Matt Johnson

Analog Solution

Ed Word the Bookworm on a local news program

Things I’ve done.

In the eight years I’ve been working as the Creative Director for CapEd Credit Union, I’ve seen the organization through a lot of campaigns and projects. Below are a sampling of commercials for a variety of products and promotions using a variety of techniques. Details in the caption for each one.

The concept for this spot came from a team brainstorming session, the script was written by me and I worked with a local production crew and technical director.

This commercial is derivative of a popular radio commercial I wrote and produced. Provided the script and storyboard and worked with a technical director in the field. Edited by me, this spot features one of my product logos.

This is the original radio spot that I wrote and produced.

One of six commercials I wrote scripts for and storyboarded for a new child’s savings account product. Of the six, this is my favorite. I worked with a technical director and crew that I hired for production. The final edit was done by me along with the title treatment and graphics.

This spot is probably my second favorite from this campaign. The script went through several rewrites, and coordinating the actors was a fun challenge. The final edit was done by me.

One of several animated variations, this was the core video used to promote a program that allowed members to give money to specific school programs. Built and edited by me using a professional voice track. Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Audition, and AfterEffects.

This campaign went with a first-person narrative approach. This was written, storyboarded, recorded, and edited by me. Not bad, but audio production really isn’t my thing.

This is another spot that I illustrated and animated using Adobe Illustrator and Animator. The final edit was done in Adobe AfterEffects.

The acting team was an absolute delight to work with on this spot and I really enjoyed the entire process. Again, the audio wasn’t terrible, but it could have been better. Of the “High Yield Dancer” spots we produced, I thought this was the highlight and best use of the concept.

Last but not least, with this HELOC promo campaign, I leaned really hard into both the nostalgia factor of a Gen X audience while simultaneously tapping into the popularity of FX’s “Archer”. This spot was written, storyboarded, illustrated, animated, and edited all by me. There’s a reason there was only one spot produced. Adobe Illustrator, AfterEffects, Audition.

I’m on a Credit Union radio . . .

Below are several radio spots I’ve written during my time as internal Creative Director for CapEd Credit Union. Some of the spots were produced in-house while the others were produced by radio group partners.

Broadcasting Days and Motion Graphics

For eleven years, I worked for Boise’s NBC affiliate, KTVB NewsChannel 7. During that time, I worked extensively in Adobe AfterEffects, Illustrator, and Photoshop. I saw the station through three on-air news package redesigns, the implementation of two additional station identities, and several Olympic coverages and major news events. Maxon Cinema 4D was released while I was in this role and I quickly adapted to using it in my workflow. Some of my work from that time can be viewed here.

Motion graphics reel from 2010.

More recent AfterEffects and Cinema 4D work.

CapEd Doodle Folder

Remember Pee-Chee folders? Remember doodling on them and making otherwise innocuous illustrations… edgier? CapEd needed a new, fresh way to deliver account and loan information to their members, so I turned to a completely retro solution. Not only did I reimagine the scholastic classic, but I also successfully proposed a program that encourages people to not only doodle on the CapEd folder but submit their modified covers in exchange for a $25 gift code that can be used to fund a project listed on WeLoveTeachers.org. Check out submissions from people who have participated here.

Community-oriented, providing a way for anyone to give back, but with a fun, slightly subversive edge. That’s what I call a success.

This is one of the commercials I wrote and produced to promote this program.

So, I did a thing

In the spring of 2022, I decided to finally start my own side business, with an emphasis on creating third-party products for role-playing game platforms.
My first endeavor was a product created for a rules-light, Old School Renaissance role-playing game called Mörk Borg. The product was an original design and concept that I introduced to the game – a product I dubbed an “Omen Sacrifice Deck”. Between May 2022 and February 2023, I conceptualized and created the first deck, titled Portents of the Degloved Hand, including all of the package design, writing, graphic design, and illustrations. In the fall of 2022, I pitched this product to Exalted Funeral, an RPG-centric publisher, and signed a contract for a joint Kickstarter campaign in the spring of 2023. In April of 2023 Portents of the Degloved Hand funded within 48 hours and was labeled a “Project We Love” on Kickstarter. By the end of funding on both Kickstarter and BackerKit, Portents of the Degloved Hand raised over $60K.
Due to the success of this project, a second contract for a sequel “Omen Sacrifice Deck” was signed with Exalted Funeral and is currently in development.

Standard and Kickstarter Limited editions of my first “Omen Sacrifice Deck” for Mörk Borg.

To really explain how this new supplement worked and easily explain the game mechanics of it, I created an animation using the absurdly appropriate idea of a dark morning news program as I imagined it would be in the game’s setting. Storyboarded, illustrated, animated, edited, and voiced (!) by me — it was a lot of work but a good exercise bringing various skills and experiences together.

Learn how to use Portents of the Degloved Hand on today’s Good Morning Galgenbeck!

Caustic is Beautiful

Just a few images of how my stained glass work illuminates my days. Every house should have a source of caustic lighting.

Deep Space Terror

Inspired by the Indy RPG Mothership, this piece was a practice run to get the creative juices flowing. I do have ideas for the game, which has an open third-party license. Probably start working on something in 2024.

Building the Team

Fun concept piece around part of the science fiction cast of Frontiers of Friendship.

More to come in the future!

Design Work

One of the freeing aspects of switching from making my story based exclusively on “Star Frontiers” is that while it’s more work for me, I have to come up with everything. But, autonomy is freedom.
Leveraging my Cinema 4D skills, and designing my version of a believable space fighter has been a very rewarding experience and I’m really happy with where I landed with this design.

Bringing it all together with a pilot character study.

Pulling in the Familiar.

My graphic novel project took a turn when it became apparent that I would not be able to reference the TSR game property “Star Frontiers” in a direct fashion. Specifically, in depicting the races created for that role-playing game.
So, what to do?
I spent over five years developing my canine-based characters for Dewclaw. I don’t have to explain to a reader why they would exist in the imagination of a middle-schooler in the mid-80s. So, it’s been a fun return to what I both know and love — incorporating my canids into my story.

Main character of Frontiers of Friendship — The protagonist with his real-life canine companion.

Canine mechanic — The protagonist with his real-life canine companion.

Fleshing Out Drynylgyn

Over the past few months, I’ve started developing three specific art directions for my new graphic novel project. The direction of D&D-related artwork was the direction I landed on the quickest and in many ways, is the most fun.