The Microsoft Cloud

Creative Scope

I collaborated with COLOR, an award-winning agency based in Seattle, and Ajax Creative to produce a segment for Microsoft Ignite that highlighted Microsoft Azure’s role in CIBC’s digital transformation.

As the Line Producer, I was instrumental in developing and executing our vision for the segment. We made strategic decisions, such as finding the perfect location and cinematic environment, to reinforce CIBC and Microsoft’s message. We meticulously scouted Toronto to identify the ideal location and sourced blockbuster-level equipment to deliver a cinematic look. Our aim was to create an engaging segment that underscored the partnership’s importance. Despite the executives’ strict schedule, we managed to conduct a comprehensive on-camera interview within 45 minutes. We also had an overnight deadline to edit and deliver the segment for Microsoft’s keynote the next day. Despite these challenges, we successfully delivered a segment highlighting the partnership’s importance to the national stage.

Credits

Line Producer - Braden Pruss

Agency - COLOR

Production Company - Ajax Creative

Filmed in Toronto, Ontario

This case study is for illustrative purposes, showcasing our approach and capabilities. Results may vary per client. All images, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here with permission.

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Neo Financial - What If

Creative Scope

Neo Financial’s campaign emphasized that technology has improved virtually every aspect of our lives, but why hasn’t it transformed how we manage our finances? As Associate Producer, I developed and executed their latest national spot.

The campaign challenges the traditional view that financial management is mundane and complicated. Neo Financial believes technology can revolutionize how we approach money management, just as it has transformed many other areas of our lives. We encouraged Canadians to reevaluate their relationship with money and embrace the benefits of modern financial tools. The ad debuted during the 2022 NBA Finals.

Credits

Director - Scott Malo

Line Producer - Matt MacLennan

Cinematographer - Cole Graham

Associate Producers - Braden Pruss and Nick Styles

Production Design - Sean Jackson

Editor - Mark Paiva

Colorist - Sam Gilling

Music, Sound Design & Mix - 6 Degrees

Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia

This case study is for illustrative purposes, showcasing our approach and capabilities. Results may vary per client. All images, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here with permission.

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Night Night

Creative Scope

As Dark Corner Studios’ experiences continued to immerse and entertain viewers at film festivals worldwide, the need to make the experiences more accessible became obvious. The premiere of Dark Corner’s newest virtual reality experience, Night Night, served as a launchpad for Dark Corner’s new virtual reality app.

As part of our promotional efforts for Dark Corner’s recently launched streaming service, we utilized YouTube to find footage of viewers’ unfiltered reactions. This allowed us to create a series of ads that showcased the genuine emotional responses of people to the immersive and exciting world of Dark Corner’s virtual reality experiences. By partnering with Cartel Editorial, we created magnetic ads that enticed viewers to learn more about what they were watching. These ads were a crucial part of our marketing strategy. They helped generate interest and buzz around Dark Corner’s virtual reality experiences and encouraged viewers to experience it for themselves.

Credits

Created by Dark Corner Studios

Director - Guy Shelmerdine

Dark Corner Team - Guy Shelmerdine, Teal Greyhavens, and Braden Pruss

Produced in partnership with MPC VR

Filmed in Los Angeles, California

This case study is for illustrative purposes, showcasing our approach and capabilities. Results may vary per client. All images, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here with permission.

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Campfire Creepers

Creative Scope

While Dark Corner’s other interactive experiences used terrifying immersion as the main draw, Campfire Creepers took a different approach. Director Alexandre Aja believed that horror didn’t necessarily need to feel realistic. With this vision in mind, our team aimed to create an experience transporting viewers to a familiar childhood escape: summer camp.

Our goal in marketing Campfire Creepers was to balance creating something new to VR and something familiar to horror fans. With both audiences in mind, we aimed to create an 80s-era low-budget scare-fest that would transport viewers to a campfire setting. By doing so, we aimed to soften the horror and create nostalgia reminiscent of the type of movie you’d stay up late to watch hiding under the sheets.

Working closely with Alexandre Aja, we refocused the narrative by developing press materials for publication and producing promotional teasers. Our efforts brought more smiles than chills to viewers worldwide.

