to be included on such high-profile assignments. I’ve generously been given permission to show some of the storyboards I created for them- I think this is some of my best work!
Here’s a slideshow:
And here’s a link to the final video!
https://vimeo.com/221362215
Thanks for checking in!
Here’s a fun spot I worked on earlier this year for my great clients at Mirada. It’s a charming commercial for lemon-scent Pine Sol, and to provide a brief backstory: the agency had “tested” a wacky concept of small soldiers and ballerinas chanting “powerful clean” and “lemony fresh” as they jumped into a Pine Sol bottle. And it tested well. Like, CRAZY well. So we were asked to put together a pitch on how we might take that concept and flush it out into a fun character animation spot.
The concept is super simple so all the nuance and storytelling is in the directing and camera angles, and really making sure the characters are on target and doing their thing, and so the success here would come down to the execution of the concept. Aside from the storyboards, there were character designers and concept artists working as well, but we were working concurrently so I didn’t have any direct reference for what anything should look like, so I had to charge forward as best I could.
We actually did have an “angle” if you will- the director was very interested in attempting to channel some of the very popular Taylor Swift video for “Bad Blood,” as in, to make sure we charged the lemony fresh ballerinas with a kind of kick-ass spin. Something different! I thought it was a great twist, and you can see in the frames, especially in this one:
Hardcore Freshness Ballerinas and Scrub Soldiers (complete with assault mops), in Pine Sol style, and miniaturized, in a typical household kitchen. I could picture that pretty easy. Here’s the boards:
The client apparently loved the boards, because they were not only awarded the job, but they ended up not needing me to revise any of the frames- which is a pretty awesome deal! Here’s the finished spot:
Not bad! Looks like they did away with the “Bad Blood” references- we are back to cutesy ballerinas, but I think that might be a good move, given the overall timing. Spot looks great. And I’m glad they kept in the “lemon” parachutes- that was my idea!
See you next time.
Here’s a quick sweet little project I boarded a while back – one of those synergistic multi-product subtle mega-mercials masquerading as a network PSA – tips for a fun “date night!”
Here, a couple starts out there morning routine as usual- but then in a moment of whimsy, it strikes them to spice things up a bit and go on an impromptu date night! All with the help the Hallmark Channel’s suggestion of a “Date Night” jar of fun date activities, and of course, great products from Proctor and Gamble, like Crest toothpaste and Pantene hair spray.
They dress their best, pick from the date night jar, and the winner is: ‘Rent a Convertible and Buzz up the Coast for some Seafood!’ Sounds like fun! Here’s the boards:
What I like most about these boards is the great way I pulled off a natural depiction of the “everyday couple.” The first couple frames of the pair brushing their teeth, being casual/typical/routine, and then simultaneously coming to the same notion- “are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Blowdrying their hair, picking out clothes, checking their makeup- it’s really important to be able to convincingly draw the normal, everyday stuff, and making it appealing, and I was lucky to have this practice.
I don’t know if they ever did make this commercial, so I don’t have the final vid to show you either way, but no biggie, it’s all about the boards anyway! See you next time!
-Max
Here’s a very fun spot I did a while back for Red Bull/Audi; a little cross promotional effort to reinforce mutual branding and associations. Basically, it’s a mini-documentary of an extreme sports spectacle: a never-before-seen coordinated group of stunts with multiple flight technologies being expertly demonstrated, and beautifully shot.
This kind of event is more “captured” than executed according to shot list, so there’s some amount of looseness between what’s intended and final outcome- but I was able to help out by drawing up some nice presentation-style frames to help sell through the concept- and these shots were detailed very specifically by the director, who included great references for the planes, vehicles and locations. That helps a lot in making the boards come through as intended and being the most helpful in terms of advancing the production. I like that storyboards can be useful in a production like this, even though it’s also a known thing that on the day of the actual shoot, they’ll have to just roll with however things come out. If you ask me, that’s the REAL stunt! Ha! Here’s the boards:
And here’s the final spot:
Very cool! Thanks for checking in.
