oculus - workrooms
To showcase the creative potential of Workrooms, Oculus’ virtual co-working app, this commercial blends 2D, 3D, and live-action into a dynamic piece. I collaborated closely with the client and the Monks production team, translating the brief into a storyboard, motion style, and guiding it through to the final delivery.
As Animation Director, I led the Illustration, Film, Post, 2D, & 3D Animation teams, providing creative direction to ensure visual cohesion across all styles and disciplines.
Look Development
WORKROOMS AS SEEN IN APP
The first creative challenge was developing the visual style of the in-app shots. Since Workrooms is a VR app, it is limited by the technical constraints of virtual reality.
To give the commercial a more cinematic feel and support clearer storytelling, we aimed to enhance its low-poly aesthetic.
3D TREATMENT USED IN COMMERCIAL
I led the team to achieve this by making slight enhancements where we could. The characters had to remain low poly, but making adjustments to the lighting in the space already elevated it within the client’s legal restraints. The key was striking a balance by elevating the visuals while
staying true to the product’s look without being misleading.
2d motion explorations
Bringing the sketched line to life as a graphic element emerging from the frame also helped bridge the live-action footage with the 2D animations, creating a more cohesive whole.
We did a number of motion tests to explore how to make the simple line more energetic, and used camera movement and depth of field to achieve this.
As live drawing is a key feature of Workrooms
I wanted to use it to visualize the creative process.
3d motion explorations
To emphasize the mechanics of setting up and working within Workrooms, we introduced abstract graphical shapes that followed the users’ motions. This helped illustrate interactions more clearly and added the playful and creative energy the platform is about.
We initially explored a variety of shapes inspired by the logo and broader branding, but ultimately chose to focus on the plus symbol from the VR setup UI
to have the design be more meaningful.
credits
EVP, CREATIVE - GRADWELL SEARS
CREATIVE DIRECTOR - ROMA LEVIN
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR - CAROLINE PAIK
ANIMATION DIRECTOR - BEN ALCASAS
3D ANIMATION - ADRIEL DELGADO SALAZAR, P.P. BELUSSO DA MOTTA, OSCAR SOBRINO GUAGNELLI
2D ANIMATION - DIEGO BIS, BEN ALCASAS
ILLUSTRATION - PIA CASCELLA, EDOUARD RELOU, MATTYN KLAAASEN
COLOR GRADING - FLORIS KESTER
COMPOSITING - MARTIN NECAS-NIESSNER, PATRICK MERE
COPYWRITER - JOE JACKSON
PRODUCERS - JEAN CHANG, VERONIQUE BEUMER