OX Art Annual 2018 by OX Creative

2018

THE POWER OF

& TONY SORRENTINO Account Executive

hen I was growing up, my favorite movie was the The Karate Kid.

It’s the inspiring tale of young Daniel Larusso, displaced and distraught when his mother relocates from New Jersey to sunny California. He meets an old karate master (who happens to work in Daniel’s building, and be adept at bonsai tree-trimming, and know how to fix a bike when needed) and, through a lot of waxing floors and painting fences, finds the courage and skills he needs to win the girl of his dreams. This was, for me, the idyllic tale of success: one boy, facing impossible odds, finding a wise mentor and the strength he needs to overcome those odds. The problem is that a lot of us are still living our lives—and leading our organizations— that way. We strive to be the end-all, be-all of whatever it is that we do, a self-contained unit of greatness. It’s a noble pursuit, built on our passion and vision to make a real impact and discover lasting success. But in an increasingly complex world, your brand, your organization, your dream can’t afford to go it alone. You need more than great coaches; you need capable partners. You need “and.” And so do we. At OX, on one level, we’ve always believed in “and.” When we started, we were an agency built on partnering with brands doing good in the world, working with them to

refine and amplify their very worthwhile messages. “You + OX.” This was our heartbeat from the beginning. In the decade that’s elapsed since our start, we’ve seen the power of an inspiring cause paired with world-class creative work. We’ve traveled the world telling the stories of organizations and brands doing incredible good in the world. We’ve seen our work connect with millions of people and raise billions of dollars. It’s even been mentioned by the president of the United States. And along the way, we’ve connected with some amazing friends, brands, NGOs, churches, artists, and more, all of whom are doing great work in the world. Which has led to a very interesting question: What if our friends got to know each other? What kind of good would happen then? That’s why, in recent days at OX, we’ve started dreaming about a new kind of “and.” Lately, we get excited about the collaborative potential that exists when our favorite brands and causes come together to create landmark campaigns that do more good for more people than ever before—more than they could have done on their own. Our world needs us, all of us, to dream up bigger stories than the ones we can

write by ourselves. As artists, we trust the seemingly limitless potential that creative collaboration fosters. We’ve seen time and time again how much better our work gets when we bring in someone who can do what we simply can’t. But what if that truth applies more fundamentally, more broadly, than we might have initially imagined? What if brands bring something that causes need, and vice versa? At OX, we think this is more than a “what if”—we think it’s essential. As we embrace the beautiful reality that we, as organizations or as individuals, each exist for a specific purpose, we also must inevitably accept that we don’t exist for every purpose. In other words, we need each other, and that’s a good thing. So we welcome the dawn of a new era, when brands and causes, faith and government, creatives and analysts, and beyond, accept that collaborative inevitability with open arms. We’re committed to being a bridge, a facilitator of all sorts of new, surprising collaborations that break through whatever barriers we may have once presumed existed. As we do so, we can’t wait to see what’s on the other side of “and.” ONWARD!

ART ANNUAL

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

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05 09 13 17 25 29 33 39 43 97 103 105

P A I N T I N A P E T R I D I S H - C A S E S T U D Y 1

“U P TO U S ” C A M PA I G N

JAMES & THE GIANT DRONE

G O O D T EC H F E ST - C AS E ST U DY 2

ART OF THE INTERVIEW

G L S / E V E RYO N E H AS I N F LU E N C E

OX TEAM

S O C I A L C A M PA I G N

CO R E - C AS E ST U DY 3

N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C - C A S E S T U DY 4

THE MYSTERIOUS JOURNEY OF THE ARRI AMIRA

BLAST 2018

PAINT IN A PETRI DISH RECREATING THE COSMOS INA PAINT-FILLED PETRI DISH

CASE STUDY

2018

EXPONENTIAL CONFERENCE

SERVICES:

ART ANNUAL

Curiosity & Research AN ARTIST STARES AT A BLANK CANVAS. SHE TAPS A CLEAN AND CRISP BRUSH AGAINST HER LEG AS SHE STARES AND THINKS. TUBES OF COLORFUL PAINT SIT NEARBY READY TO BE USED. PAINT. COLORFUL AND VIBRANT. A MEDIUM USED TO COVER UP SOMETHING OLD OR CREATE SOMETHING NEW. G AV I N B U C K L A N D , D I R E C T O R

hether you’re facing a new project, event, or campaign, there’s always the initial slew of unknowns. It can be daunting. It can be crippling. But it also can be fueling. I once read somewhere that “curiosity begins as an act of tearing to pieces or analysis.” Curiosity is an understated driving force. It can take what starts as a small idea and lead to original, successful, big ideas. Curiosity can also go by a name that’s less-liked, but vital to the process of executing a successful project: research. At OX, one of our team’s greatest strengths is to go the extra mile and do the hard work—the research it takes to brand organizations, create campaigns, and produce videos that win. For the past few years, we’ve partnered with Don Smith, the Creative Director of the Exponential conference, a multi-site and nationwide conference aimed at churchplanting leaders and pastors. We have the privilege of working with Don every year on multiple projects in a variety of ways, Exponential being one of our favorites. This year, he came to us to create compelling visual conference content around

the conference theme, “Dream big,” a challenge meant to rally the leaders in the room to pursue their dreams without fear; to be curious.

the cosmos, we were succeeding— wildly. So we did more research. More trials. More errors. But it was worth it.

In our initial brainstorming, we asked, “What does dreaming big look like?” If we were to envision a dream without limits, our ideas led to the most limitless place we could think of: outer space. The cosmos. But how would we create this without a massive VFX budget? Through some good old-fashioned research, we landed on a visual style that aimed to recreate the cosmos, all within a petri dish shot in our studio. So we got to work.

In the end, the secret was that less is more. We ended up being able to create beautiful mixtures with a healthy blend of paint and oil, mixing it all with a syringe for added movement. Remember, all of this beauty and movement took place in a 6-inch-wide petri dish on a table top, so we then had to figure out how to light and film it. After some more research, and more trial and error, we were able to shoot a variety of wide and close-up shots on 35mm and 85mm lenses, with a macro adapter extension tube that allowed us to shoot detailed objects extremely close up.

Going into it, we thought, “How hard could this really be? Mix some paint and glitter, film it, and we’ll call it a day.” *Insert record scratch sound effect here.* We spent most of our time trying and failing. Our first challenge was in creating the compositions: We wanted the ingredients to work just right for us as we tried to balance the separation of colors. We auditioned waterbased paint, vegetable oil, oat milk, paint thinner, bleach, and soap. But things weren’t working right. If we were tasked on how not to recreate

We’re proud of what we were able to create, and we know we wouldn’t have been able to get there if we weren’t first curious. We pursued the “what if ” facing a wall of unknowns, and through research— trial and failure—we learned. And came up with something better than we first envisioned on the other side of the process.

2018

To create the textures, we tested materials including paint thinner, glitter, paint, oil, lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, beads, styrofoam balls, ink, spices, and food coloring. In the end, the simplest solution worked best... just paint and water.

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SEX. POLITICS. RELIGION. IF YOU’RE LIKE MOST PEOPLE IN AMERICA TODAY, YOU’RE ALREADY UNCOMFORTABLE. TONY SORRENTINO Brand Strategist

That discomfort is justified; our cultural landscape is polarized to the point that today, the three topics above aren’t merely complex; they’re incendiary. In a recent interview, former President Bill Clinton put it this way: “AMERICA HAS COME SO FAR,” HE SAID. “WE HAVE ONE REMAINING BIGOTRY: WE DON’T WANT TO BE AROUND ANYONE WHO DISAGREES WITH US.” In the midst of that disconnected ideological climate, Q is working to bring people together through a 5-year campaign, Up to Us, which launched at their Q Commons event in October 2017.

2018

Q’s beautiful vision for Up to Us is a restoration of open communication, a free exchange of ideas, and permission to disagree. They see the way forward (as the name implies) in a renewed willingness for individual engagement, ownership, and risk. OX was tasked with developing the campaign direction and visual language for this multi-year campaign; we were honored to lock arms in with Q. As a starting point, OX conducted an informal focus group to gather people’s unfiltered responses to the question, “What does free speech mean to you?” Their answers were illuminating. “Free speech means tolerating someone else’s right to say things that you absolutely disagree with,” wrote Brian from Maryland. “Done properly, it is conducted in a civil manner without denigrating others.”

Sherri from D.C. shared a similar thought: “Listening to others’ opinions politely without cutting them off or making rude responses. ‘Civility’ is a nice word that isn’t used enough.” Free speech, we began to realize, is as much about a responsibility to listen as it is about a right to talk. Our campaign needed to elevate that collaborative insight. Next, we put pen to paper, refining and optimizing a logo that the Q team had created internally, a simple wordmark featuring a black square, fitting for the refined, minimal brand of Q. Often, our creative process is motivated by open-ended questions. We ask lots of them, exploring possibilities and challenging our assumptions. At a moment of breakthrough, one cut through the noise.

“ W H AT H A P P E N S , ” W E WO N D E R E D , “ I F T H AT S Q UA R E I S M O R E T H A N A S H A P E ? W H AT I F , I N S T E A D , I T ’ S A N O BJ E C T ? ”

LOGO IS TRANSFORMED INTO AN OBJECT

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OBJECTS ARE POWERFUL As creatives, our temptation can sometimes be to defer to the abstractly beautiful, depriving us of the opportunities presented by the concretely meaningful. But when we involve an object to which people already have attached intuitive and inherent meaning, we suddenly gain access to a range of powerful emotional associations that build value and momentum around a campaign. We’ve been humbled and surprised this year at the power presented by strategically positioning analog objects (objects that are both physical and analogous to our core message) at the center of the campaigns we’re trusted to create.