Credits

Created by Alexandre Aja, Casey Cooper Johnson, and Martin Andersen

Dark Corner Team - Guy Shelmerdine, Teal Greyhavens, and Braden Pruss

Produced by Oculus Studios, Future Lighthouse, and Dark Corner Studios

Filmed in Los Angeles, California

This case study is for illustrative purposes, showcasing our approach and capabilities. Results may vary per client. All images, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here with permission.

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Mule

Creative Scope

Marketing Dark Corner Studios, a virtual reality studio specializing in creating experiences that transport viewers to unimaginable or forbidden places, offers unique and thrilling immersion opportunities. Mule plunged viewers into the frantic last moments of a man’s life. My role involved enhancing the viewer’s experience of Dark Corner’s original content, ensuring that each virtual reality experience was as immersive and impactful as possible.

I collaborated with Guy Shelmerdine, the director of Mule, to produce a unified emotional and physical experience that paralleled the film’s climax — the sensation of being buried alive in a coffin. Our objective was to make the audience feel like they were in the protagonist’s shoes. We created a customized, full-sized coffin equipped with haptic feedback technology to achieve this. This allowed viewers to sit inside the coffin and immerse themselves at film festivals.

As a result of our creative marketing efforts, Mule was exhibited at over 20 major film festivals, was featured in dozens of publications, and became one of Dark Corner’s most-ever downloaded experiences.

Credits

Created by Dark Corner Studios

Director - Guy Shelmerdine

Dark Corner Team: Guy Shelmerdine, Teal Greyhavens, and Braden Pruss

Produced in partnership with The Mill

Filmed in Los Angeles, California

This case study is for illustrative purposes, showcasing our approach and capabilities. Results may vary per client. All images, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here with permission.

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Blob - Award-Winning Film

Creative Scope

Blob is a short film that highlights the potential for technology to do good, even if there are a few bumps along the way. The story follows the developer of an unintentionally controversial app that helps children with speech disorders.

Blob was shot in distinct, stylized modern locations, such as the iconic Los Angeles Public Library and a minimalist apartment in the Hollywood Hills. These settings were not just backdrops but integral parts of the film’s distinct visual style. This world can only be described as mid-century modern. Achieving this aesthetic was costly, making securing funding our first challenge. We succeeded in running a successful fundraising campaign on Indiegogo, surpassing our $10,000 goal by 110% in just 30 days.

Since Blob is an animated computer character, creating impressive and style-appropriate animation was imperative. In addition to working as the Producer and Director, I drew on my experience in application design and visual effects to eliminate the need to hire a visual effects studio. I designed, animated, and seamlessly composited every screen, interface, and mouse click in the film. Blob won London’s Cine Circle Film Festival Best Director Award thanks to its strong visuals, compelling narrative, and clearly executed artistic vision.

Credits

Awarded Best Director for Blob at London’s Cine Circle Filmmaking Festival

Director and Producer - Braden Pruss

Cinematographer - Felicitas Yang

Starring - Jacob Ellis, Sylvia Kolb, and Michelle Petrei

Music - Aaron McKay

Filmed in Los Angeles, California

This case study is for illustrative purposes, showcasing our approach and capabilities. Results may vary per client. All images, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here with permission.

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Off the Wall

Creative Scope

Off the Wall is a short film that centers on Lenny’s regret after he sells his most treasured possession, an ugly painting that leaves a stark, empty spot on his wall. The film is a satire that portrays the lengths an obsessive man will go to restore structure to his life.

As the Director and Producer of Off the Wall, I managed the casting process, secured locations and permits, and negotiated SAG-AFTRA contracts. In addition to assembling a talented cast, which included Thomas F. Walsh, known for his role alongside Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind, I created a comprehensive 300-page production book. My alma mater, the New York Film Academy, has since adopted this production book as a teaching tool.

With a clear creative vision and intensive pre-production planning, I was able to attract and cast celebrated actor Jorge Consejo on the project. The result was a lauded short film featuring a notable cast set against the backdrop of New York. Off the Wall was praised for its unique cinematography, quirky style, and artistic vision.

Credits

Director - Braden Pruss

Line Producer - Rhys Kimmitt

Cinematographer - Felicitas Yang

Starring - Zach Stephens, Thomas F. Walsh, and Tom Ashton

Filmed in New York, New York

This case study is for illustrative purposes, showcasing our approach and capabilities. Results may vary per client. All images, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here with permission.

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