The Pitch

During my tenure at Create Advertising as an Associate Creative Director, FX came to us to develop a graphics package for their FXM channel. I wanted to find a practical approach that captured the nostalgic film viewing experience utilizing video projections. The FX logo is so iconic and using it to showcase the vast content was only natural to use it as a video canvas. After a few sketches and some development in Maya, I embarked on building the logo. Instead of building something flat I created a series of repeating horizontal lines made of wood in various depths. The intention was to create a surface where the projections were identifiable but abstracted as the light casted onto the depths of the form. Experimentation was constant through this process and it was amplified when we started to shoot. I discovered that the creative possibilities were endless.

Logo 2.0

Taking inspiration from architectures, Kate, my talented modeler and myself started to push pixels around in Maya. We came up with three structures that FX in which they wanted to see what it would look like to blend aspects of all three into one model. After countless versions we finalized the design and moved into fabrication.

I researched different methods to build the structure and quickly realized that advances in 3D printing made it the best choice. Partnering with engineers at Stratasys I came to understand the challenges of taking something out of digital space and into reality. Maintaining the structural integrity of the model was the biggest challenge because it needed to be stable enough to move on set. I was there every step of the way to find solutions to keep the creative progress on track. Close collaboration with the engineers, my Creative Director, and the FX team was constant which led to the a successful logo build.

On Set

When the time came to do our first shoot with the 3D printed logo, it was incredible to see a simple idea turn into a larger than life production. Experimentation and iteration continued. The production, team led by the Joelson’s, brought the logo to life as they tried different camera moves and compositions of footage projecting on the logo. I was on set every step of the way to create LED screen motion content and to visualize shots in Maya before practical setups.