In the case of Up to Us, a campaign about coming together, that object was obvious: a table. Tables are places that bring people together. In the ether of American mythology, the dinner table embodies the idyllic hope of stability, acceptance, and “home.” Similarly in biblical literature, tables represent a sense of belonging, connection, and trust. But gather around a table in most homes around the world today, and Clinton’s observation around our “one remaining bigotry” moves from insightful to stifling. To cope with our collective aversion, the mealtime banter skims the surface of

S O C I A L C A M PA I G N The team crafted a powerful library of assets for social, including bold graphics and stylized typography.

2018

SHOW UP

SPEAK UP

each person’s life like an in-person show-and-tell of Instagram stories and news feed highlights. Trite. Polite. Safe. Never acknowledged, the terrifying potential for disagreement looms above the table, an ever-present threat. We tiptoe under its weight. With so much meaningful symbolism pre-loaded in, a table was the perfect object to embody both the discontent and the hopeful possibility at the center of Up to Us. We went to work.

LISTEN UP

MEET UP

We expressed that table in a modern, geometric icon, positioned at the center of the visual language of the campaign. Further, our design team worked in close collaboration with our video department, handing off their static designs to be brought to life in a 3D animated logo drop for use in video content throughout the course of the multi-year endeavor. Though still in its early days, Up to Us is positioned to open lines of communication that have long stood closed. We can’t wait to see the impact of this important campaign over the course of these next five pivotal years.

C O N V E R S AT I O N C O A S T E R A deck of “conversation coasters” was designed to foster open dialogue on complex issues. They were released for digital download in early November, just in time for friends and families to gather around those notorious tables for Thanksgiving.

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Gaining Perspective JAMES MASTERSON CORRY WIENS, FILMMAKERS

E 13

veryone owns a hammer. Not everyone should build a house. These days, it seems like everyone owns a drone.

About 6 years ago, I directed a piece that required a helicopter for aerial shots. It was expensive and required specialized equipment to help stabilize the image. At the time, helio was the only way to capture that type of footage, and it screamed “PRODUCTION VALUE!” Now, six short years later, the drone revolution has completely changed the perception of aerial cinematography. Visuals that were once reserved for only the most elite of commercial or Hollywood productions, have now become commonplace on my grandpa’s Facebook page (literally). Aerial cinematography can still be immensely powerful in a film. The trick, is knowing when and how to use it. Legally. You may not know this - but to fly a drone for nonpersonal photography, you are required to have an FAA license. If you’re looking for footage taken at night or where the operator is in a moving vehicle (like a follow car or boat) you need an additional more specific license. It’s one thing for your dad to fly his drone around your backyard. It something else entirely to operate over a building in NYC. It’s important that your pilot knows the difference. There’s nothing worse than having a production shut down by police because you “didn’t know” your drone was breaking the law.

As OX’s resident FAA Licensed UAV (drone) Pilot, James Masterson knows firsthand the time and effort (and, in my case, blood), required to safely operate one of these 21st-century flying marvels. Properly operating a UAV, particularly in cases requiring filming and the close proximity of cast and crew, requires hours of preproduction groundwork. This includes coordinating with local FAA authorities, producers and directors for set locations, and ensuring that the correct permits and permissions are acquired prior to flying on location. Last summer, we flew OX’s drone over US Navy SEALs in Dallas Texas, sound stages in LA, and over cliff-side vistas in the Pacific Northwest. What would have required a helicopter and 3+ people to operate, now fit in the back of our production vehicle. Its is amazing to be standing on a shore-line controlling a camera over a mile away as it flies through specific waypoints in sync with an actors performances on a cliffside. Shots like this would not have been able to be created without the technology we have available to us today through the drone. Knowing when to use to best use a drone is the first half of the battle. Knowing how to properly use one is the other half. A lot of people own drones today, but very few know how to safely and legally operate one. James on our team has spent countless hours mastering this craft. When handled properly, drones can be an incredible tool for storytelling and can bring a completely different perspective to a story. Who knows, they may even have you screaming “PRODUCTION VALUE!” when you see the results.

JAMES CONVINCED THE

C R E W T H AT W E N E E D E D A SHOT OF THESE 100

FOOT TREES. IN ORDER TO DO SO, WE HAD TO

STOP THE VEHICLE, GET ON THE FAR ENDS OF

THE BRIDGE WITH OUR WA L K I E TA L K I E S , A N D

S E N D T H E D R O N E O U T.

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OUR TRIP TO PORTLAND WAS

RAIN FILLED. THANKFULLY, THE

WEATHER CLEARED ENOUGH FOR

US TO GET THESE DRONE SHOTS.

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CAPE KIWANDA

& CAPE LOOKOUT, OREGON

ART ANNUAL

TECH FOR GOOD 17

CASE STUDY

Photographer: Jackson Douglas

2018

GOOD TECH FEST

THIS YEAR, OX WAS APPROACHED TO PARTNER AGAIN WITH OUR GOOD FRIEND ANDREW MEANS, A PHILANTHROPIST DEDICATED TO USING DATA TO FURTHER THE IMPACT OF THE SOCIAL SECTOR. HE CAME TO US WITH PLANS TO LAUNCH A CONFERENCE THAT INSPIRES AND EQUIPS THOSE USING DATA AND TECHNOLOGY TO DRIVE GLOBAL IMPACT–ESSENTIALLY USING DATA FROM AROUND THE WORLD FOR GOOD–APTLY TITLED “GOOD TECH FEST.”

SERVICES:

BRANDING | FILM | CREATIVE DIRECTION PRINT DESIGN | MARKETING

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MOODBOARD

A SWISS DREAM This style adopts Swiss design elements in its simplicity and use of bold typography and graphic shapes. Textures and imagery were layered with color overlays to create a feeling of depth and maturity. This layering hints at content, credibility, and information to be explored.

THE FINAL LOGO LOCKUP Our final logo was to create something within the scope of the Good Tech Fest (GTF) moodboard aesthetic, while creating something that represented technology and good coming together. The plus sign seen in the negative space represents the good. Coding brackets, representing technology, are what make up the plus sign.

2018

LOGO ITERATIONS

FINAL LOGO:

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Good Tech Origins G AV I N B U C K L A N D D I R E C T O R

O 21

ur job was to take this dream of his and establish a look and feel, that through promotional content, would get the right people to this event. To say we get excited when opportunities to partner with new forward-thinking organizations come our way would be a blatant understatement. We were psyched for this. But we knew in order to get the right people to a conference that aims to inspire and equip, we had to first get those people excited and eager to attend. Through intentional research of Good Tech Fest’s target audience, some competitive analysis of brands operating in a similar space, and a few creative brainstorms, we decided that we wanted to create a promotional trailer for the event that taps into an emotion that, when used correctly, is strong and compelling, but can often be robbed of us–a feeling of wonder. Why did we decide this? And how does it further the goals of Good Tech Fest? In one of our team brainstorms, the idea of a young kid watching the first space launch on TV, and it inspiring a generation of innovators, kept surfacing. For us, it exemplified that moment of origin where wonder is instilled in a person to then go on to do great things in the world. Good Tech Fest, a conference that brings

humans and technology together to do good, aims to be that moment for people. So the two-minute trailer entitled Good Tech Origins aims to evoke the awe and inspiration that technology once gave us in its origination. It aims to re-ignite the desire in us to make an impact for good, now and into the future. For this piece to be strong and accomplish the promotional goals for Good Tech Fest, we knew we had to create a trailer that was both compelling and informative. So we planned to have the visuals communicate the conference’s information through motion graphics that were designed and animated from the Good Tech Fest brand our team established first. We then put extra emphasis on the sound of the trailer to communicate the audacious mission of Good Tech Fest. So how did we do this? When crafting sound for our films, one mantra we have is that “we want feel, not real.” For this trailer, we wanted to communicate a feeling of wonder that supported the inspiring vision of Good Tech Fest. We did this through intentional and well crafted sound design that helped immerse the viewer in the scenes. So much so, that this piece ended up being a success with ONLY sound design. No music. No narration. It was

encouraging to see the mission of Good Tech Fest shine in this piece One thing OX is best at–and perhaps the most important, is having talented people that can achieve the vision at the level you need—and often executing better than the way you envisioned it. The Good Tech Fest brand + film project is one that brought humanity and technology together to create something beautiful, exemplifying the true heart of Good Tech Fest’s mission. We’re always thankful for the opportunity to partner with Andrew and look forward to help with many more daring dreams he so bravely seeks after.

WHEN CRAFTING SOUND FOR OUR FILMS, ONE MANTRA WE HAVE IS THAT “WE WANT FEEL, NOT REAL.” FOR THIS TRAILER, WE WANTED TO COMMUNICATE A FEELING OF WONDER THAT SUPPORTED THE INSPIRING VISION OF GOOD TECH FEST.

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2018

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AR T

O F

TH E

The An a t o my of a Ta l k i n g He a d . CORRY WIENS

Head of Production / Sr. Editor

I NTE RVI E W

he “talking head” video: It’s a term that many filmmakers and creatives refer to loathingly. Essentially, it’s a person talking, normally in interview-format, with very little creative or visual interest. The tendency can be to focus the majority of time and energy into the b-roll or creative aspects of a shoot and avoid showing the interview as much as possible. I want to challenge that notion. Seeing the storyteller is powerful. Seeing eyes watering, a subtle smile, the strain on a forehead as an impactful memory is recounted. These details makes a documentary more than just a story; it makes it personal. Filmmakers should spend the majority of our efforts on making the interview look as good as possible, so that it’s something we want to cut back to frequently. And more than just looking good, it needs to feel good. A shot has the power to make a viewer feel comfortable, uneasy, proximate, trusting. Visuals are always communicating something. As a filmmaker, if you aren’t aware of what a shot is communicating, chances are, it may be saying something you don’t want said. So while backdrops and living rooms certainly have their place, there may be a better way to stage an interview that adds something to the story being told. Here are some of our favorite interview looks from 2017.

