Public Sector · 2023

U.S. Coast Guard

Recruiting

★ Gold ADDY ’26

Client: U.S. Coast Guard
Roles: Director, DP
Year: 2023

Dramatic coastal landscape from U.S. Coast Guard recruiting work

Challenge

Recruiting is the hardest brief in the building: make duty feel real, make scale feel cinematic, and make a teenager feel something — all against a measurable recruiting goal.

Approach

Shoot for awe and intimacy at once. Big weather and big landscape for scale; small, true human moments for connection. Direct it like a film, not an ad.

Outcome

Films that didn’t just look good — they performed. A Gold ADDY (2026) and a SABRE Top-5 North America nomination, in national recruiting use.

Recruiting is the hardest brief in the building: make duty feel real, make scale feel cinematic, and make a teenager feel something. We shot for awe and intimacy at once — big weather, small human moments.

The work went on to earn a Gold ADDY and a SABRE Top-5 North America nomination — recognition that the films didn’t just look good, they performed against a recruiting goal.

Process

01
Pre-production
Story-first development with the recruiting goal as the north star; location and weather planning for cinematic scale.
02
Production
Directed for performance and authenticity — the awe of the mission and the humanity of the people in it.
03
Post
Cut for emotion and a clear call to action, delivered for national recruiting use.