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USMC Social

Social media video edit created for the United States Marine Corps. The piece combined dynamic live-action footage with custom 3D particle animation and physics-driven simulations to bring the USMC logo to life. I experimented with grain and sand-based simulation techniques to create a distinctive, tactile logo reveal, resulting in one of the account’s top-performing posts.

Outcome

The final campaign delivered multiple social animations and a fully edited video piece optimized for Instagram and YouTube Shorts. The work successfully combined authentic USMC footage with bold, modern motion design, helping the content stand out in fast-scroll social feeds while reinforcing the strength and identity of the brand.

Outcome

Instagram post

Role

Edit, Motion, Sound

Role

Edit, Motion, Sound

Role

Edit, Motion, Sound

Type

3D Animation

, Edit

Type

3D Animation

, Edit

Type

3D Animation

, Edit

Date

October 2024

Date

October 2024

Date

October 2024

Tools

Cinema 4D, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Xparticles, Redshift

Tools

Cinema 4D, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Xparticles, Redshift

Tools

Cinema 4D, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Xparticles, Redshift

Challenge

The US Marine Corps needed a fast-turn social campaign to support recruitment efforts across Instagram and YouTube Shorts. The content had to be eye-catching within the first seconds, align with strict brand standards, and work across multiple short-form formats — all under a one-week turnaround.

The goal was to create a suite of social animations that captured the intensity and values of USMC while adhering to tight time constraints and stringent brand guidelines. The content needed to be adaptable across multiple social formats and resonate with a younger audience without compromising the core message.

Role

I served as the Lead Motion Designer and Editor, responsible for:

Concept development and creative treatment
Motion design and animation
Video editing and pacing
Technical execution and delivery for multiple platforms

As the Lead Motion Designer I was responsible for:

Concept development and storyboarding
Technical execution in C4D + Redshift
Animating and refining iterations based on client feedback

Process

To meet the tight timeline and accommodate iterative feedback:

Built modular animation scenes in Cinema 4D that allowed elements to be quickly reconfigured
Used X-Particles to create dynamic, eye-catching motion around the USMC logo while maintaining controlled, art-directed behavior
Designed the animation system to support multiple aspect ratios and durations without rebuilding scenes
Edited and paced the final videos to maximize engagement in short-form social contexts

This system-driven workflow made it possible to respond quickly to revisions while maintaining consistency across all deliverables.

To keep production efficient and maintain visual consistency:

Built procedural animation rigs in C4D that allowed reusable behaviours
Employed Redshift for scalable render quality across different aspect ratios
Leveraged particle systems and motion logic to create dynamic movement that felt organic but controlled

Throughout, I balanced fast iteration with brand fidelity, enabling rapid revisions without reshaping the entire scene.

Approach

My approach was to create a modular visual system that could integrate official USMC footage with custom 3D logo-driven animation, allowing for rapid iteration without sacrificing visual impact. By focusing on strong, graphic motion built around the USMC mark, the work could remain visually striking while staying brand-appropriate and adaptable across formats.

My strategy centered on establishing a flexible visual system that could be quickly adapted for different formats and messaging. I prioritized:

A modular asset structure so elements could be reused
Motion rhythms that aligned with brand tone
Iterative checkpoints with stakeholders to refine early versions before heavy render

Reflection

This project reinforced the importance of procedural, modular workflows when working under tight deadlines and heavy iteration. Building flexible systems up front enabled faster decision-making and smoother revisions — an approach I continue to apply to social and brand work, and one I’m actively expanding through more advanced procedural tools.

This project reinforced the value of building modular, systematic workflows that scale across formats. In future work, I’d explore tighter integration with procedural tools (like Houdini) to push even more control and reusability into short-form content pipelines.