Brian Jacks

I spent nearly a year bugging the producers of Broadway’s Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark to work with me on coverage. It paid off when they allowed us to film the open casting call at New York City’s famed Knitting Factory, the only media outlet let inside the building.

During the visit, we interviewed those pining for key roles, and I even arranged for our host Kim Stolz to try her own hand at the audition process. I’m in love with this piece, which aired across MTV’s linear channels as well as on MTV.com.

I developed the “New York Comic Con’s Fan Correspondent” video series, which was sponsored by New York Post’s Decider.com. Each segment was hosted by a Decider personality and featured exclusive access to celebrities and major exhibitors such as Funko. I booked segments, worked with client, hired production vendor, and oversaw post-production.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future II, we grabbed our hoverboards and threw a fan-centric activation at New York Comic Con. Of course we did that in grand fashion by teaming with Pepsi to bring the Pepsi Perfect from the movie to real life!

I worked with the client on a multifaceted experience at NYCC which saw the recreation of the ‘80s cafe from the film within a prime spot in the lobby, as well as an exclusive panel (where Pepsi surprised attendees by giving each one a Pepsi Perfect). Spotlighting it all was an original video content series I conceived and programmed which ran on Pepsi’s social channels, and was filmed and edited on-site by a trusted production vendor I sourced.

The result was a surefire hit for the client, who saw a social and media lift that made them stand out in the sea of brands at the show.

Covering the New York Auto Show is no small feat — there are literally hundreds of incredible vehicles to peruse. That’s why I decided we needed to bring in the big guns, namely platinum-selling recording artist Fabolous. Together with our host Tim Kash, we hit the show floor exploring the wildest and most expensive cars in the building.

I conceived the segment and produced it on-site, working directly with automakers and the show itself in scheduling. I also wrote a corresponding article which lived on MTV.com and embedded this video.

Without a doubt, Toy Fair International has always been one of my favorite shows to cover…it brings out the kid in you in the most extreme way possible. With that in mind, I led MTV's first coverage of Toy Fair, interviewing toy companies and securing exclusive photos and news to debut as first looks for the MTV audience. For this segment, I hit the ground running, covering everything from LEGO’s Indiana Jones figures to Mattel’s product line for The Dark Knight. I even interviewed Nick Lachey!

The result was this news package that aired across MTV, MTV2, MTVu, and MTV.com, which I produced, wrote, and oversaw post-production on.

As VP of Content for NECA, I led production of an animated spot for our new line of Mariah Carey Christmas products. Along with sourcing the animation house, I participated in (midnight) calls with Mariah as we planned what the commercial should ultimately highlight and look like. I participated in the entire process, from storyboards to finished product, and the result was this fun video that shows Mariah bringing some much-needed Christmas cheer to a lucky household.

For the video promoting the global launch of Costumes.com, we needed to go silly. With that in mind, I conceived a commercial that would focus on a new employee's first day at the Costumes.com office. Featuring encounters with Spongebob, Pennywise, and even Superman, this comedic ad positioned the company as THE place to get your outfits for Halloween, or any other occasion.

I functioned as the Executive Producer from the brand side, hiring the film company, and overseeing production on location.

The New York Comic Con Live Stage was created, programmed, and executive produced by myself; a livestreamed, broadcast-quality environment on the show floor with full control room and audience. I booked all programming which were 15-30 minute interviews with A-list celebrities, video game publishers, toy companies, and more. This particular video features the full cast of Outlander, currently one of the most popular and beloved shows with a fervid fanbase, which was viewed over 427,000 times.

Our partner this year was SYFY, who provided the hosts and financing as part of a sponsorship. Clips from the videos were aired on the linear channel, and featured on their YouTube channel. All told, I produced over 500 individual content segments on my various Live Stages.

Internal sizzle reel for Viacom International Media Network's Movies.MTV network of sites. Wrote, produced, and worked with editor on final piece.

For our premiere PAX East video game event (150,000 attendees), we partnered with League of Legends on an immersive live experience, where fans could walk through elements of the incredibly popular game. To highlight this activation, I produced a fun interview with a League of Legends staffer, and followed our host as he went from feature to feature.

With the goal of producing a unique viral promo that could promote the second season of IFC’s hit series The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret starring David Cross, I hired a Korean company famous for their irreverent daily news recaps to animate a “season one” recap. The resulting video not only launched on IFC’s social channels but was shown on Jimmy Kimmel Live when David dropped by as a guest.

As a big fan of Michelle Branch, I was psyched to bring her to NYC’s famed Electric Lady Studios to produce an in-studio performance of the first single from her side project, The Wreckers (Jessica Harp being the second half). Her iconic voice captivated even the jaded audio engineers, and it was one of the most highly rated videos on UGO.com.