2018

KYLE OXFORD

Off- came ra eye -line cre ate s a fe e ling of u ne ase. Orange light cre ate s color contra st and shape to the frame. Who eve r sa id you can't film an inte r view in a car ?

PETE RICHARDSON

Eye -line dire ct into came ra for a stor yte l ling fe e l. Wa l l of books commu nicate s wisdom a nd tr u st.

SHERYL SANDBERG

Ar t dire ction playe d a key role in tra nsforming this co -working space into a comfor ta ble e nvironme nt.

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TO P ROW L- R:

CLINT BRUCE GLS DONOR

Oran ge an d b lue for c on trast . L i ght flare s in the fra me for dra matic e ffe ct.

Mi xed c olors an d text ures of p an el a nd pa pe r al low the inte r view

a ppe a ra n c e to c h a n ge c on st an t ly, t urn i n g on e set i n to 50. WILLIE ALFONSO BEN WESSELS

D ram at i c m od ern art d i rection—bu t it’s actu a l ly ju st ve r tica l blinds on his patio door.

Mi n i m al, c lean look wi t h n at ural lighting.

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B OTTO M ROW L- R:

BILL HYBELS PROPAGANDA

Ex tre me wide to show off the a r t dire ction a nd s pac e.

Red bac kgrou nd cre ate s de pth a nd contra st. Blinds a dd sha pe a nd inte re st to the l i ght .

SHUREE RIVERA

Side profile shot a dds to the myste r y and intr igu e of the pi e c e. Pe r iodic table in the backgrou nd to add to the scho ol vi be.

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influence

Everyone has–

W E C O M M I S S I O N E D T H R E E C H I C A G O A R T I S T S TO PA I N T FINE ART HEADSHOTS OF EACH OF THE SPEAKERS A P P E A R I N G AT T H E 2 0 1 7 G L O B A L L E A D E R S H I P S U M M I T.

This is an intimidating task. It’s one thing to paint a portrait of a friend, but accurately reflecting the image of a public figure requires work that withstands scrutiny. We had our work cut out for us.

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E AC H P I E C E WAS F I L M E D A N D P H OTOG R A P H E D FOR THE SPEAKER UNVEIL AND EVENT INTRO SEQUENCES. W E W E R E B L O W N AWAY W I T H W H AT T H E Y C R E AT E D .

ARTISTS

Sarah Carter

Jeff Delaere

Amanda Muhlena

SPEAKERS Sheryl Sandberg

Bryan Stevenson

Sam Adeyemi

Marcus Lemonis

Lazlo Bock

Angela Duckworth

Ilibagiza Immaculée

Juliet Funt

Gary Haugen

Fredrik Hären

Marcus Buckingham

Bill Hybels

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ON SET WE APPROACHED THE SHOOT LIKE A COOKING SHOW. All the finished portraits were painted in advance, but we left a few elements of the background unfinished. On set for five days, we filmed each artist beginning the painting from a blank canvas, where we had pre-sketched the positioning of key features.

PROCESS It was a bit of a paint-by-numbers approach, in which we filled in the large color blocking, then surreptitiously swapped out the wet canvas with the nearly finished high-quality portrait, completed on-camera.

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COLOR PALETTES Our creative team defined the visual style, color palette, and sequencing of paintings while developing three unique sets for each artist to work in on-camera.

WEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE SO PROUD OF THE WORK WE WERE A B L E TO C R E AT E TOG E T H E R .

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OX C R E AT I V E

Every year we get all dressed up with no where to go and put together a collection of staff headshots inspired by the past year.

Styled by Liv Melchers of Able Shoppe

AMY BALLANCE, DESIGNER

GAVIN BUCKLAND, DIRECTOR 2018

34 KATIE DUNBAR, DESIGNER

ALEXIS GRANT, PRODUCER

KATIE KICK, CREATIVE DIRECTOR

OLIVIA LUDWICK, PROJECT MANAGER ART ANNUAL

35 JAMES MASTERSON, COMPOSER

JESSE OXFORD, CREATIVE DIRECTOR & FILMMAKER

KATIE RUSE. BUSINESS MANAGER

TONY SORRENTINO, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE 2018

36 DUSTIN TURNER, GEAR MANAGER

CORRY WIENS. SENIOR EDITOR & HEAD OF PRODUCTION

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FLIGHTS TAKEN: 79+ COFFEES THROWN TO THE GROUND IN CELEBRATION: 1 DECKS CREATED: 600+ ASTRONAUTS IN THE OFFICE: 1

A YEAR IN THE BOOKS Every year we look back at the things we have created, accomplished, and learned. We thought weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d share some of our very important and serious findings here.

MINUTES OF FILM PRODUCED: 6250+ NFL PLAYERS IN THE OFFICE: 2 CHIPOTLE RUNS: 100+ NEW OXEN: 4 BABY PICS OF TONY HIDDEN IN THE OFFICE: 3 FIRE ALARMS SET OFF: 2 PHOTOS SHOT: 12,000+ COMMUNITY LUNCHES SHARED: 49 BASEBALL BATS BROKEN: 8

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INSTAGRAM POSTS DESIGNED: 334 FEET RUN OVER BY GENIE LIFT: 1 TABLETOP SHOOTS: 9

TRENDING TRENDING TRENDING

SMOKE GRENADES LAUNCHED: 48 KRAV MAGA FIGHTS FILMED: 1 BLANKS FIRED: 75+ U.S. NAVY SEAL-MONITORED KNIFE-FIGHTS BETWEEN EMPLOYEES: 2 DUMPSTER DIVES LOOKING FOR MISSING WALLETS: 1 MEALS COOKED BY BASEBALL HALL OF FAMERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; CHEFS: 1 MILES FLOWN BY DRONE: 25+ TALENT CAST: 238 MINUTES SCORED: 200+ KIDNEY STONES PASSED: 17 BABIES ON THE WAY: 1 KATIE'S WORKING AT OX: 3

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THE POWER OF A

Social Campaign K AT I E D U N B A R , D e s i g n e r

WEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;VE ALL SEEN THEM. W E K N O W W H AT T H E Y LO O K L I K E .

he social campaigns of perfectly well-balanced, color-scheme-calculated, glittery-looking 20-somethings having the time of their lives. Gorgeous photos with smiling faces promoting some kind of high-end toothbrush, or sitting on a box with a mattress in it. Something divine happens when polished visuals, intentional content, and a well-understood audience come together. The more popular and accessible social media becomes, the more valuable an asset it is to businesses trying to reach a growing demographicâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;one that no longer buys newspapers, watches cable TV, or goes the extra mile to gather information on current affairs. What if social media was used as a tool, rather than as a toy? What if

businesses began dedicating the same amount of time and energy to social media campaigns that they do when communicating one-on-one with a client? Social media plays an important role not only in promoting an aesthetic, but in the voice and posture that consumers experience when interacting with a brand or product. Successful social and marketing campaigns come from agencies that know their voice, and know how to use all their available resources to their advantage. Platforms such as Instagram or Facebook provide its user with analytics showing the age, gender, and frequent likes of their followersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;analytics that allow you to grow and tailor your brand and your advertisements to their peak potential influence. A well-formulated social campaign

2018

SOCIAL MEDIA WITH INTENTIONALITY CAN BE USED TO OUR ADVANTAGE,

This social campaign was created for the release of Communnity Musicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second album.

TO GROW OUR BRAND.

draws in the viewer through eloquent copy and succinct visuals; it takes advantage of these analytics to knows its audience and what will draw them in. Through a mix of impactful visuals, a deep understanding of brand values, and a strategic rollout plan, OX was able to use social to increase engagement, and promote the event.

Born from a desire to share information faster and in a more intimate setting, social media has managed to sneak its way into almost every corner of our lives: the time we spend sitting at stoplights; a few spare moments before meetings and business calls; waiting for the water to boil while making dinner. Social has become a constant hum, just out of sight and out of mind, but nonetheless ever-present. Because of this, we must realize that social media without intentionality is worthless. But social media with intentionality can be used to our advantage, to grow our brand, and to reach an optimal amount of consumer interaction.

Some of our favorite logos from this year.

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CASE STUDY 03

C OR E E PI S ODIC D O C S E R I E S SERVICES:

2018

FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, OX CREATIVE HAS BEEN PARTNERING WITH AUSTIN-BASED CORE CONTENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SERIES OF 10 FILMS, EACH FOCUSED ON THE LIFE OF A SINGLE AMERICAN MAN, AS HE REFLECTS ON HIS OWN LIFE PURPOSE.

Over the duration of this project, what developed was one of the closest collaborations our studio has ever had. More than just a “vendor” providing visual content, OX and CORE have become an integrated team. Together, shaping not only the creative direction of the films, design of the supporting printed books, but of the brand identity and long-term strategy of the organization as well. In 2018 we look forward to the release of 10 original films—forming what we hope will become Season 1 of the CORE Content Channel.

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MOODBOARD

2018

LOGO ITERATIONS

POSTERS: 46

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CORE FILM SERIES

The resulting cast represented a wide crosssection of life experience, cultural identity, and faith journey. From U.S. Navy SEAL, to Latin soccer star, to activist from South Central Los Angeles, to Portland tattoo artists, we set out across America to produce a series of 10 documentaries, all different stories, directed by a team of producers, directors, and cinematographers. Corry Wiens, Blaine Hogan, Jesse Oxford, Evan Bourcier, Bjorn Amundsen,

James Masterson, Dustin Turner, Alexis Grant, and Jessica Bancroft. Together we produced 100+ minutes of content in New York City, Portland,, Dallas, Boulder, Los Angeles, and Chicago. We are currently continuing to develop the CORE brand, books, and marketing as we prepare for public launch and OTT distribution in 2018. This is the story of CORE: Season 1, told by the creatives who made itâ&#x20AC;Ś

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CORE STORY 1

Mariano Rivera F ORME R

NE W

F I L M E D

YO R K I N

YA N K EES

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P I TC H ER

C I T Y

For sports fans, Mariano Rivera needs little introduction. From 1995 to 2013, Mariano (or Mo, as he’s known to his many admirers) was the much-feared closing pitcher of the New York Yankees. His list of awards and records is so prolific that it would be foolish to even begin to list them. But Joe Torre, Hall of Fame manager of the Yankees, summed it up well: “He is the greatest ever.” Mariano’s take on his success is surprising and rare, not only for a professional athlete, but for anyone. Still humbly connected to his roots in Panama, he sees every moment of his life as an opportunity to express of the gifts he’s been given. The greatest ever? He might put it differently.

