MAKING IT: DRAGON

CLIENT: NBCUNIVERSAL

Brand & Art Direction, Design and Animation

Using Art Director Marcelle Gravelle's incredible, handmade practical set as a starting point, we set out to extend the world she created with paper butterflies, newspaper-wrapped trees, glitter waterfalls, and cute dragons. Director Ryan Sage handcrafted the entire cast out of paper, felt, and string, and we moved it further along by bringing them all to life with fun and cute animation. Our beloved dragon went through multiple identities, at first being deemed to scary, before settling into it's own, felt skin. And when an early cut of the spot was flagged for using too much show footage, the solution was the creation of more animated crafts and the deconstruction of the existing dragon to make a cute, baby dragon that stole the show.

CREDITS
Agency: NBC Entertainment Marketing & Digital

President, NBC Entertainment Marketing & Digital: Len Fogge
EVP, On-Air Marketing & Video Creative: Ron Hayes
SVP, Original Production: Tracy Grandstaff
Director: Ryan Sage​​​​​​​Director of Photography: Chuck Ozeas
Art Director: Marcelle Gravelle
Director of Photography: Chuck Ozeas
VP, Video Design, Magic: Kari St. Clair​​​​​​​
Creative Director, Magic: Grant Okita
(Non-Practical) Design, Animation, 3D Modeling/Rigging/Animation: Brian Williams
Animation, Compositing: Tim Norman
Audio Design: Jeff Dittenber

This project was produced at NBCUniversal.

NBC Holiday Greetings

CLIENT: NBCUNIVERSAL

Brand & Art Direction, Design and Animation

Previsualization was, perhaps, the most interesting aspect of this project, as I was able to experiment with both traditional animatics as well as VR-created animatics, which allowed for a very quick turnaround of visualization and execution. The ability to quickly sketch a Universal backlot in 3D and then animate a fly-through by just walking and using my hand as the camera was a huge benefit for a project with such a tight deadline and requiring a lot of ground to cover.  

CREDITS
Agency: NBC Entertainment Marketing & Digital

President, NBC Entertainment Marketing & Digital: Len Fogge
EVP, On-Air Marketing & Video Creative: Ron Hayes
SVP, Original Production: Tracy Grandstaff
VP, Video Design, Magic: Kari St. Clair​​​​​​​
Creative Director: Grant Okita
Design, Previs, 2D/3D Modeling/Animation: Brian Williams
2D/3D Modeling/Animation: Jacob Vouniozos


This project was produced at NBCUniversal.

NBC Flagship Peacock

CLIENT: NBCUNIVERSAL

Brand & Art Direction, Concept Development & Design

NBC Entertainment Marketing was tasked with creating an update to the classic NBC peacock presence. Going off of the idea of one, we focused on a singular feather expanding to many. From neon-stripped feathers to liquid-filled glass, we took a simple idea and tried to run with it in as many directions as we could find. What we ended up with somehow incorporated almost all of our explorations, translucent and opaque, thin and thick, sharp and rounded, retro and modern. For the network that encompasses so many different faces- the tears of This Is Us, the exhilaration of American Ninja Warrior, the laughter of Saturday Night Live, the sonancy of the Voice- we think this is a perfect summation of what this company was, is, and will become.

CREDITS
Agency: NBC Entertainment Marketing & Digital

President, NBC Entertainment Marketing & Digital: Len Fogge
EVP, On-Air Marketing & Video Creative: Ron Hayes
Director of Production: Kari St. Clair​​​​​​​
Creative Director: Grant Okita
Design: Grant Okita, Brian Williams
2D & 3D Animation: Brian Williams

This project was produced at NBCUniversal.

Parks & Rec

CLIENT: NBCUNIVERSAL

Brand & Art Direction, Concept Development & Design

Fun promo animations for NBC’s Parks & Rec.

CREDITS
Director: Brad Gensurowsky
Art Direction: Charles Beckman
Design, 3D Modeling, Compositing & Animation: Brian Williams
This project was produced at NBCUniversal.

CBS Halloween & New Years

CLIENT: CBS

CREDITS
Creative Direction: Matt Hernandez
Animation / Design: Brian Williams

Battle Creek

CLIENT: CBS

Brand & Art Direction, Concept Development & Design

The challenge here was to take a greenscreen edit and create a world around the characters based on the humorous VO.
Kicking down doors and killing butterflies, Battle Creek was one that was gone too soon.

CREDITS
Creative Direction/ Concept Development: Matt Hernandez, Anne de Vega
Design / Animation / Compositing: Brian Williams
Animation: Aaron Hendrix

Blippy

CLIENT: BLIPPY.COM

I think we all remember the day that the late, great Blippy went under. Or got bought out. Or I don't know, no one remembers Blippy. But this animation I made for them is one of my favorites.