Max
Face it. You gotta work out, and you gotta look good doing it. Reebok’s got you covered- as evidenced by this fun spot I did a while back.
It’s beautifully shot (and storyboarded) and since it’s visually driven, it’s my favorite type of commercial. These aren’t shoot boards, so it doesn’t match the final spot exactly, but they door capture the concept very well. It’s speaks for itself and looks great, so lets check it out! Here’s the boards:
The challenge with this spot was there wasn’t a full day to spend on it, so I had to kind of keep things loose, but it was also important to get a close approximation of a cinematic feel- and I think it worked out great! Here’s the final spot!
Fun, fit and fashionable. See you next time!
Thanks,
Max
I had a good run a couple of years ago getting hired to draw storyboards for an ad campaign for Labatt Blue, a Canadian Beer brand. They have a Bear character (just an actor in a bear suit) who is their Party Champion – a “Duff Man,” if you will- who shows up at opportune moments to take the party to the next level- and make it EPIC.
I think I’ve detailed before that I prefer commercials that don’t rely on dialogue or voiceover to convey the narrative- and so it is in these commercials that all the entertainment and message is contained the fun, active, silly visuals. In this campaign, I was called to draw sexy girls, sports, action, humor, nature, and of course, beer. It was very fun.
Here’s the first spot! For all the spots, we start on a great beer/branding lineup. Always good to have some clear branding, but it comes at a cost- it clearly shows the viewer that they are watching a commercial, which is often something we’re called to make less obvious- but owning it upfront and then making a spectacular entertaining spot immediately follow is also a great strategy- either way, your mission is to keep them watching for what happens next.
We open tight on a lineup of the Labatt Blue beers, which are lifted from frame to reveal an awesome wide shot of a beautiful blue lake, and sport boat with wakeboarder coming right at camera- after a series of tight shots of boating and boarding, we reveal the Bear in a frozen epic moment superimposed with the message “Get Undomesticated”. This is their slogan/call to action/mnemonic – a brand message to reinforce association and clarify intent- this beer is for wild and crazy Canadian party animals and the sexy girls who love them!
We see more shots of extreme wakeboarding skills, and some party shots, and it’s on! Labatt Blue is the choice of the truly undomesticated. Here’s the boards:
And here’s the final spot!
https://vimeo.com/128382538
We open tight on a lineup of the Labatt Blue beers, cold as ice, which are lifted from view and reveal a frozen pond- and a bizarre sight- a bear in hockey skates and stick doing perfect puck handling and closing in on us- it’s our Bear hero and the message is clear – Get Undomesticated. He crashes the pond hockey game and single-handedly schools the other players, deft skills outclassing these hopeful amateurs. He shoots, he scores, they celebrate! It’s a hot time on the cold pond tonight! Here’s the boards:
And here’s the final spot!
https://youtu.be/QJ3kG0Evy3Y
We open tight on a lineup of the Labatt Blue beers, which wipe frame, revealing our dune buggy race- a sexy flag girl starts the race and they’re off! We have fun action shots, quick cuts of dune buggy racing action, and we catch a frozen moment glimpse of the absurd- the lead buggy is driven by our hero, the Labatt Bear. He wins the race, the crowd goes wild, and it’s a fun, sexy part to celebrate right after. Win! Here’s the boards:
And here’s the final commercial – or at least, it would have been here- I can’t find it online, and I’m not sure if it was even made, or made but never posted, or posted but then removed. Probably the latter.
Sometimes things get muddled after the fact – as an example, limitations on music licensing, or perhaps more likely, revised guidelines on advertising standards and practices, or perhaps most likely, maybe it was “tested” by a focus group of viewers, and tested poorly, for whatever reason, and thus was cut. It happens all the time, and it’s expected. I’m only speculating, but maybe it was a bit of a conceptual reach to go with the Baja Beach / Sand Dune scenario- its kind of a disconnect from where you would normally think a Canadian Bear would spend his free time. So, maybe someone had a concern that this spot wasn’t as relatable to the target demographic as the other spots were. Just a guess!
Thanks for reading! See you next time.
-Max
