Turning brand guidelines into scalable video systems.

NBCUniversal / TODAY - Video Template System

NBCUniversal requested a demo for Today.com, but the challenge was that they didn't have a brand guideline and asked us to reference their website. They wanted to transform their blog into a video format. To create a cohesive design, I drew inspiration from their YouTube channel, TV show titles, graphics, and color scheme, ensuring the final product aligned with their brand identity.

Creative Direction: Joel Alcala

Computershare (Walmart) - Video Brand Adaptation

Walmart's 2024 brand refresh adaptation focused on creating videos in minutes and repurposing content efficiently. The challenge was the urgency of the project, as it needed to be presented to Walmart by an agency on a tight deadline. To ensure a seamless execution, I aligned the design with Walmart's updated brand identity while optimizing for speed and scalability.

Creative Direction: Joel Alcala

Lumen5 - Brand Refresh, Design System & Motion

The creative team was given a task to analyze the Lumen5 logo. While there was no intention to change the emblem, I took it as a challenge to explore potential improvements and create a case study on why a refresh could be beneficial, along with the reasoning behind the adjustments.

Creative Direction: Joel Alcala

DSS+ - Corporate Video Frameworks

DSS+ design branded template for video creation, built for Lumen5.

Creative Direction: Joel Alcala

Star Wars Arab Spring - Comic-Con Posters

A series of posters and T-shirt designs mashing up Star Wars characters with Arab/Gulf culture, shown at the Middle East Film and Comic Con.

MTV Arabia - Shoe Scandal

I proposed the idea of building a stop-motion video around the MTV Arabia logo. Since MTV is known for unconventional ideas, I wanted to think along those lines but add something local - so I thought about finding a shoe rack that I could turn into a stop-motion piece. I scouted mosques around Dubai and found the perfect one. The shoes themselves were real - borrowed from our colleagues.

12 Days of Video Campaign

This seasonal campaign, created in collaboration with the marketing team, focuses on producing 12 videos that highlight the best use cases for Lumen5, along with a promotional video to announce the project. With the guidance of the Creative Director, I handled the shooting, created the storyboard, designed the animations, edited, and added music using AI. As part of this initiative, viewers can explore a variety of video examples made in Lumen5 and gain exclusive insights into video use cases, content strategies, and how Lumen5 streamlines the video creation process.

Thanks to
Marketing team
Joel Alcala - Creative Director of Lumen5
Argem - Font design

Kat Does Voiceover Hype Video

A marketer character tries to record a voiceover for a video already made in Lumen5, but keeps cutting off awkwardly, unable to get the take right. After checking out a few AI voices and liking how they sound, she picks one to narrate the video instead. The audio itself carries the story - nervous sips of iced coffee, false starts and audible breaths, the music stopping and starting - until it settles into a smooth AI voice, with the narration shifting from her own voice to the AI's along the way.

Creative Direction: Joel Alcala

Lighting and Camera assisted by Kanwar

Maddie Loves Marketing

The next generation of Lumen5's AI text-to-video feature is here - the tool Lumen5 is known and loved for, now with some great updates: a new GPT-powered AI for more accurate scripts, a fullscreen script-editing experience, multiple video ideas generated from your content, a "Source" tab for accessing your original article media and filling in scenes the AI may have missed, and smarter scene and media suggestions for a better finished video.

Creative Direction: Joel Alcala

Co-Design by Rajesh
Lighting and Camera assisted by Kanwar

Nwah Opener

"Nawah" (نواة) is a national documentary series broadcast on Abu Dhabi Media's network, specifically Al Emarat TV, highlighting the UAE's major strides in building, establishing, and scaling its foundational infrastructure and construction sectors.

Design by Karim

Sheikh Zayed Festival 2021 - Program Opener

Sheikh Zayed Festival is a massive annual cultural and entertainment celebration held in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi, honoring Emirati heritage alongside cultures from around the world. It showcases traditional crafts, local arts, falconry, camel activities, and historical exhibitions that highlight the UAE's deep-rooted values and civilization.

Design by Karim

Ayady - Program Opener

"Ayady" takes its name from "Ayadi Al-Rahma" ("Hands of Mercy"), a phrase used across UAE broadcast networks for humanitarian, medical, and community initiatives.

Design by Karim

Al Meedar - Program Opener

"Al Meedar" centers on traditional Emirati marine life, seafaring culture, coastal heritage, and professional fishing practices in the Arabian Gulf. Episodes cover local fish species, traditional fishing methods, and the maritime history rooted in the UAE's coastal identity. It airs on Al Emarat TV, a leading national channel under Abu Dhabi Media focused on local traditions, culture, and family programming.

Design by Joseph Manata

Emarat Eid Greetings

A logo animation bumper for Eid, built to feel positive and lively - inviting viewers in with the spirit of the holiday while keeping them watching the show. It's filled with elements that capture the spirit of the holiday, each brought to life with micro-animations that give the whole piece its energy.

