Maxwell Tielman

Category: Video

  • Content House: Holiday

    Content House: Holiday

    Concept, art direction, videography, and video editing for a West Elm shoot type that was referred to internally as “Content House.” For two days, a full home was rented in order for us to stage, photograph, and film social content for an entire season. This specific shoot focused on concepts for the holiday season, ranging from general winter-season subject matter to Christmas and Hanukkah. The function of these shoot was to address a disconnect between the high-performance of user generated content (UGC) and the fact that most UGC does not contain ample or new enough product. To remedy this, we opted to create our own UGC-style video, in-house.

    Styling by John Dittrick.

  • Design Vignettes

    Design Vignettes

    Concept, art direction, videography, and video editing for West Elm’s social media channels. This series highlighted specific novelty designs created for the brand’s Holiday and Spring collections. Each video used a simple visual hook set to music to showcase the design’s specific qualities.

    Videography for candelabra by Tamino Castro.

  • Unboxing

    Unboxing

    Concept and art direction for West Elm’s social media channels. This series used the heightened sounds of unwrapping to provide an auditory, ASMR-style hook for showcasing new product releases.

    Videography by Tamino Castro.

    Styling by Getteline Rene and Pablo Olguin.

    Lighting by Joel Burton and Mace Vannoni.

  • Small Space

    Small Space

    Concept, art direction, and script writing for a West Elm social series on small space living. Captured in-studio on a full-scale 1-bedroom apartment set, each installment of the series took a close look at how to optimize space for different areas of the home, from the living room to the bedroom.

    Videography Zack Taylor.

    Styled and hosted by Getteline Rene.

  • Product Drawings

    Product Drawings

    Art Direction and Content Strategy for a series of ongoing ASMR-style videos featuring drawings of West Elm products. The objective of this series was to create a way to highlight new product on West Elm’s Instagram and TikTok channels in a way that felt natural to the platforms, and not too much like a glossy advertisement. Designer Hulya Hanlı of Cancri Design was enlisted to create drawings and videos of new product at every seasonal drop, with products selected on the basis of their design and dynamism. Ultimately, the series proved very popular with West Elm’s audience and acted as a showcase for the brand’s in-house designs.

  • Will it stain?

    Will it stain?

    Concept, art direction, title design, and video editing for an Interior Define social series. The objective was to showcase the durability and stain-resistance of Interior Define’s upholstery fabrics. Given that the launch was timed for summer holidays (Memorial Day, Independence Day), we tailored the series around festive cocktails so the information could double as a useful recipe.

    Stop-motion photography by Lindsey Swedick.

    Food styling by Jason Schreiber.

  • Flower Arranging

    Flower Arranging

    Concept and Art Direction for a social video on West Elm’s channels. Part of an ongoing series of “home hacks” that showcased various simple solutions to life’s domestic questions, this installment provided easy tips for arranging flowers, in any vase shape or size.

    Videography by Mason Blake.

    Styling by Ryan Reineck.

    Lighting by Joel Burton.

  • How To Make Hot Chocolate

    How To Make Hot Chocolate

    Concept, art direction, set design, and writing for West Elm.

    Videography by Zack Taylor.

    Styling by Marie Sullivan.

    Food Styling by Jason Schreiber.

    How To Make Hot Chocolate, From Scratch

    It’s a good thing that beach season is months away, because if there is one thing that makes this time of year tolerable, it’s huge mugs of piping-hot melted chocolate, milk, and whipped cream. We’re talking, of course, about the obligatory beverage of any wintertime night in: hot chocolate. While your hot chocolate ritual might entail a box of factory-sealed envelopes containing micro-portions of chocolate-flavored powder (it has a time and a place and we don’t judge), we’re here to tell you that an über-rich, molten hot chocolate made from scratch takes almost the same amount of time and effort to make. Get out a bar of chocolate and put on some sweatpants—let’s make hot chocolate!

  • The Haute Seat

    The Haute Seat

    Concept, art direction, and set design for a West Elm Pride campaign. The short series, titled “The Haute Seat,” was fashioned as a talkshow hosted by Out magazine’s Art Director, Sean Santiago. The series showcased a roster of up-and-coming queer talent, from chefs and comedians to drag queens and writers.

    Hosted by Sean Santiago.

    Videography by Zack Taylor.

    Styling by Ashley Cheeks.

  • How To Pack A Suitcase

    How To Pack A Suitcase

    Concept, art direction, video editing, title design, and blog post writing for West Elm. Created to highlight a collection of luggage that was introduced to the West Elm assortment for the holiday season. Published on West Elm’s social channels and as a more extended blog post on West Elm’s blog Front + Main.

    Videography by Zack Taylor.

    Styling by Elvis Maynard.

    How To Pack A Suitcase

    Let’s just get this out of the way: nobody likes to pack. Unless you are a next-level organizing fiend with an inexplicable love for tedium, you probably put off filling your suitcase until the very last minute. This might be expedient in the moment, but has a tendency of complicating things once you reach your destination. We’ve all found ourselves hunched over our bag, tossing wrinkled t-shirts onto the floor in an attempt to find a toothbrush. With the holidays right around the corner, packing becomes even more of a challenge—how to pack your clothes, toiletries, and presents into a carry-on? We got you. Here are a few quick tips to simplify your packing + help you feel organized once you get to your destination.