Draper Technology Commercial

Draper is a not-for-profit research and development laboratory specializing in engineering solutions for some of the world's most complex challenges — from aerospace and defense to biomedical research and autonomous systems. This commercial was created to connect Draper's Apollo-era legacy to its modern work across science, technology, and innovation — and to do it cinematically, on a fraction of what a production like this would typically cost.

Scroll to explore

The Challenge

How do you build a high-end CGI brand commercial with a small team, a limited budget, and a company story spanning decades of advanced technology?

Previous Draper commercials had generated little awareness or measurable engagement. This third installment needed to do more — connecting employees, leadership, clients, and the public to the larger story of Draper's work. With a $40K budget split between CGI infrastructure and live production costs, single-day location shoots, and restricted engineer availability, the project demanded strong creative vision and even stronger production discipline.

The Approach

The commercial was built as a cinematic timeline — not a capabilities reel.

I shaped the piece as a visual progression through Draper's past, present, and future — opening with the Apollo guidance system and moving through lunar footage, command module splashdown, cell therapies, lab environments, LiDAR, laser and holographic systems, ISS space simulation, and a final cinematic shot of company headquarters. Each scene represented a distinct area of technical expertise while contributing to one cohesive brand story.

As project lead, I pitched the concept internally and refined the direction through multiple rounds of executive review — coordinating with leadership over four months to align the script and visual direction with the company's vision. Production milestones, scouting days, shoot schedules, and engineer availability were all managed through a detailed schedule I built and maintained throughout the project.

A significant portion of the budget was allocated to building the internal rendering infrastructure needed to support the CGI pipeline. The remaining budget covered location shoots, camera equipment, and a small but dedicated production team. To maintain visual consistency across a wide range of subject matter, I handled the majority of the CGI — including scene construction, animation, lighting, rendering, compositing, and final polish.

The Impact

A cinematic brand commercial that became one of Draper's most durable and recognized pieces of media.

The commercial aired on CBS for more than five years and continues to appear in social media, advertising, and promotional content over a decade after its original release. It received strong recognition across the company for capturing Draper's history, technical depth, and identity in a way previous efforts hadn't — a piece that resonated with employees, leadership, and public audiences alike, and helped turn a complex institutional story into something people actually wanted to watch.