When Verizon blazed trails with its Fios high-speed fiber-optic network, it was a very big deal. Millions of customers bought in. Totally next-generation, one of the best things about Fios is that it hugely improved what it’s like to watch TV.  Called Fios TV One, the watching-system Verizon developed for its network has every possible bell and whistle– from 4K integration to an advanced multi-room voice-activated remote that uses Bluetooth pairing.

To premier it, Verizon asked us not only to create a dynamically beautiful anthem broadcast spot, but to give just as much care and attention to the how-to videos.

So we went all in. Each piece we created—both the commercial and the how-tos—had to grab and hold viewer attention, fit with Verizon’s signature look, be easily understood, and really snap with sleek, next-generation excitement.  In all? It was a very precise assignment that required razor-focused attention to detail, carefully choreographed asset management, and constant communication with Verizon for content approvals throughout.

To get there, we produced every visual aspect of the work. We built computer-generated (CG) versions of the Fios TV One devices from scratch, internally. That included CG showing all angles of the set-box and mini set-box, remote control device, and television.  We modeled, textured, lit, animated and rendered the graphics, merging them with film clips, and energetic sound design. We also edited, designed and animated the typography for all of the pieces.

Doing it this way—with CG versions of the devices–made it possible to visually communicate a ton of information very quickly.

For the commercial, Verizon wanted us to highlight five key features: The voice-activated remote, which lets you search, change channels, and control power and volume. Picture quality—4K ultra high definition is the highest video output resolution even possible for TV, is another huge selling point. So is the recording capability: It lets you record six shows at once. All that, plus versatility–Netflix/Pandora and YouTube are integrated. And, you can take it all over your house by adding WiFi set-up boxes to all your TVs.

To say all that, we sequenced CG graphics of the devices with footage from popular shows, making sure to hook every demographic. And we created bursts of animated text punctuating the piece throughout, from the simple command, “Say Play,” in black, to “Say Whoa!” in a shout of red, over the fantastic picture quality.