Here are a few curated films from Meta, Cover Girl, Coach, Air Wick and Spotify. A diverse client roster with unique challenges.
FACEBOOK GROUPS
Year: 2021
Client: Meta
Role: Freelance Creative
Creative Team: Garrett Jones, Jessy Cole, Peter Albores
Film: Somesuch, Cliqua, Gus Bendinelli
Project Duration: 6 Months
Facebook Groups are a place to communicate about shared interests. In this film, Becky G expresses her interests: classic cars, hot sauce, and beauty.
The Challenge
In light of a last-minute legal pivot, the challenge was to reconceptualize the script 2 days before the shoot. Countless UI screenshots were captured and recreated.
This film was a small piece of the “Take On Anything” campaign that included TV/OLV, radio, banners, and social. We made 45x unique deliverables, 90x cut-downs/versions, and 262x delivered assets with different exports and aspect ratios. Phew.
COVERGIRL
Year: 2016
Client: Covergirl
Agency: Droga5
Role: Associate Creative Director
Creative Team: Abe Chuang, Catherine McCurry, Kay Kim, Ray Smiling
Project Duration: 2 Months
Note: Ray, David Droga, and I presented the work. See what David has to say about working with me. The winning pitch was handed over to another team, and I transitioned to gaming.
Cover Girl’s goal was to create a real conversation about beauty. Our winning campaign, “I Make Myself,” evolved the brand by tapping a powerful truth. Makeup isn’t just about vanity or superficiality. It’s a tool for self-expression, transformation, and highlighting one’s true identity.
Finding swipes was impossible, and nailing the right makeup looks was critical. Everything you see here was filmed, styled, and retouched at Droga5.
The Challenge
“I Make Myself” became “I Am What I Make Up,” and a new team was responsible for the rest of the campaign. Below is the launch film with words and art direction from the pitch film.
COACH
Year: 2015
Client: Coach
Agency: Droga5
Role: Senior Art Director
Creative Team: Alex Nowak, Feliks Richter, Frank Garcia, Giulia Magaldi, Spencer LaVallee
Film: Arts & Sciences, Matt Aselton, Corey Walter
Project Duration: 2 Months
Santa receives a surprise visit. Our video quickly garnered 5 million views in just a week, and an unsponsored Ariana Grande tweet helped too.
The challenge was to create a viral holiday film with $200,000.
The Challenge
AIR WICK
Year: 2014
Client: Air Wick
Agency: Droga5
Role: Senior Art Director
Creative Team: Spencer LaVallee, Tim Gordon
Design: Deanna Solis
Film: Smuggler, Adam Berg, Linus Sandgren
Project Duration: 6 Months
Note: This was a manifesto pitch film that became a brand film.
Recognition: 2015 D&AD Wood Pencil: Film Advertising Crafts - Cinematography for Film Advertising
Air Wick’s goal was to build an emotional connection that inspires fragrance lovers (women ages 25 to 54) to express themselves through scent, helping to make their house a home.
“Home is in the Air” when everything inside your place says something special about who you are — even the scent in the air. Through the point of view of air, the film took viewers through every nook and cranny of a household showing the house in its most authentic way.
We also launched the “Scent Decorator,” an interactive interior design tool that helps consumers define the mood they are trying to create, provides home design tips and an Air Wick fragrance recommendation, so they can purchase the product to create the desired atmosphere at home.
The challenge was to create a film that broke away from Air Wick’s formulaic straight-to-TV animatics. This was also the client’s first in-person production.
The Challenge
Most of the film was created using in–camera tricks. Linus Sandgren, Academy–Award–winning cinematographer of La La Land, and his team devised a new camera rig to capture the air's point of view. Giant props were used to capture detailed scenes.
Did You Know
SPOTIFY
Year: 2013
Client: Spotify
Agency: Droga5
Role: Art Director
Creative: Spencer LaVallee
Mentor: Neil Heymann
Film: Anonymous Content, Shy Kids
Project Duration: 6 Months
Spotify, designed to connect people through music, featuring demos within three teens' computer interfaces, capturing online experiences of emotional portraits.
The challenge stemmed from the uncertainties of working with fresh directors and non-actors. Countless UI screenshots were captured and recreated. After 6 months, maaaany campaigns died except “Say It With A Song.”
The Challenge
From Instagram music stickers to TikTok challenges, social media has fully embraced music features that let users “Say It With A Song” through emotional, shareable stories that connect us in the digital age.
Post-Launch Culture Report