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THE OX SPENT A DAY AT YANKEE STADIUM. FILMING ON THE FIELD AND WATCHING THE GAME FROM THE PRESS BOX.

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Waiting in the Rain for a Superstar BLAINE HOGAN DIRECTOR

ariano’s take on his success is surprising and rare, not only for a professional athlete, but for anyone. Still humbly connected to his roots in Panama and a person of deep faith, he sees every moment of his life as

an opportunity to express the gifts he’s been given by God. “So, Mariano, do you think you’re the greatest ever?,” I asked him. Sitting with him in his living room, I watched as he closed his eyes, letting his head tilt back, taking in the question. Like he was back on the mound, he held the moment. A moment that almost didn’t happen. For the past few months, I had been prepping production on a short documentary film on the life of man by the name of Willie Alfonso. Willie grew up as part of a large Puerto Rican family in a tough part of Brooklyn in the 60’s. His dad was an alcoholic and took

out most of his aggression on Willie’s mom. At age 12, Willie found himself homeless after he was kicked out of his house defending his mom from his dad’s attacks. Willie spent the next two decades battling demons of his own. After a very hard journey of healing and recovery, Willie eventually found himself as the chaplain for the New York Yankees. Enter Mariano stage left. Well, almost. As Willie and I got to know each other over the phone, he mentioned that Mariano might be interested in participating in our documentary project. Mariano and Willie had formed a tight bond working together at the Yankees. Willie had become a mentor and pastor to Marino. Mariano hosted Bible studies with Willie and other players in his home on a regular basis.

“SO, MARIANO, DO YOU THINK YOU’RE THE GREATEST EVER?,” I ASKED HIM.

As we fly to New York in July, we knew Mariano was always a “maybe,” so when we landed I focused on the job at hand: capturing Willie’s story. A few minutes after we arrived, our producer got the call: Mariano was available on Sunday. We went ahead with our scheduled shoot that day with Willie knowing we’d have plenty of time to prep for Mariano. Side note: saying you have plenty of time on a film set is a lot like saying ‘Macbeth’ in a theater. It’s an absolute no-no and you risk jinxing everything. An hour or so later, we got another call: Mariano isn’t available on Sunday...he’s available tomorrow. Told you.

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After a late night of prepping questions I’d not prepared to ask for another few days, we arrived at Mariano’s house. I sat in the back of our rental pouring over my questions knowing our time would be limited. And then it began to rain. As we waited, the rain kept coming. Soon we were being pelted by an enormous storm. As the rain poured, the clock ticked. Fifteen minutes. Thirty. An hour and a half went by. No Mariano. Willie sat in the front seat “texting” his friend asking for his ETA (this was also the moment I thought that sweet, Willie Alfonso might be a liar). Just then, Mariano pulled up. Mercedes? BMW? Bentley? Nope. A 2014 Toyota Highlander. After lugging our gear inside, shielding it from the rain, he stood before me. Shorter than I thought, but still a presence to behold. With his Panamanian accent still thick, he shook my hand. “Sorry I was late. I was checking up on my Toyota dealership. You can shoot anywhere you want.”

We had only been given twenty-five minutes from the time we started the interview, but in the end, I spent nearly an hour sitting across from the greatest relief pitcher in the game of baseball -- every answer dripping with humanity and humility. His character underscored by the fact that his World Series trophies sat unceremoniously on his desk amidst a pile of Office Depot printer paper still in its wrapper. And when the moment finally came, I took a deep breath then asked: “So, Mariano, do you think you’re the greatest ever? Do you think your magical cutter pitch was the greatest? He simply replied, “It wasn’t just something magical, it was a purpose of God. It was a miracle. It was something that the Lord give me to give me a platform to talk about him. A lot of people thought that I did it, or a lot of people take the glory that they taught me the pitch. Well, no one did. I’m telling you right now that no one did that but God.” We ended the interview and he bounded up the stairs to change. He and his wife were heading to watch their son pitch his final college baseball game. As we were

packing up, Mariano came back down asking us to hurry up. And so, we picked up the pace. Then, when we were just about to say our final goodbyes, he asked where we were going. Confused, I said that we were all packed up and ready to go. “Oh no,” he said, “I wanted you to hurry up so you could join me for lunch. The chicken is getting cold.”

SAYING YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME ON A FILM SET IS A LOT LIKE SAYING ‘MACBETH’ IN A THEATER. IT’S AN ABSOLUTE NO-NO AND YOU RISK JINXING EVERYTHING.

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CORE STORY 2

Kyle Oxford TAT TOO A R T I S T F IL ME D I N P O R T L A N D,

O R

“I want an open relationship”, those five words changed everything. When Kyle’s ex-wife clued him in on how she imagined the future of their relationship, it shattered the very different dreams that he held for family and future and stability. The blow was crushing, driving Kyle away from his dreams and his heart and into a life built on distracting himself with women and drugs. Yet even at the lowest of lows, Kyle’s story was far from over. Little by little, he discovered what restoration looks like in real life. Now a tattoo artist in Portland, Kyle shares his story of loss, grief, and brotherhood, all through the lens of his earthy, hard-won hope.

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Sideways Rain and Six School Buses When the last thing you need shows up on set, sometimes your only option is to pivot. CORRY WIENS DIRECTOR

It’s early June on a beach in Oregon, 45 degrees outside and pouring rain. A massive wave crashes on the shore and drenches the entire cast and crew up to our knees. That’s when it hit me: This is the most miserable shoot I have ever been on.

two hours back to Portland to film the tattoo and dirt bike scenes tonight, and then drive two hours back to the coast in the morning? Do we extend the shoot an extra day (and eat the extra costs involved)? Or do we start cutting significant scenes?

It was also, somehow, the most fun. Weird how that works.

Our original plan had gone out the window,

This was my first time to the Pacific Northwest, and it was exactly the way I pictured: cold, wet, and beautiful,with low-hanging clouds rolling over evergreencovered mountains. But it didn’t start out that way. When our plane landed in Portland, it was a perfect June day: sunny, warm—not a cloud in the sky. The story we were telling required four main scenes: a beach wedding; a cliff; a tattoo shop; and dirt bike trails. We scouted out all of the locations and turned in for the night feeling really good about the next two days of filming. By the time I woke up, the temperature had dropped to the 40s and it was raining sideways. Literally sideways. OK. No problem. We’ll just shift some things around and film the beach wedding and cliff scenes in the afternoon, when it was supposed to be nicer out. When the afternoon rolled around, it was still pouring rain. We had filmed all of the interior scenes that we could in the morning, and now it was decision time. Do we drive

IT DIDN’T SUCCEED BECAUSE OF THE EXECUTION, IT SUCCEED BECAUSE OF THE PLANNING. THE PLAN GAVE US THE CONFIDENCE TO PIVOT.

but we rolled with the punches. Luckily, our producer booked our hotel right across the street from our location, so we were able to quickly assess the situation and roll within minutes if needed. After changing out of our soaked clothes (our ponchos were no match for the sideways rain) and much deliberation, we came to the tough decision to cut the dirt bike scene and add time at the coast. Knowing the purpose of each scene was crucial to being able to make this decision. We knew we could cover the significance of

the bike scene in other ways. The next morning, I woke up and looked out the window. It was still raining, but at least it was vertical! We waited as long as we could, and the rain finally let up. I looked out the window one more time before heading down to the beach. Horror fell on my face as I witnessed six school buses pulling up right in front of our location. Six. School. Buses. There were probably 300 kids that poured out of them and swarmed straight to the cove we were planning on filming in. We were out of time. We had to film, rain or shine—kids or no kids. So we headed down towards the cove. There were students everywhere. It was a nightmare. But luckily (?) it had started raining again! The crowd thinned out and we were able to get to work. We filmed in the miserable conditions until our camera literally shut down due to the rain. It turned out beautifully. The conditions were perfect for the mood we were going for. Ultimately, the shoot was a great success. But it didn’t succeed because of the execution, it succeed because of the planning. The plan gave us the confidence to pivot.

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WAS N’T A

B LESSED.

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-Kyle Oxford

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HAYSTACK BEF O RE

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CORE STORY 3

Jerry Quiroz 59

P RO S OCC ER P L AY ER F I L M E D I N C H I CAGO

After becoming Mexicoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s youngest professional soccer player, Jerry was living the dream of fame. Eventually, this lifestyle caught up with him, and he had to make a choice: continue down his current path, or pursue his wife by quitting soccer and becoming a janitor at a church.

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The Discipline to Discard CORRY WIENS DIRECTOR

diting is a lot like solving a big puzzle. The only difference is that it’s a puzzle with a lot of extra pieces that don’t belong. The challenge is figuring out which pieces to use and which ones to discard. When we set out to tell the story of Jerry Quiroz, we knew that he was a professional soccer player who quit his life of fame, fortune, and temptation to be a janitor at his church. That was the crux of the story. The way that we approached telling that story was flexible, and there were numerous ways to intro the piece. One of the best stories that he told was the story of how he came to America. It’s

a great story that includes great risks, being chased by smugglers, and a nailbiting confrontation with Border Patrol. The way that Jerry tells the story is very compelling, and it would have made for a great intro to the piece. The problem was that, in the big picture of the story we needed to tell, it just didn’t fit. Ultimately, we decided to cut it. The main deciding factor was that it didn’t help to get to the crux of the story. It was very interesting, but it didn’t drive

the piece forward in the direction we wanted to go. It was a rabbit trail. It’s worth mentioning that not all rabbit trails are bad. Sometimes, they can be interesting stories that help to develop a character or set the stage for something that’s coming later in the piece. The trick is in knowing how this piece of the puzzle fits in with the larger whole, and, if it doesn’t fit at all, having the discipline to leave it behind.

