Fender × BUCK
Player Plus
Contribution • Animation
The iconic guitar manufacturer Fender came to BUCK to create a series of spots launching their new line of guitars: the Play Plus Stratocaster. Each guitar featured a unique color scheme, and the campaign partnered with musicians who Fender felt embodied the spirit of the instrument. We were asked to take footage of these musicians performing and go wild with effects and additive design.
We ended up crafting a distinct “world” for each guitar and artist. This project was an absolute blast—it brought together all aspects of motion design, from compositing and footage manipulation to editorial work and warpy shape animation.
Check out the final spot below, along with some of the explorations we created along the way.
Cosmic Jade x Blue De Tiger
The green colorway, Cosmic Jade, was paired with the musical group Blu DeTiger. Just like its name, the Cosmic Jade guitar lent itself to an “out-of-this-world” approach. The guitar’s featured moment, animated by Zac Miller, places it in outer space amid an interstellar alien abduction. Below are some treatments I applied to the footage of Blu DeTiger to help convey this galaxy-and-space concept.
Candy Apple Red x Hannah Dasher
I had a hand in seeing this shot through to the end. I was responsible for the final compositing of the guitar, as well as animating the light tunnel in the background. Below are some of the treatments I applied to the footage of Hannah Dasher.
Silver Smoke x Gabriel Garzon
For Silver Smoke, we leaned into a visual motif inspired by oil on water, an iridescent sheen drifting through a smoky haze. The treatment had an almost ghostly, ethereal presence, like light catching on vapor as it moves. We focused on creating something hauntingly beautiful: subtle color shifts, and a layered, atmospheric texture that made the footage feel otherworldly without overpowering the performance.
Tequila Sunrise x Destroy Boys
For Tequila Sunrise, we leaned into the name. The footage was treated with vibrant washes of grenadine and sunlight, with accents of flowing color that felt like ingredients mixing in a cocktail. The treatment also lent itself to some chaotic overlays to parallel the energy of the music.
