- VFX Artist
SCAD x NYC Collab
The SANM 560 class is designed to simulate the experience of a professional team project by challenging students to create a high-quality commercial incorporating VFX. Students work in groups of 5 to develop their own concept and bring it to life within a 10-week period with the help and feedback of industry mentors.
Team Nuage
representing the company Boll & Branch
Compositor: Zachary Malich
Lighting: Emily Marcelis
Look Development: Ella Lawlor
FX: Nidhi Jallepally and Mia Laplanche
Entry 1: Jan 11th, 2026
On Jan 6th, my team met for the first time, and we agreed to each come up with potential concepts before our next class. I devised 3 concepts to pitch to my team, keeping in mind my team's skillsets and products I hadn't seen done before by previous SANM 560 teams. Ultimately, we chose to move forward with my concept for a luxury bedding commercial and worked together to refine the idea and develop our shot list. The luxury bedding brand we chose to represent is Boll & Branch
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Original luxury bedding concept and mood board
After finalizing shots, storyboards were developed by Emily and we continued with product research and gathering references. I was responsible for gathering material references for look development. I pulled as many references as I could directly from Boll % Branch's website products for authenticity and Nidhi ordered fabric swatches we could use as in-person references.
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I was also responsible for 3D previs. of the hotel room scene. Models of the bed, lamp and ottoman were found on TurboSquid, but I opted to model the nightstand myself to match the specific nightstand that Boll & Branch sells.
Hotel room through anticipated camera angle
Wide view of hotel room layout
Once the scene and camera position were set up, I brought a photo of the scene into Vizcom to see if the AI could generate rendered concept art with the lighting, materials, and colors we wanted. While Vizcom was able to offer some decent results with my first attempts, I doubt its ability to generate renders that matches our exact vision for the final product/look. The program seems to struggle with certain language, specifically pertaining color alterations and references to specific locations in an image.
