Case Study · Awards Campaigns · 2020–2021
Applying the Framework to a Different World.
The Namoo Campaign.
Baobab Studios had proven VR storytelling could be extraordinary. The next challenge was getting that work recognised outside VR-native platforms — building an awards campaign for immersive content in a system designed entirely for traditional cinema.
3
Daytime Emmy wins
1
PGA Award nomination
OSCAR
Shortlisted · Best Animated Short
Venice
Offical Selection
The Brief
Baobab brought Fumi Kitahara, Mark Shapiro, and me in to advise on the awards campaigns for Namoo and Baba Yaga. The goal was to secure an Oscar nomination for Namoo and support Baba Yaga for additional accolades — treating both as animated shorts first, immersive experiences second, with the added nuance that they could be experienced "inside the environment."
The challenge was structural: the awards ecosystem — screeners, press materials, campaign assets, submission formats — was built for flat media. VR content couldn't be simply uploaded to an Academy screener platform. Everything had to be bridged.
01
Applying the Building Block Framework to VR
The Building Block system had been developed across five stop-motion features. VR presented a different set of constraints — and a different set of opportunities. Where stop-motion captured moments that could never be recreated, VR environments could be staged and rendered intentionally, making the framework more flexible.
I dug through Baobab's historical production content and built the same semantic tagging structure used at LAIKA — creating a framework of asset relationships so that the "making of" immersive materials were captured or surfaced while digital environments were still being rendered. The principle was identical: engineer the assets into the production process rather than extract them from it after the fact.
02
The HBO Max Partnership
The partnership with HBO Max required bridging the gap between an immersive VR production and a global streaming giant. I navigated this transition by occupying two distinct roles:
Post-Production Supervision: I oversaw the technical formatting and delivery of the 2D-rendered versions of the stories. Since these projects follow traditional narrative arcs, we had to ensure the transition from a spatial environment to a flat 16:9 delivery met the rigorous technical specifications and quality standards of a major streaming platform.
Marketing Asset Delivery: Beyond the master files, I managed the creation of the full promotional suite. This included trailers, key art, and EPK materials—effectively translating the "inside the environment" experience into a compelling 2D marketing package that could live alongside traditional Hollywood features.
By managing both the technical delivery and the promotional assets, I ensured that the film’s transition from VR to streaming was seamless, both as a piece of content and as a brand.
03
The Art of Namoo
We produced The Art of Namoo not merely as a "making-of" book, but as a high-prestige campaign tool. In a digital-first medium, this physical object functioned as a traditional awards mailer, making a tactile case for the work’s seriousness and craft.
The speed and quality of the book’s production were a direct result of the Building Block framework. Because the digital assets, environment renders, and character studies had been semantically tagged and organized during production, we didn't have to "mine" the studio for content after the fact. We were able to move from concept to a finished, high-end publication with unprecedented speed, pulling directly from a pre-structured library of campaign-ready materials.
Image — The Art of Namoo
The Art of Namoo. A physical object that made the case for the work's seriousness without making the argument explicitly. ©Baobab Studios
"The same framework that worked for hand-forged spears worked for rendered digital environments. The constraint changes. The principle doesn't."
Managing simultaneous campaigns across two productions and multiple awards bodies
Physical publications as campaign tools: the Art of Namoo as awards collateral
Framework application: taking a system built for one medium and adapting it intelligently for another
Technical bridging between emerging media formats and established distribution platforms
Awards campaign strategy and execution for non-traditional formats in a traditional awards ecosystem