Ben Cruz is an executive creative director, storyteller and strategic brand visionary with more than 20 years of experience developing, leading and driving products, services and experiences for Fortune 500 brands and startups.

Ben’s worked with many iconic brands, including Amazon Grocery, Kindle, Pernod Ricard, Ducati, Rowenta, Don Julio, Krups and MasterCard.

Here’s Ben’s experience being a Saint James Studios client and frequent collaborator with lead storyboard artist Joe James.

Joe and I go back many years, all the way to high school…

Joe was an affable young man then, bright, helpful and the same age as my younger brother. The Joe I know today hasn’t changed much — though he has a more developed vocabulary — and his authentic, sincere personality remains.

One thing about working in New York is that you find yourself overlapping orbits with people at different times of your life. When Joe was following his track of illustrating graphic novels, I was in the world of advertising and design. Joe and I ran into each other occasionally and would catch up on life and work.

First Storyboard Project

At some point, I learned Joe was doing storyboards. In my industry, you try to work with people you know. I gave Joe an opportunity to help on a project, and he knocked it out of the park. That’s when I started thinking of Joe as my secret weapon. Our collaboration has continued ever since then.

Storyboards’ Role in the Creative Process

What we do in advertising and marketing today has evolved. We’re saturated with imagery and have access to many different tools and resources and also focus on mood boards — What I’m going to give you will look like this.

It can be hard to show clients who aren’t educated in the process because they get enamored when you show them actual visuals, especially something high-production and more costly.

wet n wild boards

Finding the Beats and Moments

Joe and I like to talk about beats, those moments in a spot or story, and how our work goes way beyond just executing what’s written that it’s almost musical.

Storytelling, in the right hands, is a gift. Directors like Scorsese and Kubrick can craft an entire story without words. That’s an incredible skill, and most people don’t have that talent or patience for a visual language.

Joe incorporates storytelling into his work with a cinematic approach that’s two-dimensional. There’s something that feels effortless in the way Joe can turn things around.

As a storyboard artist, Joe can deliver something new and uniquely customized for the brand, not a derivative of something else, that also fits the budget.

Collaboration, Creativity and Care

Sometimes when Joe and I collaborate, I’ll send random references his way — links to people and other works and things I’m thinking about. I’m sure this can be overwhelming, and I will wonder if Joe is tracking. But then he’ll come back with a concept that picked up on all my assorted thoughts, and it’ll be perfect for what I need.

This is how the two of us have worked together for years and for many clients, including All-Clad, Krups, Rowenta and Cantu, and on a diverse mix of projects — from print to broadcast to social media campaigns.

Parting Thoughts

At times, I still find the ease of our partnership a bit amazing. And though I’d like to keep Joe’s work all to myself, I know he’s in demand and am happy for Saint James Studios’ success.

Here’s advice for my fellow creative directors who may not have worked with Joe before:

If you need someone to solve a problem visually and only have a kernel of an idea, Joe will build on it and create something that’s well-thought-out and finished. Joe can also be the right person for you, even if you know exactly what you want. He’ll figure out a way to enhance what you have and give you back something you weren’t expecting — and it’s just what you need.

Murray Butler is a Director at Framestore Pictures, a visual effects company and creative studio with its staff and creators located around the world.

Murray works out of the company’s New York office, which he co-founded. He’s won numerous awards in both the UK and the US for his visual effects work. He’s also focused on directing commercials and documentaries, garnering a Cannes Lion nomination for direction for his Qualcomm Snapdragon work, and creating virtual reality experiences.

Here’s Murray’s experience of being a long-time Saint James Studios client and collaborator with lead storyboard artist Joe James.

View Murray’s portfolio

Live Sketching and Working Virtually

The work I do is in an extremely competitive environment. The more you can present to an agency, especially upfront, the stronger you are. If they like what they see, they want to work with you. From working with Joe for so many years now, we have a shorthand that lets us get to that creative place very quickly.

Sometimes Joe and I collaborate virtually and, other times, he’s in the office with me. Working remote, which we’re doing more of these days, we’ll screenshare and Joe will often sketch as we talk. These live sketching sessions allow us to bounce ideas off one another quickly. Our long-time chemistry — coupled with the artistry and speed of Joe’s sketching — makes this possible.

Enjoyment of the Creative Process

I’ve driven Joe crazy before with changes from me or the client or agency. Someone’s got a problem with what we’re doing, so we must cut up the scenes to order them again. But Joe’s a pro who adapts quickly. And, often, it’s fun to do this rework — asking, what do we now need, and where is this going?

At the end of the day, it’s about Joe’s eyes and experience, his pen strokes and the characters. Joe has a sense of humor, and you can feel it in his sketches. Comedic moments were part of our YellaWood collaboration, where Joe drew the characters based on my descriptions and brought them to life. We laughed a lot, imagining a beaver character so obsessed that he would go into a trance.

Enduring Power of Storyboards

I’ve worked on many movie previews where we build the scenes for the characters. With a CG project, it’s not easy and financially feasible to get the CG assets in advance. And often, there’s no attitude or personality in these digital characters.

In the storyboards he creates, Joe captures the vibe, using light, shading and framing, to evoke feelings — and there’s something about a sketch that really captures the human eye. His drawings are like building blocks that take you somewhere — and the fact he can do it so quickly! It’s innate for him.

Joe’s Love of Movie-Making and Comic Books

Joe’s love of film translates into his storyboard work. He’ll make a Spielberg reference about a scene at the end of Close Encounters. These movie references add to the creative process and can be used to flesh out ideas.

Joe creates comic boards, too, which I’ve used on occasion. They’re beautiful to look at — a work of art in themselves — and you see emotion and the story throughout the frames.

Joe understands camera angles and lenses and making those come to life in sketch form, which I find very inspiring. It comes from his knowledge about movie-making — and Joe loves movies! You can throw a reference at him, and he’ll know the director of photography, the script and when the movie was made.

Captain Morgan White Rum

I first met Joe in 2013 when he was recommended to us. One of our first projects together was for Captain Morgan White Rum. Since then, we’ve worked together on many projects — ranging from fully computer-generated (CG) projects and work that included a mix of digital effects and live-action, as well as traditional production company work.

I got to destroy things and film them at high speed, spending a prep day in the desert with some effects people blasting things with ball bearings. Coconuts don’t actually shatter when you shoot them; lots of baking and pre-scoring is required. I loved making a mini-narrative out of a simple idea and bringing some humor into it. Way more post in this than it looks, but then that’s a good thing, I suppose.

View the Project

Sherwin Williams

Joe and I also collaborated on a Sherwin Williams project, where we storyboarded four commercials. He thought about not just the paint products, but also Sherwin Williams’ brand and the overall tone of the piece. We were able to explore that balance between the fantastic (the flying house) and intimate (the couple transforming their room with paint) — and keep the humanity of the characters in mind and those moments between them.

Shot in Cape Town, just before the world changed. We built a floor of a house in studio that could rotate and tip. Read more behind the scenes info.

Parting Thoughts

I consider Joe to be one of the crew members of my creative group because he brings so much to the collaboration. Sure, there are times for sheer execution, and Joe can do that. He knows when to step back and won’t tread on your toes. But if you want a collaborator, Joe’s the one to work with. He knows just what to do when the project requires more creativity or it’s a challenging one. This elevates Joe’s contributions in a way that’s unique and valued, and it’s what sets him apart from other storyboard artists.

Whatever the challenge, Joe fully embraces and dives into the creative process. He talks through my ideas with me — and his involvement goes beyond framing and storytelling. Joe comes up with original concepts, and I consider him a creative collaborator and partner.