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CORE STORY 4

JASON PETTY AKA

Propaganda ACTIVIST

ARTIST

SON OF A BLACK PANTHER

ONE TIME WOULD-BE-PASTOR F I L M E D

I N

L O S

A N G E L E S

In one sense, identity is complex and nuanced for Propaganda, an amalgamation of multiple sources and influences; the words his grandmother impressed upon him and the cultural habitat into which he was born. But in another sense, his identity is clear and simple, foundational and essential. Who is Propaganda? An adopted son.

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OX’s Completely New Style of Interview THIS PAST YEAR, WE DEVELOPED A NEW METHOD OF INTERVIEW THAT WE HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY OTHER FILM USE. IT SCORES HIGH ON BOTH AUTHENTICITY AND HIGH ON PRODUCTION VALUE. A COMBINATION THAT IS VERY RARE - AND ARE TYPICALLY AT ODDS WITH EACH OTHER. 16 QUESTIONS. 16 LOCATIONS. 1 MOVING CAMERA. 1 TALENTED SPEAKER. NO DO-OVERS. JES SE OXFORD DIRECTOR

I 67

n narrative film-making the story is told in a manner that causes the location to change from scene to scene. Consider the scene structure of just the opening of Spielberg’s RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. The Jungle. The Booby-trapped Cave. The Sea Plane. The College Classroom. This is what keeps it interesting. But in documentaries - each individual is generally interviewed in one static camera angle. This would be incredibly boring if they didn’t have all the photos and dramatization to cut to. We asked ourselves, what if we combined the moving camera, and location changes typical of narrative story-telling with the documentary interview? Instead of the typical interview with the subject sitting in the same place for an extended period of time - what if every question was asked in a different location/scene setup? And what if you allowed the subject to move within in the scene the way you would in everyday life? Like you would during a conversation. This would provide a more authentic, conversational series of scenes with an enormous amount of visual variety which is a-typical of interviews. Jason Petty, aka Propaganda is a poet, hip-hop artist, activist from Los Angeles California. He is incredibly well-spoken. Words are his art. His craft. As the director of his film on Purpose and Identity - I really wanted the “production” to get out of his way. I didn’t want to do anything that would limit his ability to bring his best verbally. And I wanted anything we captured to be real. Authentic. Him. OX’s new style of interview seemed perfect for him. So here’s what we did. OX booked an warehouse stage in Englewood and we set up 16 scenes. One for each of the questions I planned to ask. We provided Prop with each

of the questions in advance so he knew roughly what to prepare for. In each scene the camera was on a SteadiCam - a device that allows the camera to follow the subject smoothly in a space. We only filmed each question once or twice.

MORE THAN ANY INTERVIEW WE’VE EVER SHOT - WE CAPTURED A PERSON JUST BEING THEMSELVES, SPEAKING THEIR MIND, IN AN ELOQUENT MANNER THAT WAS LARGELY UN-CUT. AN ORIGINAL.

What we captured was beautifully Raw. Authentic. You saw him move through a space. Eat an apple DURING the interview. Talk with his hands and throw shadows on a wall as he spoke. More than any interview we’ve ever shot - we captured a person just being themselves, speaking their mind, in an eloquent manner that was largely un-cut. An original. [On August 22, 2017, OX sat down with Propaganda in South Central Los Angeles for a frank discussion on identity and purpose. The following are select excerpts of that conversation.] It’s hard to not have an identity that’s shaped by your place and your context, so I think that that’s one thing that has never changed. I still see myself in [the] context of being unapologetically black, unapologetically L.A., you know, very West Coast. And I think in some senses, that has never changed.

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It’s funny. I grew up in a neighborhood [about] five blocks from here. One of the things people don’t realize about inner-city living, specifically in black and brown neighborhoods, is really how communal that experience is. And really what sort of gang life—whether it’s street-gang or even just hip-hop culture—how much community is in that, and how much sort of tutelage and apprenticeship actually goes into being an inner-city kid. We actually had a great sense of community. You know what I’m saying? Obviously, our definitions of what it meant to be men were skewed, but at the same time, I had a gang of mentors. So when I think of my earliest conception of manhood, I think it kind of came from a combination of things. Because during my early childhood, my father was around. And he was part of the Black Panther Party. He was a Vietnam War vet. So he was obviously very well educated, but we were also very hood. We were from the streets. So my father had this combination of being well-spoken, well-read, but still very hood. So a lot of it came from that being a litmus of what I felt like the whole thing could be. But I grew up in a Latino neighborhood, and what I knew from, specifically, Latino men, is [that] “men work!” That’s what you do. Long hours, hard hours. That’s what men do. So if you ain’t working, you ain’t a real man. So for me, a lot of it had to do with work.

And I think one of the first people I saw that personified that, outside of my father ... was like these posters of Shaka Zulu and Bunchy Carter and these Egyptian kings and pharaohs that was on my wall, because my father was a Panther. But [as far as] people [I knew], [it] was probably this dude at my church named Ron Robles, and this other guy named Alex Carrasco. I think I just wanted to be like them, because they were just hard-working street dudes that sort of knew what they was talking about, you know what I mean? Maybe it’s not so much how my identity has changed, but how I’m able to construct it, or find value in it. So I think, oftentimes, my pursuit of understanding my own narrative and heritage was sort of in reaction to oppression. It was very reactionary, where it was like, “Well you say I’m this, but I’m really that.” I leaned into being an artist because I was in this violent, sort of hyper-masculine community, [so] I was like, “Well, I’m going to run all the way to art and be the best artist I can be.” So all of it was reactionary, rather than creation-based. When you see culture in terms of power-grabs and imperialistic colonialism, oftentimes, when it’s not just a land-grab, it’s also a construction of ideas, and part of those ideas is constructions of beauty and worth and value. And then you become subjected to the definitions that the conqueror... ...lays down. And then what happens,

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in whatever culture, these ideals of beauty become held as the norm. And when you don’t fit that... It’s hard to not internalize that. [You] have to teach yourself that these definitions are not the definitions, but a definition. That’s a type of beauty. I think, unfortunately, this story is all too clear for our young ladies of the culture, who are seeing, like, Vogue’s “Top Ten Most Beautiful Women.” I know my sisters are looking at that like, “Uhh ... Yeah, none of us [are represented],” you know what I’m saying? But that’s not even specifically like a black thing. I’m like, “I mean, ho fits these definitions?” But specifically for African Americans, and even in my concept of manhood, black boys are more likely to be tried as an adult. We’re considered hyper-masculine and we’re considered somewhat dangerous. All those things have to do with narratives placed on us, so when you do that, it’s hard to see who you are, and those that look like you, as beautiful, or even something of value or something of worth. We’re studied, we’re appropriated, we’re watched, we’re OK to entertain you, but we don’t see ourselves as valuable. We see ourselves as commodities. And that commodity was written into our Bill of Rights, our Constitution. We had to fight to say, “No, no, no, we’re human.” Right? So the paperwork applies to us also.

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When you do that, you destroy your very concept of beauty, and that thing has to get reconstructed somehow or another. Ultimately, I think the gospel’s the only one that can do that. But short of that, you have to remember that this is just a definition, and culture doesn’t [and] shouldn’t necessarily be pushed forward through power and conflict. So what it means for my identity to be “on purpose” is that I don’t have to see myself from a deficit model. A lot of times, especially as dudes, we’re like, “Yo, I worked hard. I struggled. I failed at this.” So it’s like you’re starting from a deficit, right? And then mistakes, we’re always looking back at, like, “I shouldn’t have done this. I shouldn’t have done that.” So again, it’s a deficit. But if I say, “No, no, no. This is on purpose,” I’m not starting from a deficit. I’m starting from purpose. Then, moving forward is not reactionary, or [done] in regret. It’s moving from design. For me, [it’s] seeing my identity as a design; like, I’m black on purpose. I’m from L.A. on purpose. I’ve went through what I’ve went through on purpose. God was painting something bigger. When I understand my life is that, then ... of course, it doesn’t excuse mistakes, but things that I had no control over, I don’t see those as victim-inducing. I see them as “this is by design.” [Listen to Propaganda’s latest album Crooked Ways, available on iTunes. Many thanks to Humble Beast for collaborating with us on this project.]

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CORE STORY 5

Tom Paterson MAS T E R S T R AT EGI C T H I N K ER F IL ME D I N L O S A N GEL ES

Tom Paterson has an almost laughably impressive resume. To name just a few of his myriad accomplishments: he invented the PIN technology still used in ATMs today, collaborated with the Disney brothers on Space Mountain, and worked with the Reagan Administration to open the Chinese government to foreign trade. Author Peter Drucker called him the â&#x20AC;&#x153;greatest process thinker in the world.â&#x20AC;? But behind the laundry list of business success stands a man, now 92 years old, who has grappled with staggering loss and painful addiction, and passed on his craft to a new generation of strategic guides. Through interviews with Tom, and the many who know him well, we hear the story of a truly once-in-a-generation mind.

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E V E R Y G R E AT A R T I S T I S A M A S T E R . Y O U D O N ’ T S TA R T A S M A S T E R S — Y O U S TA R T W I T H A D E S I R E TO B E A M A S T E R , A N D T H E N Y O U E A R N I T.

