Video & Animation
I was an independent producer for all non-product videos on this page, meaning I had no crew. I did all the creative briefs, filming, directing, graphic packages, editing and animation. I pride myself on not just their creation, but the strategic vision and voice behind all of them.
Fortnite Commercial
I was the producer on this.
A partnership between SanDisk, Epic Games and Nintendo, this video had many layers of approval. This added to lead time so to keep the project on track, I made the entire storyboard from (1) preexisting package art, and (2) footage previously used by Epic Games. This way I knew there would be very little room for objections and the video would stay on track.
I had the card skinned in Cinema 4D by our motion designer. This way we were able to avoid going to a 3D production house and keep the cost at virtually zero.
Fortnite is all about battling. When I chose the music for this, I wanted the music to capture that. The song, “Im In It To Win!” accomplished that. I even looked at preexisting Fortnite commercials to make sure the music would be a natural fit to the portfolio of videos they already had. For example, most of their videos had vocals and this type of melody.
WD Blue Commercial
This was Western Digital’s first practically shot product video in many years. Looking at other product videos, which were mostly 3D, I pushed my team to film with real life people to better resonate with the target audience. I designed the set for this, directed the shoot and storyboarded it all.
I knew the technical audience would resonate with talent inserting the drive herself, because many of them are, “Do it Yourselfers”. So I focused the direction of this video to have the talent be very hands on. I made the decision to use motion design (As opposed to 3D) to stay within budget. Using motion design also helped show the point in the story where the character’s life changed for the better. This was the moment the drive was inserted and supercharged the laptop.
My favorite decision I made on this was the music. The song, which sings, “I want more, more, more!” is symbolic of what the drive is providing: it gives the consumer more performance as they create what matters most to them.
Firmware Technology: A Refugee's Path to a 30 Year Dream Career
This is part of a video series I launched at Western Digital, and inspired by one of my favorite shows, “Hows It’s Made”, on the Science Channel. I pitched this series because the company’s technological portfolio wasn’t understood by potential job candidates. I learned this talking with engineers at the company, wrote a creative brief and tackled the misconception the company had.
I casted Hung Vu in this video to highlight his amazing journey as an immigrant to win the hearts of my target audience. I knew it was an interesting story because people generally think data storage devices are only optimized by hardware. This is not true. It is also optimized by software and a big part of the semiconductor industry. This took my audience off guard and maximized engagement throughout the video.
The video series is also inspired by Netflix cinema, which makes it very different than other corporate recruitment campaigns. It also stands out due to its focus on personal storytelling. I can say with utmost certainty, this video series, which has evolved for over 6 years, has changed the way people talk and look at Western Digital.
San Jose Mayor Endorses Volunteerism
I had the honor of producing this video for Beautiful Day and in partnership with the City of San Jose. When I thought about the messaging of this video, I wanted it to focus on why volunteerism is important during COVID-19. I coached the talent to focus on how volunteerism allows residents to focus on what we can control: our community. In addition, I guided them to focus on why it is was important now. There was a lot of division in American communities after the pandemic and still is as I type this. The video is a beautiful piece for the San Jose community to be reminded of what really matters.
I consulted with Beautiful Day leadership to gather quantitive data to show the impact of this event. Sometimes charity videos are a lot of positive words with no data. I wanted this to be different by showing numbers and figures these volunteers produced. In addition, I wanted the audience to think deeply about the philosophy of charity work. This video begins by focusing on the Broken Window Theory, which was thought provoking and captured my audience’s attention immediately.
Black History Month
As an African American, I was focused on this video celebrating the accomplishments of the Black community at Western Digital. At times, some outlets focus on the nation’s' dark history, and there is a time and place for that, but the talent and I worked together to show the positive impact this community has on the company.
I created all the designs of the characters, products and other imagery in Adobe Illustrator. Then I animated them using Apple Motion 5. My account ran out of ShutterStock licenses and I needed a method to make this a truly unique piece without sacrificing professionalism, which is why I made this decision. The graphic art also gave it the positive vibe I was going for.
We filmed online because I had three days to make this, and I also had COVID-19 at the time. I’m really proud of this video because I pushed through all physical and virtual barriers to make it happen. This video was shared on social media, and a vehicle to be part of diversity and inclusion conversations online.
Silicon Valley Wafer Manufacturing
Sometimes, entry levels jobs can carry the perception of not being glamorous or insignificant. In this situation, I didn’t want the target audience to think this factory was just an assembly line. This can dissuade potential job candidates from being interested and applying. I consulted with a team of manufacturing engineers and executives to make a creative brief to uncover the dynamic and scientific environment that exists within the factory.
When I developed the graphics package and made other editing decisions, I went into this with the mindset of making it a fun video. It needed to be different than other videos of people answering in a Q&A style. The end result showed these positions are great place to get one’s career started in technology, proved these jobs make a meaningful difference in the world and showcased the company’s inclusive environment.