X-37B
Innovation Video
Highlight the secretive space plane for the general public and advertise its capabilities.
The Intention
Creating a video for the X-37B — a spaceplane with roots in the Space Shuttle legacy — required a precise blend of storytelling and rapid execution. Over just four weeks, I led design and 2D animation, envisioning scenes to capture the X-37B’s significance. I crafted storyboards, directed the 3D team, and added After Effects animations, using AI tools like MidJourney and Runway ML to create unique visuals. The result is a seamless, impactful piece celebrating the X-37B’s role in space innovation.
My Role
Senior Designer
Storyboarding
2D After Effects Animation
Assist Creative Direction
Video & Music Editing + VFX
The Full Team
Teague – Seattle
Sarah Murray – Creative Director
Amy McHorse – Project Manager
Rotimi Seriki – Design Visualization Manager
Dmitriy Sayapin – Lead 3D Animator
Christopher Mighton – Senior 3D Animator
Setting the Stage
Creating the mood and tone for the story.
My initial work for the video was to gather inspiration and curate these images into themes and concept. I then created the themes and wrote copy that I presented to the client.
Storyboards
Draw Storyboards.
Creating storyboards is a highly efficient and effective way to gain trust and approval for a video like this. I created an image to represent every shot of the entire video. Not only were these used for the client, they were extremely useful in prepping our 3D visualization team with the type of shots they needed to set up. At Teague, our visualization team doesn’t often produce marketing videos like this and so aren’t accustomed to storyboards. In turn, I worked closely with two 3D animators and their manager to art direct each shot.
AI Assistance
Leverage new AI technology to expedite some parts of the process.
The Depart of Defense was making an announcement about the X-37B, and we were given a four-week time period to deliver the video for the event. To meet such an aggressive timeline, we had one week to kickoff on Monday with the client and deliver a script with all storyboards on Friday of the same week.
To aid in my work, I enlisted the help of AI. AI is a tool, not a replacement. To create great work, you still must pre-envision what is needed for your story. I initially drew as many scenes as I could on my iPad using Procreate. I fed a sample of my drawings to an AI image generator with a rough image layout and added a text prompt. Doing this enabled me to produce higher fidelity and consistent storyboards to a client that wasn’t familiar with looking at storyboards.
To create a consistent look, I processed reference images through AI and then drew on top of the output in Procreate on the iPad.
Final Storyboard
Mapping out the story with text and visuals.
I worked closely with our creative director to consider pace and transitions. She wrote most of the on-screen text, while I focused on the visuals that would match her script.
Splitting Task
An expedited timeline means clear tasks and roles.
On the project, not only was I a lead designer and animator, I was a liaison between the creative director and our production team. This meant I had to be proactive in making sure our storyboards were accurately represented when it came to production. I worked with our 3D visualization manager and his team to map out who and what needed to be done.
The Result
Our client at Boeing as ecstatic (to say the least). And within just a couple days of upload, the video already received more views than many other Boeing videos