Design by Joseph Manata

Yalla Al Ain

This film was made for the second edition of "Your Eye on Al Ain" ("Aynak Ala Al Ain"), a photography and video competition organized by Al Ain Municipality under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Dr. Shamma bint Mohammed bin Khalid Al Nahyan in 2014. The competition aimed to elevate photography and video in the UAE by encouraging local and international talent to capture the beauty, authenticity, and vitality of Al Ain, and the Al Ain Photographia Award became a notable addition to the UAE's annual cultural calendar.

Ex Girlfriend

"Ex Girlfriend" was selected for the inaugural Gulf Film Festival (GFF) in Dubai, held April 9-15, 2008. Launched by Dubai's Technology and Media Free Zone Authority alongside the Dubai International Film Festival, GFF was created to give Gulf filmmakers a bigger platform to showcase their work and discuss issues facing the region, with Masoud Amralla Al Ali as festival director. Most of the official competitions were reserved for Arab nationals from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Iraq, and Yemen, alongside sections open to expatriate filmmakers in those countries and a small selection of international shorts.

Credits
Jerai Aguilar
Debbie Conception
Dudeck Hernandez

Abu Dhabi & Beyond

A compilation of my work from 2014-2018.

I first got into time-lapse in 2010, right after I lost my job. I had saved just enough to buy a Canon 7D with a Sigma 10-20mm lens, plus a time-lapse dolly which was brand new on the market back then. As I started getting some attention and gigs, I eventually upgraded to a Canon 5D Mark III with a Canon 14mm lens and a newer, more portable dolly.

From 2010 to 2014, I lived and breathed time-lapse photography. It was my world, day in and day out. I learned so much, met incredible people, and truly appreciated that chapter of my life. I chased clouds, fog, sunsets, sunrises, the moon, the Milky Way, and most of all, time itself.

I was fortunate enough to be invited by Nikon to test the D810 with their legendary 14-24mm lens, which was an amazing experience. Later, I even had the chance to teach a few workshops with Nikon School in Dubai and Qatar. That period was easily the peak of my career as a time-lapse photographer.

But all good things must come to an end. This is my last time-lapse video.

This is my story of chasing time, clouds, fog, and the galaxy across the UAE.

Thanks to
Ernesto Suarez, for the music & sound design.
Kristine Abante - sandboxcreatives.com, for the English translation.
Thank you, UAE.

UAE Summer

This is a compilation of my time-lapse work from the summer (April-August) of 2012-2013. A tough time to shoot outdoors in the UAE, as the weather is mostly hazy, with some occasional sandstorms, and temperatures reaching up to 50°C in the day time with a dreadful humidity of 80-90%. So the best time to shoot (without collapsing) is sunset and at night.

I shot all the Milky Way parts on moonless summer months of 2012-13, and travelled more than 200 miles to Abu Dhabi and another 100 miles to the highest point in the UAE at Ras Al Khaimah. More Milky Way photos on Facebook.

Majority of these time-lapses were commissioned by Abu Dhabi Media for the Ramadan programs. I worked closely with the creative team as they helped secure all the location permits - a big thanks to the team for giving me this opportunity.

Another awesome collaboration with talented good friend Ryan Scully, a New York-based music composer who took the time to compose this epic masterpiece. Check more of his music on SoundCloud, and download the UAE Summer original soundtrack on Bandcamp.

A big shout-out to Japat for creating the ice mould for the title - see more of his work at darwinjapatguevarra.wordpress.com.

Credits
Abu Dhabi Media
Two Four Arabia
Dubai TV

All rights belong to their respective owners.

Emirates Winter

A project that started in January 2011 and completed shooting in May 2011. My goal was simply to explore and look for interesting, unique sceneries around the UAE, and capture its beauty with time-lapse photography. Winter season played a big part of my journey, as it's the best time to chase visible fluffy clouds with a true blue sky that only exists to the human eye at this time of year.

I travelled approximately 4,000km going around the cities of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. I ended up going more than once to a few locations, most of which I searched the coordinates for online. There were some tiny setbacks - wrong coordinates, clouds disappearing, being turned down to take photos after a 2 hour drive, miscalculated driving time, sets of glowing eyes in the mountains, some wild animal noise in the dark (not really a hindrance, but a bit alarming), and a few unnecessary technical issues - all typically part of trying out and learning something new.

The whole trip was very exhausting and time consuming, but it was all worth it in the end. I saw so many beautiful places here in the UAE, and enjoyed all the long drives as well as being close to nature and far away from the city for a while. I'm hoping to find more time to discover new places and capture them again on video.

A big thanks to Ryan Scully for taking the time to produce the original score - soundcloud.com/prscully20

Project title

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