NEPHRON
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NEPHRON
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NEPHRON
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NEPHRON • NEPHRON • NEPHRON •
CREATIVE
direction
This was one of three films created for the Launch to Legacy campaign, each requiring a unified visual language across completely different industries. Every piece needed to carry the same narrative pacing, emotional tone, and cinematic polish to function as a cohesive campaign.
As Director of Photography and creative partner, I worked closely with the team at 9Rooftops to bring the Nephron Pharmaceuticals story to life. I was brought in early to determine whether the creative vision could be executed at the level required. The concept called for a seamless one-take visual experience, designed to capture South Carolina’s transformation into a center for innovation and opportunity.
The piece focused on Nephron’s role in advancing science, healthcare, and precision manufacturing. Set entirely indoors, it presented its own technical challenges. The lead character speaks in real time, while the environment around them moves in slight slow motion at 36 frames per second. This approach created a subtle sense of dreamlike focus and progress. Every movement, lighting cue, and camera transition had to support that illusion without calling attention to itself.
Maintaining continuity and visual consistency across all three campaign spots became just as important as executing each one individually. It demanded a highly disciplined creative process that allowed for flexibility without compromising the unified identity of the full campaign.
VISUAL
direction
This film was crafted to appear as a seamless one-take, but in reality, it was captured over a full production day requiring precise choreography and control. Filmed entirely within an interior environment, the visual approach demanded full lighting design to manage tone, depth, and continuity. We used a Techno-Dolly to execute complex, repeatable motion paths, enabling us to create a flowing, immersive camera journey without breaking visual cohesion. Lighting was sculpted to strike a balance between realism and elevated polish, mirroring the clean, sterile quality of Nephron’s state of the art pharmaceutical spaces. Strategic camera composition guided the viewer’s eye with intention while layered depth gave the frame life and tension. Supporting characters moved in subtle slow motion, contrasting the lead's real-time pacing and amplifying the surreal tone. Blended frame rates throughout helped sustain a dreamlike narrative that visually supported the campaign’s message of futuristic innovation. Every decision in this piece was made with continuity in mind, aligning seamlessly with the larger vision shared across the entire Launch to Legacy campaign.
IMPACT
The Nephron piece played a vital role as one of the three flagship films in the Launch to Legacy campaign, earning two Telly Awards: Gold for branded content and Silver for digital environments. It was used by Nephron Pharmaceuticals and other featured corporations to boost recruitment, investment interest, and public relations. Audiences and industry professionals praised the film for its technical precision, emotional clarity, and ability to make a highly complex story feel accessible and cinematic. It reinforced 9Rooftops’ strength in delivering high-caliber branded storytelling and demonstrated how strategic visual cohesion across multiple spots can create a powerful, unified campaign. The film helped redefine South Carolina’s image as a forward-looking destination for innovation and advanced manufacturing, contributing to a broader repositioning effort that resonated with stakeholders on both local and global levels.