Portfolio - Interactive / Mobile - G.I. Joe Special Mission

G.I. Joe Special Mission, an application featuring motion comics and games content, originated as little more than a series of open marketing budgets. At Hasbro's request, Kunoichi generated an in-depth proposal including numerous games, animated comic art, and a Choose Your Own Adventure structure. The application became top rated content on Hasbro's network of brand sites, currently available at hasbrokids.com and hubworld.com.

Portfolio - Animation / Video - New Balance

New Balance footwear entered the arena of toning footwear, releasing a wellness category product titled TrueBalance. At Kunoichi, I acted as Executive Producer and Creative Director for this project, shepherding it's creation over the course of a 3 month process. My involvement was integral at conception, premise / scripting, and throughout preproduction, before turning the reigns to Kunoichi's Sr. Project Manager Josh Fritz and Steelehouse wiz kid Paul Wizikowski. This content has seen use in retail display, sales conferences, online, and on television.

Portfolio - Animation / Video - Transformers

Transformers is one toy brand every fan wishes to get their hands on. When Hasbro asked Kunoichi to generate a series of motion comic webisodes, we jumped at the challenge. With only weeks and little budget to complete the first piece, I'm still pretty happy with how it turned out. The second episode turned out much better. Still, this episode did everything it was supposed to do, acting as a primer for new fans seeking entry in the TF mythology. The episode ranked as the top viewed video on HasbroKids.com for two months. I shared story and scripting duties with James Farr. Josh Fritz, Jose Garibaldi, Anna van Slee, and Erin Hillman also assisted throughout the process. Steve Drucker and Aaron Archer were vital for Transformers resources that even megafan James Farr didn't have at his command.

Fight for Energon, a Transformers Universe motion comic webisode I produced while at Kunoichi, was far beyond Action Blast in quality. While my involvement in this episode was high level, as producer, I assisted in story and scripting and retained involvement throughout to assure the client was happy with the results. This episode could not have existed without Josh Fritz, James Farr, Erin Hillman, and Steve Drucker.

Portfolio - Animation / Video - My Little Pony

I am much happier about the outcome of this particular My Little Pony episode, which is leaps beyond the animation quality of our other episode. Clearly, early in the process of becoming an animation / video shop, we paced production inadequately. This episode features crisp Flash-based animation, bounce, flavor, personality, and the charm this evergreen brand demands. As producer, I took part in conceptualization and ideation before story, script, preproduction, and artwork began. Josh Fritz and James Farr ushered the project as directors, while Jose Garibaldi provided the dominant quantity of art resources. Anna van Slee provided additional support and project guidance. Paul Wizikowski and the team at Steelehouse deserve thanks for an 11th hour assist.

Over Two Rainbows is the second My Little Pony episode generated by Kunoichi for Hasbro as a dvd in package with toy products, as well as direct-to-DVD. This episode was created to give origin to the youngest pony character and provide a bit of backstory to the kid-favorite characters. The biggest challenge was delivering these episodes in a format that highlighted the appeal of this brand iteration, then called Newborn Cuties, on budget. MLP characters famously feature flowing hair that a child can comb. Flash-based storybook animation demanded a shift in handling of this hair, coinciding with a strong shift in product as well. As a producer, I assisted in story development, scripting, and conceptualization. Josh Fritz, James Farr, Jose Garibaldi, Anna van Slee, and Paul Wizikowski deserve shout outs for their unending contributions on this project.

Portfolio - Animation / Video - G.I. Joe Operation Hiss

G.I. Joe: Operation Hiss was developed as a bridge of narrative content between the feature film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and it's forthcoming sequel. While G.I. Joe proved less popular than fellow Hasbro brand Transformers at the worldwide box office, the film still succeeded in generating solid results in line with similar franchise starters X-men and Batman Begins. What's more, the movie reignited interest in the brand that started the action figure.

At Kunoichi, I worked closely with Hasbro stakeholders Michael Verrecchia, Sarah Baskin, Jason Oliver, Steve Drucker, Aaron Archer, and Michelino Paolino to deliver entertainment based in the movie universe. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was still in production, so this proved difficult. Kunoichi Account Leader Anna van Slee and I were beckoned to Pawtucket Rhode Island where, in CEO Brian Goldner's office, we read scripts for G.I. Joe and the then forthcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. We were shown a rough cut of the G.I. Joe film and a few finished sequences. The project necessitated multiple trips back to Hasbro in order to receive information, content, and product reference unavailable for distribution by electronic or other means.

As my team and I began to break down Hasbro's requests and mandates, we began to inject elements of G.I. Joe mythology not present in the feature film. Of course, these elements were seamlessly integrated...a few gestures to long-term fans and content-hungry newbies. Kunoichi has continually been associated with the G.I. Joe brand since 2005; my own involvement with the brand preceded that of Kunoichi.

In preproduction, Kunoichi generated a portion of the first episode for Hasbro review. The feedback was so positive that Hasbro requested further episodes and HD-quality presentation. Stakeholders believed this content could be utilized further on television, DVD, and in package with products.

When production concluded, the final result was a continuous narrative and a series of character-based spotlights. While fans reacted poorly to the feature film's content, characterization, and script, the Operation Hiss series was lauded for its integration of classic characterization and stories within the feature film universe. Naysayers rejected the series for its companionship to the feature film. Young audiences made Operation Hiss the top viewed content on HasbroKids.com and HubWorld.com.