TBD Coffee Co.
In March of 2020, the night before the world shut down from the COVID-19 pandemic, I met Ashley Vasquez at a mutual friend’s birthday party. The connection was instant. Five months later; we were crazy about each other and crazy enough to start a coffee company together.
Ashley had a background in social media management and my background was in cinematography, photography, and animation. We created TBD Coffee Co. I drew the characters on each coffee bag label, took product photos of each coffee bag, and filmed videos showcasing the bags. Ashley took those and created a TBD Coffee Co Instagram page, ran social ads, and ran PR campaigns with various news outlets.
We started with our Per My Last Email Dark Roast and then kept creating from there. Fast forward to the present and the company is much larger with 12 signature coffee labels. We bought a new home together at the start of 2022.
In an interview with Canvas Rebel about TBD Coffee Co, I was asked to share a story that illustrates an important or relevant lesson you learned in school. I answered that I’m a director of photography and producer now, but I started off in film school.
I had a film professor who told us that when crafting a story, it’s best if we take from our own personal lives as inspiration.
If we imitate other films then we’re creating a duplicate of something that already exists.
We regularly film ads for TBD Coffee Co for use on social media. Here is an ad that we shot for Hulu. It ran for 3 months. The ad was shot on the Nikon Z6 with Pentax 67 lenses and a Kipon Baveyes medium format focal reducer flying on the Ronin RS2 gimbal.
Riot Games Swag Box
Every new Rioter is given a starter kit featuring gear designed by our amazing Swag Team. With branded items like a special-edition print, a backpack, and (of course) the coveted Teemo Cap, new hires start their journey off on the right foot—in style!
I shot this stop-motion animation with my Nikon Z6 and an Aputure Amaran RGB Fresnel LED light illuminating the subjects and the paper backdrop.
Fun Wine
I originally connected with Fun Wine through Ashley Vasquez. She was contracted as their social media strategist and asked for help creating new content for Fun Wine’s social and online presence.
Since then, I have produced and filmed a number of social campaigns for Fun Wine. For most projects, I take on the roles of line producer, casting agent, photographer, and videographer. Between Ashley Vasquez, Devin Weakland, and myself, we produce photo shoots with a 10 to 20-person crew and multiple locations in order to create organic social content for Fun Wine’s next few months. This included reels and photography.
Fun Wine is Christina Aguilerra’s alcoholic cocktail company. The brand is inspired by music, art, fashion, and the vibrant culture and vibe of Miami. They collaborated with Miguel Paredes, a New York City-raised graffiti artist to create their labels.
Picnic Pals in Dreamland
A young woman with paranoid FOMO discovers that her two best friends had a dream-sharing experience without her. Psychic adventure ensues.
I worked on the Dear Abby scenes of this animation. I composited in Adobe After Effects.
Canopy
Canopy is a mentorship-driven early-stage investment program for startups in the cannabis industry, with a focus on ancillary products and services, as well as CBD/Hemp companies. Their approach provides capital, mentorship, and guidance for companies looking to enter the cannabis industry.
As part of their bootcamp program, they hired me as a contractor to animate videos for the new companies they had invested in.
I composited these animations in Adobe After Effects
ShipCompliant
I was lead animator on a series of animations for the SaaS company ShipCompliant. I collaborated with the company’s graphic designer to create animations that matched the visual style of ShipCompliant’s website and logo. She taught me shape language and how to convey messages visually in a corporate project.
I composited these animations in Adobe After Effects. I hand-drew the assets with aBamboo tablet in Toon Boom Studio. I collaborated with the CEO, PR, and support teams to convey the company’s complex message in simple animations.
Sovos ShipCompliant has been the leader in automated alcohol beverage compliance tools for more than 15 years, providing a full suite of cloud-based solutions to wineries, breweries, distilleries, cideries, importers, distributors and retailers to ensure they meet all federal and state regulations for direct-to-consumer and three-tier distribution.
Bentley
This is my FILM 3400 final at the University of Colorado, Boulder. A cartoon monkey Monk Monk comes into the lives of a young man named Mitch and his friends. Monk Monk's chaotic-neutral attitude helps shake things up and teach Mitch and his friends more about themselves.
I composited in Adobe After Effects and hand-drew assets with a Bamboo tablet in Toon Boom Studio. The film was an official selection at the Grillo Film Festival
Magic Cake and SuperBound
Before my career began, I animated these two short videos for fun. I used characters from the EarthBound/Mother series and composited them into movie trailers. I composited using Premiere Pro.