It was sometime around June of 2016 when Jonny Pottins, Creative Producer, contacted me about a Heineken Campaign through SID LEE in Toronto. The story and concept was to have the talented graffiti artist Jimmy Chiale partner up with Hey Apathy and Whatisadam and create a brilliantly unique piece of moving art. How? By spray painting a white streetcar during a Heineken sponsored event at Underpass Park. The execution was clever - Half of the promotional video featured staged introductions of the artists, while the other half was shot candidly during the party itself. The artwork on the streetcar was later printed on numerous TTC streetcars which acted as mobile 'City Canvases'.

If by any chance you happened to view a Build-A-Bear Commercial between June of 2015 to December of 2016, then there is a good chance I had worked on it. From TV to Web Commercials, my brilliant friends at Small Ax Creative did it all. I produced Color Frames, Black + White Frames, Shooting Boards, and Animatics. The TV Spots ranged from Live Action to Fully CGI, and Hybrids to boot. Uploaded above was our 'Pièce de Résistance' a makeshift Star Wars Force Awakens Trailer reenacted by Children and Bears alike. There was no hardship unbearable to bear for these courageous Build-A-Bears.  

During the summer of 2016 I was working with Scott Otto Anderson and Emma Thompson of PhotoPlay Films Australia. Sitting in a quiet chic room of Circle Productions on Adelaide St. West, Scott and Emma were quick to introduce me to the producers at the office. They were already booking me in for a US chocolate bar commercial. This was the result: a clever, witty, funny personification of Sweet vs Sour, coming together in harmony - much like the ingredients of the candy.   

Concept + Visual Development is not all High Octane Non-Stop Action. Sometimes it is tender Close-Ups of everyday life. In the case of this Public Service Announcement; a heartbreaking, yet eye opening attempt to dissuade future pet owners from funding the morbidly run Puppy Mill Industry.

A Pro Bono job as I felt this was an important initiative to raise awareness.

To this date, this is the longest commercial that I have ever worked on. To be fair, it is more of a short story shown through some abstract imagery, beautifully shot around Tokyo and parts of Hokkaido. My second time working with Director James Okubo, I had learned so much from him. It took us around 12 days to Storyboard the entire commercial. You tend to make strong bonds with someone when, for 10 hours a day, you're creating narratives and bouncing off ideas each other. The Creative Deck was a slightly inconclusive so James and I spent a considerable amount of time writing the Boy's (Hero's) journey through drawing out the story beats.