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The Man Who Imagined Space Mountain INTERVIEW WITH PETE RICHARDSON O F PAT E R S O N

verybody has a story. We say that, but everyone really does; a one-of-a-kind story. Nobody has ever heard my story before, or yours. Every story is unique. And the thing with story is that any good one has it’s pinnacle times of great happiness when everything is going well, as well as deep, dark valleys of hopelessness. The human story can be paralyzing if certain dots aren’t connected.

Tom Paterson is an ordinary man, who’s brought some phenomenal, extraordinary innovations into the world we live in. He was the brain behind the first lightweight hand-held camcorder. He’s worked on multiple Apollo missions to the moon with NASA. Whenever you get cash out of the ATM, you put in your personal identification number; Tom, back in 1967, filed the first U.S. patent that innovated that technology. So every time you get your cash, you can thank Tom, indirectly. He worked at RCA as a sort of “internal new idea guy,” using his ability to see voids and problems that, if filled, could be technological breakthroughs. He had the idea, “What would happen if we brought RCA light technology breakthroughs and merged them with a theme park concept?. We could create experiences in the Disneyland ecosystem that would be a win-win for both.” So he puts together a proposal for Space Mountain, and brought that presentation to the Disney board of directors.

These are a few of the flash points of Tom’s career. Beyond his professional contributions, Tom’s personal story is filled with heartbreak, suffering, pain and loss. Then, rebounding from that, growth and hope. The story arc plays out many times in Tom’s trajectory. He’s lost four kids: Debbie died of spinal cancer at age 12; Tom Junior drowned while fishing in Alaska; Jim was struck by a car while helping a woman whose car had broken down; he recently lost Jay. He lost Jenny, his wife of more than 50 years, to cancer, then married Meryl, who died from complications of Alzheimer’s. After such losses, you would think that the human spirit would become calloused and bitter, right? After Debbie’s death, understandably, Tom spun into a deep depression. He started drinking. He often repeats a Chinese proverb, “Man takes drink. Drink takes drink. Drink takes man.” At the time, he was moving into the “drink-takes-man” phase. He knew it was a life-or-death decision: He was either going to drink himself into the grave prematurely, or he was going to surrender his life and all of his Godgiven talent and allow a new path to be forged. He decided on the latter. If you cut Tom Patterson, he bleeds surrender. He understands deeply that his life is a gift, and that all we have in the world is a gift on loan for our lifetime. Tom has suffered, but because of his surrender, he is not bitter. He bleeds the spirit of gratitude and thankfulness.

Tom’s a friend. He’s always believed in me. Mentors are those men or women farther down the path of life than u who have experience to share. Any time I called Tom and said, “Hey, can I get some time with you?” he’d say, “If you’re going to come spend time with me, bring some great questions. Unlock things that we need to talk about.” So I would. I find that masters never call themselves masters, because the ones I bump into are pretty humble. It’s like they’re still learning. As outsiders, we look at them and see masters who have given their lives to something; there’s an awe that makes us say, “Wow. This person is unbelievable.” But what we don’t see is all the year of discipline, heartache, failure, discovery, and growth that’s happened for them to get there. The aphorism inspired by Henry David Thoreau says it beautifully, rhythmically: “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and die with the song still in their heart.”. What’s at risk is dying with the song still in your heart, with quiet desperation. I don’t think it has to be that way. What’s at risk is almost losing your soul and going catatonic and robotic in life. What’s at risk is living meaninglessly, when underneath that is yearning and desire. It’s deep in human DNA: to live meaningfully and to contribute, grow, and take the creative potential we have and see it cultivated and find expression.

2018

THEREâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NEVER A MEANINGLESS EXPERIENCE OR EPISODE IN YOUR LIFE.

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CORE STORY 6

Robert Irving III Sharon Irving MUSIC DIRECTOR & JAZZ ARTIST

JAZZ ARTIST

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2018

You may recognize Sharon Irving. A few years ago she was a front-runner on America’s Got Talent, wowing judges and audiences alike with her insistent, prophetic vocals. You’re probably less likely to recognize her father, Robert, but his professional resume is no less accomplished. For years, his long dreadlocks and youthful, mischievous eyes found themselves tucked behind the piano as the long-time music director for jazz legend Miles Davis. This isn’t a story about any of that.

Behind the scenes of Sharon’s upbringing, Robert’s winsome, gentle, and (perhaps most notably) eccentric charm was both a unique blessing and a frustrating obstacle. He, like any man, left an indelible mark on his daughter with both his strengths and weaknesses. Now in adulthood, they are frequent musical collaborators. Here, Robert and Sharon reflect on the joys and the frustrations of the many aspects of their truly unique relationship.

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Learning to Listen ALEXIS GRANT PRODUCER

ypically, my job as a producer requires that I keep things on schedule and make sure tasks are checked off my list. My summer was full of tasks needing to be fulfilled and one of those, was producing a film about Robert and Sharon Irving, for the CORE series.

Robert is a well known jazz artist that had the privilege of touring the country with Miles Davis as his music director back in the day. As an artist, he experienced the tension of committing to his responsibilities as an artist and his responsibilities as a father early on. The amount of travel he had to do inevitably led to him being distant from his family and missing out on many of Sharon’s early life events. Eventually, the Irving’s family divorced because of this.

Sharon began to recall faint memories of the past, and dug into the raw emotions she had associated with her dad being absent during her childhood. She explained the loss of a figure of authority in her life that made her feel safe and loved. She expressed that it seemed as if she was cheated on her childhood, and she had memories of traditions that were cut off. As each word was spoken, I couldn’t help but become overwhelmed. My sense of urgency to move things forward disappeared and I began to sink into every word she had said. I resonated with it all; the experiences, the anger, the doubt, the sorrow—all of it. It was as if she was telling my story; the story I don’t often tell.

One the day we had our interview with Sharon, I remember that the interview was running at least a half hour behind. Though that doesn’t seem like much, it matters a great ton when you have a limited amount of hours in a space that’s being paid for hourly.

At age 12, I experienced my life’s worst tragedy to date. Due to poor decisions made by my father, my parents divorced, and my entire life at that point seemed shattered. Everything about the divorce affected the way I made decisions; how I chose positions at a job; how I pursued and participated in relationships; and how I viewed who God was.

I remember standing in the hallway of the building we were in and contemplating if I should interrupt our director as he was interviewing Sharon and telling him to speed up the process. As I went back and forth in my thought process, I decided that I’d just walk into the room where the interview was being conducted and sit in and listen.

From an early age, I knew that God existed and that he served as some type of father figure, but this never came into full fruition until after my parents’ divorce. It took me nearly a decade to fully process the divorce and put words to feelings that were silenced so long ago and all those feelings, Sharon was able to sum up in content of her interview.

As I began to listen, I remember observing what true vulnerability was through Sharon. I also remembering observing what patience was through our director, Blaine, and he nodded and affirmed the words Sharon spoke of and carefully nudged her to open up more as each question was asked.

All that said, it was humbling to hear a familiar personal story while on set which often, doesn’t happen. Sometimes as producer I get lost in the rush of things and forget what my job is all about— being a contributor to sharing great stories. One cannot simply share a story without first listening to the one of whom the story is being told.

2018

WO RD S:

WH ETHER

CREATE

OUR

SAY

USE

THEM

THEIR

WRITE

REALITY.

WORDS

EMP OWER

THINK

THEM, THE

THROUGH

AND

THEM,

THEY

IRVINGS SONG

REDEEM.

ART ANNUAL

CORE STORY 7

The Brothers Acho C HICAGO &

E S P N

B EA R S

S P O R T S

F I L M E D

I N

P L AY ER

CO M M EN TATO R C H I C A G O

Since their high school days, Sam and Emmanuel Acho had been one anotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only real competition on the football field. After taking the University of Texas by storm in their college days, Sam and Emmanuel each went on to play in the NFL. But a string of bad luck and injuries found Emmanuel sitting the bench, and ultimately without a team. Sam, meanwhile, continued to excel. This is a story of how two brothers stay by one anotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s side, even in the moments when their paths diverge.

2018

ART ANNUAL

The Most Powerful Tool in Production ALEXIS GRANT PRODUCER

was reminded of the value of presence this summer when I was given the opportunity to work alongside brothers Sam, a Chicago Bears’ linebacker, and Emmanuel Acho, an ESPN analyst.

Those these brothers were a strong example of success and fame, they carried themselves in a way of humility and affability. Their success did not define the way they approached those they were unfamiliar with, especially my production team. They encapsulated what it meant to be fully present with other people. Rather than being distant and closed off, they were kind, personable, quick to listen, and slow to speak. Presence is not simply defined as availability and kindness, but it extends beyond that. Being present involves a deep yearning for connectivity, an understanding of purpose, and an extension of the gifts of time and goodness. On the first day production, before even being able to set up the craft table and pass out call sheets, I was greeted by a set of warm smiles and friendly hugs from Sam and Emmanuel. To my surprise, they had arrived early on set and completely threw off my attention with their cordiality. In the midst of my hustle, they took time to greet me and express their gratitude for inviting them to be a part of the project. Taking it one step further, they had remembered that I had recently gotten married, asked me how married life was, and offered counsel. One of the brothers, Sam, took it one step further and asked if he’d get the chance to meet my husband, and luckily, he was able to on the second day of production. The two of them talked sports, swapped life stories, and expressed their joys and hardships. Even though the production was the first time I’ve ever interacted with Sam and Emmanuel, it felt as if these were friends of mine that I have known all my life. It was the deeply rooted presence of the Acho brothers

reminded me that it’s presence, not processes, that differentiates OX from other creative agencies. At OX, we firmly believe that presence is the most powerful tool in the world of production. It’s presence that allows us to realize we’re not simply creating products, but rather, we are connecting and collaborating with real people with real stories. It’s presence that allows us to realize that we purposely want to partner with innovative organizations working to do good, rather than organizations simply looking to build their own brand and bank account. And it’s presence that allows us to realize that we are made for so much more in this world, so we must strive for greatness in our gifts of creativity and share it with those around us. Presence enables us to find our value in the things unseen, the intangibles, of our work. Sometimes these look like relationships created, acts of kindness and goodness shared, and memories made. In all honesty, I don’t fully remember what footage made it into the final cut of the video we produced with them, Even though the end product of film we created with them turned out well, and the footage we captured was some of the best we’ve ever shot, it’s the memory of who the Acho brothers were and how they were present with my husband, team, and I. What I’ll remember is the fond memories of them of counseling my husband and I as newlyweds; how they made my team laugh with their jokes and ability to make our furniture look so small when sat on; and how they leaned in to listen to each of my team’s life stories and be humble enough to share their own struggles and victories. You see, at the end of the day, we must be careful to not overlook the value in presence over processes and we must be cultivated in being present with others and present with the world around us, to better serve our current reality.

