Project Overview
After working in elearning for a few years, I was recruited to design websites and produce short animation spots for Maritz Travel. This was after 9/11 which had a negative impact on the travel industry. But fortunately prior to Apple making Flash less desireable in the media industry. This was the early 2000’s When TV shows like Lost, Veronica Mars, and Battlestar Galactica were popular.
Synopsis
Working with a writer, they would provide a loose script. Then I would create a storyboard. Everything was hand drawn for efficiency. Meeting later, we improved the plan, and storyboard. If I’d sourced music, I’d play a clip.
I worked especially hard to make very interesting and engaging spots. I animated text and pulled clips from the music library to find hooks that fit the mood and would drive the impact of the story. One day I recall walking near the travel producers area and hearing the spot playing on desktops nearby. It seemed that the work was apprecaited not only by the clients, but also by the Maritz Travel management team.
The Internet and Flash animation technology was then still very new. Performance and bandwidth were a concern, so a lot of effort went into compression and optimization while working to not to compromise the quality of the animation. These spots were often 60 seconds long and included some interactive buttons to push the viewer to register for the travel event that we were pitching. The RFPs were often valued upwards of $100K and the spots were a great way to get our foot in the door.
Key Achievements
- Researched and selected music that fit the mood and would drive the impact of the story.
- Studied film and animation techniques to make the spots more engaging.
- Introduced 2D and 3D animation software to create unique elements, backgrounds, and looping elements.
- Created a library of assets to make the animation process more efficient.
Testimonial
“We didn’t know what to expect when the creative team hired Greg as a Creative Producer. We needed a Flash developer and he was able to step in and help us with our promotions. His perfectionism and attention to detail drove him to go beyond the basic promotion. He was able to work with us to transform our vision in writing from our script and turn it into a very engaging spot. We were very happy with the results and would recommend him to others.”
— Terry Muschic, Executive Writer, Maritz Travel
Over my time at Maritz, I created RFP promotional spots and designed the registration travel websites for many of the top Maritz clients including:
- Microsoft
- Huntington Bank
- Wells Fargo
- All the Nissan and Toyota brands
- Many Domestic automakers
- Video game companies
- Pharmaceutical companies, Novartis, Pfizer, etc.
- Internal Maritz Travel services, I created a series of spots for the internal sales team developing a superhero character called “MaritzMan” to help reduce loss of clients through reciticism and promote continued success of Maritz Travel services.