Rather than relying on a scripted voice over narrator, we felt that it was imperative to feature a real-life, living legend within the union construction industry — the man who instituted the notion of zero injury on a work site. Sarah flew to Houston to speak with the 88 year old Emmitt Nelson, who was enthusiastic to reminisce and retell the sequence of events that led to a concept that most folks take for granted. Justin sifted through the hour-long conversation and created the bones of our narrative. Embracing his cadence, vocal demeanor and expressions, Emmitt’s story was about to undergo a very special treatment.
A Dream of Safety
We partnered with the National Maintenance Agreement Policy Committee for the third year to develop an origin story for the Zero Injury concept. If NMAPC wasn't one of our most creative collaborators, this project could have been a series of stale "talking head" videos. Fortunately, "A Dream of Safety" is a saga of highly-illustrative animated vignettes that are as visually unique as the stories submitted by their own members.
Emmitt's Dream
Parallaxing the Man, the Myth
We had been itching to work with a talented designer like Jared Boggess. Known for his New Yorker-style illustrations, we reached out to him to help us time-travel and depict Emmitt’s flux-capacitor moment. We wanted this to be expressive. We wanted to emphasize that this was a monumental part of an industry’s history, but also part of a man’s memory. It should be bold and colorful, but slightly askew. Warped in all of the right ways. Tiffany took Jared’s vivid visuals and put them into a 3D space, creating a striking parallaxing effect — essentially bringing an otherwise still storybook to life.
A Series of Shorts
Reinforced with a thoughtful music score and crucial sound design, Tiffany’s three-minute prologue setup a series of vignettes. We put a call out to NMAPC members for their top safety tales. Justin reworked the submissions to be read by a cast of voice actors, while Jim Nealey illustrated the modern day stories in a less abstract, more real-world style. Rob animated each act, filling out a four-part series that debuted as NMAPC’s Zero Injury Safety Awards. In lieu of paid entertainment, this nearly ten-minute production played as the main event during a dinner that’s dedicated to the daring craftpeople of the union construction industry.
Tiffany Lewis
As our Creative Director, team leader, and motionography expert, Tiffany embodies LAI Video’s innovative identity. Throughout her 12 years of extensive creative, strategic, and production experience, Tiffany has earned two Emmy® Awards and widespread industry recognition.
Rob Kramer
As our Associate Creative Director, Rob Kramer leads the animation team and directs a range of client projects. With his suite of production and design skills, he creates one-of-a-kind styles that seamlessly mesh with your narrative.
Sarah Wides
As Senior Producer & Project Manager, Sarah Wides handles some of our largest projects and oldest clients. Her attention to detail, passion for video, and thorough production experience consistently generate incredible results.
Justin Kelly
As LAI Video’s Senior Writer and Editor, Justin moves people to action with his impeccable command of language and narrative. With a decade of experience in technical writing, editing, and project management, Justin balances detail and emotion to create award-winning videos.
James Favata
As the Vice President of Creative at LAI Video, James offers his docu-style and motion graphics expertise to transform brands and campaigns. He’s won numerous accolades, including two Emmy® Awards as a Director, for his incredible storytelling and vision.
James Loizou
James Loizou leads the team at LAI Video, building the Emmy® Award-Winning agency from scratch over the last 15 years. His innate balance of creativity and methodology guides our team forever forward towards innovation.
Susy Shaw
Susy is a Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development for LAI Video, leading our efforts to find new and empowering relationships with clients. With over 15 years of marketing, events, and multimedia sales experience in the DC area, Susy follows one definition of success: to be seen as an extension of her clients’ organization.
