UI Production Director

This was the launch video for the new Surface Copilot+ PCs, and the brief was ambitious from the start. The video needed to introduce a new hardware line, show off AI capabilities, and do all of it in a way that felt energetic and modern rather than like a spec sheet with motion on top.

As UI Production Director, I led the UI side of the production and worked with the team to make the on-screen experiences feel like part of the larger film rather than overlays. The project brought in Man vs. Machine as a studio partner, which meant coordinating between 2D animation, AI-generated visuals, 3D motion, and live-action footage, and making sure all of it held together as one cohesive piece.

There was a lot of creative problem-solving in figuring out how the AI-generated material and the more traditional motion work could coexist without one feeling like a workaround for the other. The result was a fast-moving launch film that felt right for the device and the moment.

• Led UI production for the Surface Copilot+ PCs launch video, working across AI-generated visuals, 3D motion, and live-action footage.
• Collaborated with Man vs. Machine, and the full internal motion and 3D team at Microsoft.
• Helped shape a multi-track production into a launch film that felt unified from start to finish.

Microsoft

Creative Director - Cisco McCarthy
Lead Producer - Ryta Karagodina
Producer - Justin Sund

Editor - Cisco McCarthy
Assistant Editor - Joey Schober
Art Director - Melissa Kim
2D Designer - Phoebe Hsu, Esther Yeseul Lee

Al Director - Brian Townsend
AI / VFX Artist / Animators - Ziye Liu, Gap Yossanun, Kyle Moore, You Zhang, Danny Yoon
Storyboard Artist - Alex Alvarado

Ul Production Director - Patrick Flaherty
2D animator - Toliy Pitel
Ul Designer - Piper Phan
DP - Cisco McCarthy
Production Design - Kaleo Quenzer
Gaffer - Mitch Shepherd

CG Animations by ManVsMachine