2018

“I NEVER KNEW HOW TRULY SMALL

I WAS UNTIL RECEIVING HUGS FROM NFL PLAYERS.”

–Alexis

ART ANNUAL

2018

ART ANNUAL

CORE STORY 8

Willie Alfonso C HA P L A IN

T HE

NE W

YO R K

YA N K EES

N EW

YO R K

C I T Y

Booze was a god for Willie Alfonsoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grandfather, and for his father too. It drove his father to beat and stab him before the age of 11, when young Willie was kicked out of his house. He began a life on the streets and an 18-year battle with drugs that left him mad at the world, illiterate, and struggling to find his place. Cut to present day, where Willie is the chaplain of the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Nets, and a personal mentor to Mariano Rivera, the greatest relief pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball. What transpired between is a story of redemption, forgiveness, and truly remarkable transformation.

2018

Gutter Greatness DUSTIN TURNER FILMMAKER

e tell stories to move people. Sometimes, it can be easy to forget or fail to realize how much these stories are moving and changing us.

Maybe a handful of times in your life, you will encounter someone with a story that speaks to your soul. This summer, we experienced 10 of these stories while filming for CORE. Perhaps the one that had the greatest impact on me was that of Willie Alfonso. The pain, betrayal, and hardships he endured at such a young age are unbelievable. But the outcome of his life is nothing short of crazy. In a good way. When I was on set with Willie, his words, his story, his persona, was slowly changing my own outlook on life. Hearing what he went through with his stepfather, down to the details of every fight they had, made me realize how good my life was, and how fortunate I am to have the

opportunity to tell stories like this. Someone is paying me to capture this crazy, wonderful story so that others can also be affected by this man’s life? That’s awesome. To not only be able to tell the story, but to tell it in a powerful way with talented actors was also a great privilege. The actor playing Willie’s stepdad made the scenes so real; I literally felt the hate and anger in the air as he raged against Willie’s mom. It can be difficult to take your nose up from the grindstone when working on a project, but it’s stories like Willie’s that make me realize how these pieces that we create to move others are actually having a great impact on me. His story took me to a deeper place of thought and reflection, and positively changed my perspective toward myself and the world.

ART ANNUAL

HOLDING

WILLIEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

NOTHING

SCREAMED

HIS

CURSES

(PL AYED

OUR

JESSICA

FATHER

BACK

BILINGUA L

HIS

WIF E

PRODUCE R ,

BANGCROFT )

2018

CREATED B Y I N

NIGH TTIME

HOLLY WOO D ING

FR ONT

ASTR A .

1X1

L OO K

BRANCH

LITEPANEL S

ART ANNUAL

CORE STORY 9

Tommy Green 89 L E A D

S IN GER , F IL M ED

S L EEP I N G I N

GI A N T

C H I CAGO

If thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one thing that Tommy Green has learned after performing hundreds of hardcore metal concerts, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that our youth culture has dad issues. The cycle of absent fathers continues to produce absent fathers. Tommy has had his own struggles in this area, having grown up with a dad who was verbally and physically abusive and who turned to alcohol regularly. Now, Tommy is trying to right the cycle of fatherlessness by pursuing his dad with the love that he was never able to receive from him.

2018

ART ANNUAL

Setting the Stage ALEXIS GRANT PRODUCER

ne of the hardest things to do as a director is to make the people on camera feel comfortable. It can be tough for someone to forget about all of the lights, the camera, and the crew surrounding them. There were several aspects of this shoot that I knew would be a challenge coming into it. For one, I needed the subject to open up about some very difficult moments from his past. The more honest and raw he was, the more the piece would benefit.

On top of that, we were set to film a staged concert where he would sing along with a track, with a band that wasn’t his, and with a small crowd of extras instead of the typical crowd of fans that he would be used to. And on top of that, we also cast an actor to play his dad in scenes where the two of them are reenacting moments from his past that tore him apart. Tommy is not an actor, and I had never met him in person to know how he would react to this type of a scenario. There are a lot of people who would just shut down and feel super-awkward about the experience. Luckily, Tommy was a rock star (figuratively and literally). There were several things I did to try to help him out, but I can’t take credit for Tommy diving into the storytelling process and trusting us with the results. Prior to the shoot, I spoke with Tommy on the phone for two hour-long conversations. Conducting preinterviews is a standard practice on all of our shoots, and is absolutely necessary for crafting the best story possible. It’s an opportunity to get to know the person better, and to get more comfortable with each other. Any relationship is a two-way street, and you can’t expect someone else to be vulnerable without expressing trust through vulnerability yourself.

These conversations gave me a lot of confidence in the story, and I found Tommy to be a guy that I wanted to hang out with. On the day of the shoot, I had our actor playing Tommy’s dad show up early to spend some time with Tommy. I gave them intentional time together to get to know each other and talk about what Tommy’s dad is like. This allowed our actor to identify areas in his own life that were relatable, and gave them an opportunity to get more comfortable with each other. It helped create a more authentic confrontation between them. Our actor was very committed to the role (willingly drinking old coffee out of a whiskey bottle), and Tommy had no problems diving in.

WHEN THE PERFORMANCES ARE MORE AUTHENTIC, THE VIEWERS WILL ENGAGE IN A MORE AUTHENTIC WAY.

For the live performance, we filled up the room with a mini-crowd of super-fans. I privately told all of our extras to show up in the room like it was a show by their favorite band. I told them to treat Tommy like the rock star he is, and to set all inhibitions aside and go all-out. We added haze to the room and dramatic stage lighting to create a large-venue feel on a backyard budget. Creating a realistic environment helps anyone (actors and non-actors alike) to react more authentically on camera. When the performances are more authentic, the viewers will engage in a more authentic way. These simple things helped set the stage for a powerful story.

2018

H AD

AND

F URY

REJECTIO N,

SON.

W ITH

-To m my

AND

HAD

NOW HERE

G r e e n

DEEP TO

LOSS

PUT

ART ANNUAL

CORE STORY

Clint Bruce F O RM ER F IL M ED

N AVY

I N

S EA L

DA L L AS

Clint Bruce has lived the kind of life that people make movies about. A former Navy SEAL, Bruce has seen the heat of battle on multiple occasions, and now leads a command of post-military soldiers on secret missions around the world. But this tough-guy SEAL has a philosopherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heart, and the wisdom he shares applies to anyone in any fight, whether behind enemy lines or behind a desk from 9 to 5.

2018

Relax or Reload? JES SE OXFORD DIRECTOR

n any single conversation with Clint Bruce, you’ll hear 17 mini-sermons. Seriously. Everything the man says is solid gold.

This is blessing and a curse. As a person - you learn and grow so much from being around him. But as a film editor - you hate your life, because you can’t cut anything he says because everything is gold. The difference between Excellent and Elite is “Are you done? Or are you not done?” Because if you’re done - excellent is the most you can ever be. But if you’re not done, you can be Elite. Because Elite is just a little more than you thought you could do.” - Clint Bruce In the heat of June our team flew into Dallas Texas to spend two days with Clint and his Trident Response Group. Our plan was to run around a gun range and play army. Except the operators from TRG weren’t playing. First, they asked to run the drills with live fire. No way.

The next day we brought in a Krav Maga trainer to choreograph a fight scene with two operators names Briggs and Mike. Over and over again we filmed Briggs taking hits from Mike. “Hey Briggs when he gives you the knee to the face, we need you to go do down hard. Like it really hurt. Act like it really hurt.” “No.” Briggs said. What? “No.” Briggs is a SEAL. They don’t lose. Point taken. “I believe there’s a difference between those who relax and those who reload. Both require rest. The difference is intent. You need rest, everybody needs rest. But what are you resting for? Are you resting for the next opportunity to come up with a get rick quick scheme or a hack or whatever so you can just rest again? Or are you resting so you can return to some high hard ridge line? And the intent behind rest is really what determines whether you’re relaxing or reloading.” - Clint Bruce

This shoot was one of the most fun of the year. Fight scenes. F-22 fly overs. And some of the most inspiring men we’ve ever spoken with.

“YOU DON’T RISE TO THE OCCASION. YOU SINK TO THE LEVEL OF YOUR TRAINING.” – C l i n t Bru ce .

“TALENT DOESN’T HAVE NEARLY AS MUCH TO DO WITH IT AS SOME PEOPLE THINK.

So over the next few days, we put the team through their paces. Simulating combat scenarios, patrols, drone fly-overs and unloading every smoke grenade our crew could get our hands on in the Dallas Fort-Worth area. “Talent doesn’t have nearly as much to do with it as some people think. I love going up against talented people. Because sometimes they don’t know how to suffer. And I do. So if we keep things even, and we start suffering. I’m going to win.”- Clint Bruce

I LOVE GOING UP AGAINST TALENTED PEOPLE. BECAUSE SOMETIMES THEY DON’T KNOW HOW TO SUFFER. AND I DO. SO IF WE KEEP THINGS EVEN, AND WE START SUFFERING. I’M GOING TO WIN.” –Cli n t Br uce.

