Nicholas Owens

Gershoni is an agency specializing in Web, Video, Print and Brand Strategy. I was hired as Interaction designer, and rapidly moved into Information Architecture while managing Motion Graphics, and Video production.

Typical responsibilities included flowcharts, wireframes, interaction design, html/css/javascript development, Image Editing and production, as well as content strategy and management. Where projects called for it, my responsibilities included Animation and Video editing. This includes Flash animations for banner development, full screen video animations, and constructing Show Package content for Branded Youtube channels. In addition, I gained considerable experience in both Wordpress and Expression Engine.

Clients included AOL, BBC, Horizon Milk, Adina, Post Ranch Inn, and Three Hoots Wines.

Current TV sits at the edge of Broadcast and Web Distribution, acting both as Content Developer and Content Aggregator. My responsibilities included developing Show Menus, commercial graphics and motion design for Shows, and Complete Show Packages. A typical day might have me working in ActionScript-Flash, Javascript, Cinema4D, Photoshop and always After Effects.

Initially involved in crossbreeding Flash Programmatic animations with After-Effects to produce “Automated Menus” for scheduling. This blossomed into many experiments with Flash/AS 3.0 graphics being used to generate highly dynamic transitions and audio reactive objects.

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Flash Transitions

the Sustainability Institute is a systems thinking, system dynamics modeling organization with Input from the MIT Sloan group. I worked closely with SI and the Systems Dynamics Group at MIT in turning 5 spreadsheets of 5 columns and 100 rows of data into a cohesive Interactive Information Graphic for Policy Makers. Presented at TEDx and the Copenhagen Summit.

A film title sequence and brief animation for the Film, "Pretty Bird". Paul Schneider, the director, had collected an enormous amount of material inspiration for the piece, but one driving theme was a very Baroque ornamental canvas from which we would transition to a POV flight through a dramatic and dreamlike sky.

View Flight
View Opening Title

WorldLink designs media progrmas on critical global and local issues. I designed Motion Graphics and Animations for the “Nourish” project featured on PBS.

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View Final Animation

Working closely with R. Brooke Priddy, an artisan seamstress I developed a Flash site with multiple concepts working together. It functions as a portfolio of her work, but the structure of the site changes with the hour and minutes of the day. The Sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening. Objects flicker into existence and fade away. The Ethereal nature of the site was inspired by an underwater photo shoot she had completed.

Working with American Green Media on a promotional video project about technology in the Southeast, it became very important to visualize a piece of technology called the Balsam Fiber Loop. This was a huge network of cable that ran down the East coast of the United States, and happened to turn right in the path of various industries in North Carolina.

This network connected urban areas in the South east with the same bandwidth and power as networks in DC and New York.

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Explaining the Geo-Dome was at the core of Elumenati Labs' mission. A technology solution for education, science, and art, it was not easy to explain in words the impact of the product. I was commissioned to create a video that would touch on some of the key points, and illustrate the broader concepts. The video was eventually used on their main site, and in promotional materials, and press kits.

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The reflexivity project was a personal piece for Elumenati Labs. The idea was to balance storytelling and information display with artistic license. The piece itself is beautiful, but must be seen in the dome to be fully appreciated. It is used at various lectures given by founder David McConville.

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One of a first of projects completed with Elumenati Labs. This animation and video was produced as one of many Sundance film festival art projects, to be displayed in their art and technology room. This marked the first time I worked with spherical perspective and the Fulldome plugin for After Effects.

note : Renders are done in a square format for display in the dome.
View Sequence I
View Sequence II

The hatch festival commissioned an animation that was aligned thematically with their various disciplines. each animation was constructed as a standalone to be used in each field, and also cut into one giant piece to be used at the opening and closing ceremonies.

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After working in motion graphics and video editing for almost 5 years, I wanted to work on a piece that took all my knowledge and experience and used it on a creative piece. To be honest, I was mesmerized by the work of artists like Chris Cunningham, TDR, GMUNK, and theRonin, and I wanted to flesh out that aesthetic, learn how to work with it.

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