Overview

I worked for several years as a freelance art director at Vossler Media in Kirkland, WA. With a full sound stage, recording studio, animation team, and video crew, any idea imaginable could be created there making working there incredibly fun and fulfilling. One of my favorite projects was a series of commercials featuring Richard Sherman at the height of his Seahawks career. These spots showcased his partnership with T-Mobile and a new Beats bluetooth speaker. I was brought in as an Art Director to bridge the gap between the Creative Director's vision and what the Director on set captured on camera by storyboarding each scene in the script.

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Goal

Richard Sherman at his prime was a force to be reconned with so I had to bring that same energy to the screen. His personality was a great match for T-Mobile's energetic brand and Beats connection to elite athletes so I needed to equally weigh all three heavyweight factors equally throughout each spot. With most creative agencies, budgets and timelines are tight, so I needed to take the script and get the message across as quickly and cost effectively as possible but still prop him up as the super star that he was while highlighting how Beats and T-Mobile helped him in his daily routine whether he was getting ready for a game or going out for the night. The goal was to get these scripted, storyboarded, shot, edited and posted live on social by end of the week.

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My Role

With any Vossler project, I first met with the creative director in his office over a glass of bourbon to discuss the scripts he had compiled before throwing some visual ideas around to see what would stick. With budgets and timelines being tight, I knew these had to be shot there in the studio with minimal props so I set the stage to be Sherman in grayscale against a white sike background. I would rely heavily on their in-house post-production animators to bring T-Mobile's magenta out in full force, something they were used to as one of T-Mobile's agencies of choice. 

That night I spent several hours diving into T-Mobile's latest brand guidelines and I watched every Richard Sherman interview I could find to see what magical chunks I could pull out through art direction. The main idea I landed on was that this new Beats speaker would be an accessory Sherman used just like any other while prepping for a game or a night out. At the time, he was famous for his accessories. Bowties, Pitt Viper sunglasses, and of course his Super Bowl Champion ring. My initial thought was having all of these together as part of a jewelry case of sorts (see bottom right sketch below) with more of a focus on him going out for the night. I sketched out a few different scenes in pencil and pen, then brought out the PrismaColor markers to highlight how post could animate on some of that famous magenta for more action.