ART ANNUAL

WILL ADD MORE IMAGES HERE

2018

YOU L OOK AT S OM E OF T H E MO S T A M A Z I N G L E A DE R S A R O U N D,

A ND T H E ONE T H ING T H AT DI S T I N GU I S H E S E XC E L L E N C E I S , ‘ A R E

YOU DON E OR A R E YOU N OT DO N E ? ’ I F YO U ’ R E DO N E T H AT CO U L D

BE EXCEL L EN T. A N D T H AT ’ S T H E MO S T YO U CO U L D B E . T H E R E ’ S N O

REAS ON TO B E A P OL OG ET I C A B O U T T H AT. B U T I F YO U ’ R E N OT DO N E , YOU H AV E A C H A N C E TO BE A L E A D. A L E A D I S A L I T T L E MO R E T H A N

YOU T H OU G H T YOU COU L D DO B E F O R E . YO U GE T T H AT E XC E L L E N C E .

-Clint Bruce

ART ANNUAL

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WATER WEEK 97

CASE STUDY

2018

INTERACTIVE DATA VIZ

SERVICES:

ART ANNUAL

The World Doesn’t Stand a Chance Without Water Women [ W AT E R

+ YOU ]

IN EARLY 2017, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC REACHED OUT TO OX CREATIVE TO DESIGN AN INTERACTIVE DATA VISUALIZATION FOR THEIR WATER MONTH CAMPAIGN. OUR ROLE IN THE PROJECT WAS TO GATHER

RESEARCH, MINE THAT DATA FOR A COMPELLING STORY, WRITE THE STORY, AND THEN PAIR THAT WITH CUSTOM INTERACTIVE VISUALS ON THE SITE. EVERYTHING NEEDED T0 POINT TOWARD THE CAMPAIGN GOAL OF ELIMINATING THE GLOBAL WATER CRISIS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION.

Earlier this year, National Geographic reached out to OX Creative to design interactive data visualizations for their Water Month campaign. Our role in the project was to gather research, mine that data for a compelling story, write the story, then pair that with custom interactive visuals on their website. Everything pointed towards the campaign goal of eliminating the global water crisis for the next generation. The National Geographic Water Month campaign focused on conservation and gender equality. The task of water collection in the developing world disproportionately falls on women and girls, who collectively spend as much as 200 million hours every day collecting this vital resource. After digesting the data, OX came up with a

unique narrative approach: “The World Doesn’t Stand a Chance Without Water Women (WATER + YOU)” PROCESS –

The process for this project was a complex one, to say the least. We were given a few reference points for stats and research, but there was still a canyon between the data and the finished product. We needed to build our own bridge to a creative solution. We had a huge problem to solve for the client: How can we mine and collect data about the global water crisis and transform it into a dynamic, interactive, well-designed experience that educates users and keeps them engaged?

K AT I E K I C K C R E A T I V E D I R E C T O R

PROCESS

ART ANNUAL

ENGAGING STORYTELLING

101

+ STRATEGIC DESIGN

2018

We rallied, brainstormed, and got to work. Armed with calculators, coffee, and creative vision, our team sifted through the available data and hunted down more to fill in the gaps. A story began to emerge from the murky pool of numbers and facts; a story about the stark contrast between women in the developing world collecting water, and people in the developed world. To tell this compelling story, OX decided to create an interactive quiz that paired questions about YOU, the user, with facts about women in the developing world. Questions about YOU + facts about WATER / WOMEN would help to make a direct connection between the user and their impact. With a narrative in place, it was time to figure out how to execute. We knew this would require complex code, so finding the right developer was a key step. We consulted with different development firms from Chicago to Barcelona to find the best fit. We partnered with a team who cared about the cause and were excited about our vision. Once we had the right people in place, we rallied around mood boards, copy, and detailed flowcharts of how the

data visualizations would work. OX designers worked long into the night creating screens that told the story in a visually compelling way. Our motion graphics team created custom animations that showed statistics rising out of dark water.

THE FINAL DATA VIZ CONSISTED OF EIGHT INTERACTIVE SCREENS. EACH HAD A QUESTION ABOUT YOU, THE END USER IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD, + A FACT ABOUT THE WOMEN IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD. As users worked through the quiz, they were encouraged to click, explore, and reveal different data points. Different types of interactivity were used on each screen, from an image-reveal slider to custom motion graphics with stats rising up from dark water or flowing across the page. The inclusion of these multimedia elements helped to keep the user engaged with their results while delivering an impactful message and educating them about the cause. 102

The Power of “YOU” WHEN THE WORD “YOU” IS USED, IT CHANGES THE FOCUS OF THE CONTENT FROM COMMUNIC ATING A SUBJECT MAT TER TO ENGAGING WITH T H E A U D I E N C E M E M B E R P E R S O N A L LY.

A recent YouTube study found that using the word “you” in the first five seconds of a video had view counts that were 97% higher than videos that did not mention the word. OX took this fact and applied it to multiple projects over the last year, with measurably positive results. One

example was a data visualization project for National Geographic. As the user interacted with this digital piece, they were asked questions about themselves and educated about the global water crisis and its disproportionate effect on women (WATER + YOU). The quiz kept a running total of their answers, and at the end, the user was presented with their results. Their daily water usage translated into the distance they would need to walk each day to collect that water.

OX also applied the power of “you” to the scripts for the 2017 Global Leadership Summit. By altering the campaign wording from “everyone has influence” to “you have influence,” people who didn’t automatically self-identify as leaders were able to see themselves in a different light. You should try it. You’ll be amazed at the increase in engagement with your audience.

OX SIDEBAR

When the word “you” is used, it changes the focus of the content from communicating a subject matter to engaging with the audience member personally.

ART ANNUAL

The Mysterious Journey of the Arri Amira J U N E 1 9 T H WA S P E R H A P S O N E O F O X ’ S M O S T M E M O R A B L E DAY S It was a day of grand adventure. It was the day we were going to get our new Arri Amira camera and we had planned to use it for our CORE Clint Bruce shoot in Dallas, Texas. THE PLAN SEEMED SIMPLE The camera was in LA with Katie, our cinematographer was in Boston, and the rest of the production team was in Chicago. We all planned on meeting in Dallas at 11am, Tuesday morning. Katie would hand off the camera, then get on her noon flight back to L.A. The team would receive the camera just in time for their CORE shoot. The plan seemed simple...until it suddenly wasn't...

103 Los Angeles

12:00 AM: Katie and the Amira depart LAX. to hand deliver the camera to the team in Dallas.

Boston

3:00 AM: Evan’s flight takes off from Boston to Dallas.

Chicago

Dallas

Chicago

5:00 AM: Jesse, Alexis, and James check in at Chicago, O'hare

10:00 AM: Katie and the Amira arrive. The team is no where to be found.

11:00 AM: Alexis’ dad gets the team a flight to Phoenix, which gets them to Dallas but long after Katie boards her 11:15 am flight to L.A.

5:21 AM: The plane’s brakes and flaps has maintenance issues. 5:34 AM: The Team’s flight is delayed.

10:04 AM: Katie receives texts from the team. 10:07 AM: Katie texts Evan. No response. 10:08 AM: Katie panics.

Dallas

10:30 AM: There are no lockers at the airport for Katie to leave the camera. 10:42 AM: Katie and the Amira hop on a bus in hopes of getting a rental car to leave the Amira behind for the team.

2018

MEET THE TRAVELERS:

ARRI AMIRA

K AT I E R U S E

PRODUCTION TEAM

E VA N B O U R C I E R

Meet Ox’s baby. This $40,000 beauty captures our Full Length films.

OX Business Manager, Located in L.A with the new Amira.

Ox’s production team is in Chicago.

Cinematographer, located in Boston.

104 Phoenix

5:00 AM: The OX production team lands in Phoenix. 5:07 AM: Katie calls Alexis who just landed in Phoenix. 5:08 AM: Alexis and Katie have 60 seconds to make a plan.

Dallas

10:45 AM: Katie rents a small car. 10:53 AM: She drives it to the terminal parking garage. 10:53 AM: The Amira is placed in the trunk. The car is locked. The keys are placed under the tire. 10:55 AM: Katie texts a picture of the parking spot to Evan.

Phoenix

1:30 AM: The OX production team departs for Dallas.

Dallas

12:00 PM: Katie flys back to L.A. 12:00 PM: The Amira sits somewhere in a Dallas parking garage.

Dallas

2:00 PM: Evan’s flight lands. 2:07 PM: Evan receives a long stream of text messages including a photo of the parking spot and instructions on how to find the Amira.

Dallas

5:00 PM: the OX team arrive in Dallas. 5:03 PM: Team: “Do you have the camera?” 5:04 PM: Evan:”Yes, safe and sound! But this is some serious James bond stuff we’re doing today.”

ART ANNUAL

BLAST STUCO 2018 S T U CO PA R T N E R E D W I T H O X TO D E V E L O P B R A N D I N G T H AT WO U L D E N G AG E T E E N AG E R S B E F O R E , D U R I N G , A N D A F T E R T H E I R B L A S T YO U T H R E T R E AT. T H E T H E M E T H I S Y E A R WA S " R A D I C A L " .

SERVICES:

105

ART ANNUAL

107

BLAST SHOOT Imagine Stranger Things meets MTV video. That was the visual aesthetic we had in mind. The desired tone was thrilling, intriguing, and abstract. We had a spoken-word artist tell a story over three parts. A story about the mysterious and awakening call to live a life not of comfort, but of purposeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to live life radically. While hearing the spoken-word narration, we also see the story of 3 high school students unfold visually in each.

2018

108

Some of our favorite designs from this year.

ART ANNUAL

111

Hire people with unbelievable skills. Then, hire the people you know youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to need. SHERYL SANDBERG