CREDITS
Creative Direction: Nate Whitson, Rico Andrade
Art Direction / Concept Development / Design / Animation / Compositing: Brian Williams

Community

CLIENT: NBCUNIVERSAL

This was one of my first projects at NBC, and while simple, one of my favorites, down to the homemade font that was created for it.
What went from a simple idea and sketch turned into a 3D animatic meant to guide an actual shoot; the animatic was liked so much that the shoot was scrapped and the animation was kept instead.

CREDITS
Creative Direction: Brad Gensurowsky
Art Direction: Charles Beckman
Concept Development / Design / Animation / Compositing / 3D Modeling: Brian Williams

The New Normal

CLIENT: NBCUNIVERSAL

CREDITS
Brad Gensurowsky: Creative Director
August Vouniozos: Art Direction / Concept Development / Design
Brian Williams: Concept Development / Design / Animation / Compositing

Google Cloud Computing

CLIENT: GOOGLE

CREDITS
Creative Direction/Animation / 3D Modeling: Nate Whitson
Animation / 3D Modeling: Brian Williams

The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon

CLIENT: NBCUNIVERSAL

As Jimmy Fallon prepared to take the reigns of the Tonight Show legacy, we set out to design a holiday-inspired teaser that captured both Jimmy's energy as well as Christmas in the Tonight Show's new/old home, New York City. 

CREDITS
Creative Direction: Brad Gensurowcsky
Design / Animation / 3D Modeling: Brian Williams

Survivor Season 30

CLIENT: CBS

After 15 years and 30 seasons, the newest edition will feature the first-time theme of "Worlds Apart" with castaways from very different backgrounds divided into the three separate tribes. In keeping with the true nature of the show, the package was designed to embrace and live in a world of extremes.

CREDITS
Creative Direction: Matt Hernandez
Design / Animation / 3D Modeling: Brian Williams

Hairspray Live!

CLIENT: NBCUNIVERSAL

NBC presented a live broadcast of Hairspray Live! on December 7, 2016. Like the previous live musical events that NBC has pioneered, Hairspray Live! featured an All-Star cast in Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Harvey Fierstein, Martin Short, Kristin Chenoweth, Derek Hough, Dove Cameron, Garrett Clayton and introduced Maddie Baillio as Tracy Turnblad.

Taking place in the early 1960's, Hairspray does a tremendous job in transporting us to a simpler and much more innocent time. It tells the story of teenage love while also being able to tackle difficult subject matter that is all too relevant to today's America. It artfully strives to bring about change, foster inclusion and offer hope in taking a stand for what is right.

All of that is accomplished under the fun and colorful veneer of the 1960's. From the beginning, we set out to showcase the bright, energetic colors as well as the sparkles and glitter that immediately set the tone for the show. We aimed to communicate the brightest points of the era while keeping it relevant to today.

We had the honor to work with amazing talent, both in front of the camera and behind to develop a cross platform brand that created a fun and energetic brand that set the tone leading into the live show. From the On-Air spots, OOH, and digital, to the Countdown Show and the Live Show Title, we worked to create and truly branded package.     

CREDITS
Creative Direction, Countdown Show EP & Dir.: Dean McFlicker
Branding Direction, Art Direction, Concept Development, & Design: Grant Okita
Director of Photography (Multiple Shoots): Peter Selesnick, David Waterston, Chuck Ozeas, James Belkin
Director of Production: Kari St. Clair
Lead Artist, 2D & 3D Animation, & Compositing: Brian Williams
Technical Direction, VFX, & Compositing: Tim Norman
Design, 2D & 3D Animation, & Compositing: Ryan Levitus
Design & Animation: Seungmin Roh
2D Animation: Todd LeValley
2D Animation: Gary Reisman
This project was produced at NBCUniversal.

The Wiz Live!

CLIENT: NBCUNIVERSAL

NBC aired the live musical event The Wiz Live! on December 3, 2015. Featuring the All-Star cast of Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Common, David Alan Grier, Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, Amber Riley, Uzo Aduba, Stephanie Mills and introducing Shanice Williams as Dorothy, The Wiz Live! was a huge hit with both critics and the general audience alike.
We had the opportunity to lead the creative process for a wide range of needs that proliferated in encompassing everything from On-Air Promotions to Digital Units and cross platform advertising. The amazing production design and costuming provided stunning elements to work with in creating the brand package. Undoubtedly, this was a vastly rewarding experience to work with a talented and committed team and see this high volume undertaking come to fruition and garner so much appreciation.

CREDITS
Director: Brad Gensurowsky
Director of Photography: David Waterston
Creative Director: Dean McFlicker
Art Direction, Concept Development, & Design: Grant Okita
Design, 3D Modeling, Compositing & Animation: Brian Williams
Rotoscoping: Tim Norman, Deane Boeka
This project was produced at NBCUniversal.

Camp

CLIENT: NBCUNIVERSAL

CREDITS
Creative Direction: Brad Gensurowsky
Concept Development / Design / Animation / Compositing: Brian Williams

World of Dance

CLIENT: NBCUNIVERSAL

CREDITS
Creative Direction: Brad Gensurowsky
Concept Development / Design / Animation / Compositing: Brian Williams