Michael Baxter

Michael Lewis Baxter- •-• LinkedIn.com/in/michael-baxter Motion Graphics Animator / Graphic Designer / Art Director Motion Graphics / Art Direction / Graphic Design / Video Editing / Storyboards Graphic designer, digital artist, and motion graphics animator specializing in visual communication solutions for technology, bio/medical, IT/web security and commercial broadcast fields. Wide ranging experience in communication deliverables, including video for tradeshow, broadcast and web, print and page layout, design and illustration, storyboards, comprehensives and animatics, and graphics for video, print and web. Strong focus on developing and delivering clear visual communication. Exceptional sense of design flow, visual storytelling, layout aesthetics and color theory. Core Competencies • • • • • Motion Graphics Video/web Visual Effects/SFX Brand Development Compression Optimization Animation Theory Company Types: • • • • • Graphic Design for Video/Web Storyboards/Comprehensives MOGRT Creation AE/Premiere Print Pre-production Team Leadership/Collaboration • • • • • Video Editing Page Layout & Typography Conceptualization Technical art/Illustration Project Management Video Production Studio, Communication, Marketing Agency, Tech and Bio/Med Marketing PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE VIDEO EDITOR & MOTION GRAPHICS ANIMATOR 05/2017 – Present Cisco Systems, San Jose, CA; Freelance contract editor and motion graphics animator: Tradeshow, corporate/partner event, and sales training video editing. Multi-cam editing; panel discussion editing; multi-frame editing; audio/video clean up; music & SFX editing; green screen key and composites; MOGRT creation; animated title sequences and support graphics; graphics; brand compliance. Responsible for applying producer notes and client feedback to refine sequences and deliver final quality video edits ready for nearlive broadcast and after-event streaming. Key Achievements: • Editing for Impact: Improve video pacing, impact and message delivery through edit techniques, support graphics and music, but also add bold visual style to help deliver a clear, cohesive message that maintains audience engagement. • Corporate Brand Adherence: Able to take a company brand and build off of the provided style to produce graphics, animations and video compositions that adhere to guidelines in ways that still push creative boundaries. • Problem Solving: Experience working with less than optimal capture footage, stitching multiple takes into a coherent presentation through camera switching, creative cuts, and clever use of edit tool kit, masking tools and effects palette. • Rapid Deadlines: Able to perform under deadline pressure to over-deliver multiple quality edits with a short turnaround through pipeline planning and workflow optimization. • Teamwork: Strong ability to work in collaboration with a seasoned team of any size, or act as team lead to ensure quality control and steady workflow with peers or junior team members. Michael Lewis Baxter- •-• LinkedIn.com/in/michael-baxter FREELANCE ART DIRECTOR, GRAPHIC DESIGNER, MOTION GRAPHICS ANIMATOR and VIDEO EDITOR 03/2003 – Present Makai Design, San Jose, CA; Freelance Art Direction, Graphic Design, Motion Graphics Animation Art direction with a critical eye for composition, color, and clarity for visual communication. Experience with brand adherence and expansion into key design elements. Animation focusing on message impact and clarity through effective animation techniques and graphic layout/builds for audience engagement. Video editing for core message clarity, audience engagement, and emotional impact. Key Achievements: • Establishing Cohesive Art Styles: Through client brand analysis, able to develop and create an impactful visual style for both support graphics and overall animation to design an engaging visual experience that reflects the client’s brand, attitude and style. • Storyboards for Animation: Create a visual story through the breakdown of client script/notes to build a storyboard sequence clearly depicting the framing of action, composition of video footage with support graphics and/or text, animation of graphic builds, and annotated cells matched to the visual description and narration/voice over. • Graphic and Motion Design: Create stunning visuals tailor-made for animation and use in 2D/3D spatial environments. Use appropriate animation build techniques based on the tone and style of the client message. Design animation graphics and text to compliment and reinforce the client message, not overwhelm the audience with visual clutter. • Graphic Templates: Motion Graphic templates (MOGRTs) for use in Adobe Premiere Pro for title builds, lower third graphics and pop-up dialog boxes were developed to speed up video production for multiple remote editors. Features included adjustments for font size, position and weight, graphic bar position and length, and mask element. • Budgeting and Time Management: Responsible for reviewing client animation needs based on script and available resources and determining an estimated budget, cost breakdown, and timeline for delivery with milestones to balance with existing workload. VIDEO GRAPHICS AND MOTION GRAPHICS ART DIRECTOR Tam Communications., Scotts Valley, CA; Video Communications and Marketing Reason for Departure: Company downsize; laid off 04/1999 – 03/2003 Key Achievements: • Visual Communication: Worked closely with Creative Director to determine best means to visually represent core message concepts while developing a strong graphic style that compliments the storytelling and engages the audience. Created style sheets, comprehensive layouts for client approval, and guidelines for associate artists/animators to work from for art consistency. • Team Leadership: Responsible for team direction on development of graphics and animation style, but also distribution of duties to optimize workflow and balance multiple project deadlines and still hit timeline milestones. • Art Direction on Brand: Utilize clear ideas and concepts to generate sketches, storyboards, and comprehensives based on creative visions and ideas from client/team. Generate impactful artwork for animation based on understanding of client strategic positioning and target audience. • Building Graphics for Motion: Extensive experience with developing art concepts for clients with all aspects of animation in mind to ensure strength in visual storytelling, but also flexibility of use in animation software. • Add Visual Impact: Work closely with marketing team and other key stakeholders to create impactful, high quality video content that reflect branding priorities through use of select audio, video, colors, composition and animation techniques. M Baxter – Resume pg. 2 of 3 Michael Lewis Baxter- •-• LinkedIn.com/in/michael-baxter FREELANCE CLIENTS DIRECT: • Tam Communications • Four Winds Creative • Think Creative • VIVA Creative • Creative Media • Impact Creative THIRD-PARTY CONTRIBUTOR: • Anritsu • Apple • Bass Pro Fishing Tour • Cisco Systems • Cypress Semiconductor • Dear Doodles • Global Winter Wonderland • Goodguys • Granite Rock • Houzz • Imaginarium • Infineon • Inovonics • Intuit • Lumenis • Lutronic • NetApp • OpenText • PayPal • Picarro • Reebok CrossFit Games • San Jose International Airport • Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk • Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce • Satellite Healthcare • Sciton • Society for Science • Whiting’s Foods • Zoom SOFTWARE PROFICIENCIES AND PLATFORM USAGE Adobe Suite Software - After Effects, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Audition, Media Encoder, Acrobat Operating Systems - Mac OS, iOS and Windows 10/11 Microsoft Office - Word, Xcel, PowerPoint, Outlook iOS Design Apps - Sketchbook, Procreate, Photoshop, Illustrator EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS B.F.A., Multimedia Communications – Masters Institute, San Jose, CA A.S., Multimedia Communications – Masters Institute, San Jose, CA Workshop training for Video Editing – Color correction and color use in editing Workshop training for Video Compositing – Compositing, Keying and Clean up Workshop training – Motion Tracking, Rotoscoping and Moving Masks REFERENCES AND PORTFOLIO Online graphic portfolio and motion graphics samples can be found at mlbaxter001.wixsite.com/portfolio and www.youtube.com/@makaimotion References available upon request. 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