Josh Christman

Broadcast and pre-roll/social for TurboTax’s Now This is Taxes campaign.

Role: Freelance Senior Creative Producer

During my time at Google, I also got to work on the Pixel team. Throughout various campaigns, I was a part of origination, global optimizations, and collaborations with agency-led productions.

Role: Freelance Creative Producer

I’ve had the privilege of working on some of Google’s biggest events the past few years. My projects have ranged from serving as the client producer for a pre-show where the visuals and music were created with AI to getting 45 minutes to film an entire spot with 2 of McLaren’s biggest stars at their headquarters.

I was also able to lend my experience to event work led by Ogilvy NY for Made By Google’s After Party show starring Keke Palmer. It was a fun project with a quick turnaround that took us from Hot Ones with Sean Evans to sneaker shopping with Jimmy Butler.

Role: Freelance Creative Producer

Apple’s annual holiday films traditionally feature a product integrated into the creative (iPad in 2019’s The Surprise, MacBook in 2018’s Share Your Gifts, AirPods in 2017’s Sway), but for 2021’s Holiday spot, they wanted the film itself to be the product, so shot entirely on iPhone.

We enlisted Jason Reitman (Up In The Air, Juno) to take on the task of filming an entire commercial with the iPhone 13 Pro to not only show off the latest features (Cinematic mode, Macro video, advanced low light), but to also tell the heartwarming story of a little girl trying to keep her snowman alive as the seasons change throughout one year.

Jason brought on his father, Ivan (Ghostbusters, Twins, Stripes) to help tell this story, their first time sharing credits as co-directors. This was also documented in a Behind the Scenes we also produced, along with assets created for Apple’s Instagram handle. Social pieces showing off Macro video and Cinematic mode were also created to support the campaign.

The commercial debuted the day before Thanksgiving and garnered coverage in Variety, Forbes, Collider, and was Adweek’s Ad of the Day.

With six weeks before Apple’s annual 2021 September Keynote, we were briefed with creating a film to open the event. The theme was California, so we set out to create film that embodied what makes the state so great.

We traveled to six different locations with 2 different drones in 5 days, filming a diverse group of artists signed to Stones Throw Records doing a cover of “California Soul” as our soundtrack.

I was fortunate enough to be part of the team that brought this film to fruition despite the tightest of timelines.

Music is one of the greatest exports from Canada, so we wanted to showcase the diverse range of rising talent and established stars coming out of the great country, and the device they use to help create culture-defining work.

To quote the “Godfather of Canadian Hip-Hop” Maestro Fresh Wes, “Canada, we’re the top of the global food chain when it comes to music man.”

Produced 3 installments of “Experiments - Shot on iPhone”, one of Apple’s most popular ongoing series for YouTube and Instagram. Teaming up with production partner Incite, we pushed the camera abilities of the latest iPhone models to the limit. Creating content for their @Instagram handle, we also shot and edited behind the scenes pieces that lived on their YouTube channel.

“Fire and Ice” is the fourth episode in the series using the iPhone 11 Pro and debuted at the beginning of 2020. “Dark Universe”, the fifth episode, and “Everyday Experiments”, a spin-off episode featuring more practical experiments, debuted in October and November 2020 with the newly announced iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12.

Other content from Instagram carousels to Stories and Reels were also created to promote the launch of the new episodes.

Recognition:

The Webby Awards

Winner: Social: Best Editing (Experiments V: Dark Universe)

Winner: Video: Best Art Direction (Experiments V: Dark Universe)

Honoree - Video: How-To, Explainer & DIY (Everyday Experiments)

Nominated for:

Social: How-To, Explainer & DIY (Everyday Experiments)

Social: Best Editing (Everyday Experiments)

Video: Technical Achievement (Experiments V: Dark Universe)

One of the new features on the iPhone XS and XR is Depth Control, where you have the ability to blur the background of any photo taken in portrait mode. We wanted to create a film that travels through a busy NY street, passing by moments you would want to blur out of a beautiful photo, whether it be a rat, a taxi cab, or a crying baby. These moments we pass by end up creating the depth of a portrait photo that gets taken.

In September 2018, Apple introduced the iPhone XS + XS Max. We wanted to produce a film that would create an illusion that only one new iPhone would be debuting at their Keynote event, when in reality a bigger version would also be unveiled at the same time. Produced separate pieces for their September Keynote event and for TV. Shot practically using motion control camera rigs.

Got to fulfill a lifelong dream of working with Sesame Street and the one and only Cookie Monster. This spot aired during March Madness 2016 and was recognized as one of the best ads of the year by Variety. The ad received coverage on Huffington Post, Forbes, Time Magazine, Mashable, Business Insider, shortlisted for The One Show, and was named "Ad of the Day" on AdWeek.

We also produced this "Behind the Scenes" piece for social following the positive response to "Timer". It received over 20M views on the App Store's Facebook page and was shortlisted for ‘Short Form Film’ for The One Show.

Honoree for The Webbys

Video - Comedy (Branded) 2017

Got to be part of the team that launched Apple's Instagram account in the summer of 2017. We produced 39 pieces of content showcasing iPhone user's photos from all over the world - including an anthem film highlighting these users and their passion for photography. 

Awards:

Cannes Gold Lion - Social & Influencer Lions - Co-creation & User Generated Content

Cannes Silver Lion - Mobile Lions - Co-creation & User Generated Content

Cannes Lion Shortlist (2)

The One Show Silver - Social Engagement / User-Generated Content

The One Show Bronze - Social Engagement / Community Building

The One Show Merit - User-Generated Content

The One Show Merit - Branded Social Content

The Webby Awards Honoree (Social) -Best Photography & Graphics

Produced these 4, quick cutting spots that ran on YouTube, preroll, and social. Worked with a fun crew, including director Brig White (Tool of N.A.), DP Robert Yeoman (Royal Tenenbaums, Grand Budapest Hotel) and editor Shane Reid (Exile). These spots were part of an overall Apple Pay campaign that supported the broadcast spot “Fly Market” by The Daniels.

Produced this pre-roll spot for the new Apple Airpods showcasing the new “Green Light” on the case.

Got to film all over Los Angeles County and New Orleans, LA and work with Park and Rec's Aubrey Plaza and musician Trombone Shorty.

Produced this spot for Apple Music who was promoting their "Up Next" artist for the month of November 2017. The spot aired during the James Corden show on CBS following her live US debut on the program.

Riding the critical success of Season 1 of Ted Lasso, and with the unveiling of the new 4k Apple TV, we produced this spot to highlight both while showcasing how the TV+ app is available on various platforms, from the PS5 to Roku.

Demo spots showcasing the new "Portrait Mode" feature on the iPhone 7 Plus that ran on pre-roll and digital.

This campaign takes a serious village of creatives and research vendors unearthing thousands of photos, art producers and business affairs reaching out/vetting photographers from all over the world, account teams tirelessly tracking every movement for the client, music teams finding the right track for the right photo, and producers working with their vendors to put it all together for 26 markets.