VertX
Product Film
Boxer
Making a small tool impossible to overlook.
I built Boxer, a small After Effects utility, then imagined what it might look like as a physical device.
That became a self-directed launch film combining 3D product animation, 2D motion graphics and sound design, with a visual identity very different from the usual software demo.
Something worth stopping for
Boxer (opens in a new tab) is a small After Effects extension I designed and built. When I started thinking about its launch, I didn't want to make another software demonstration. I wanted to give something entirely digital a physical identity.
I explored vintage synthesisers, handheld consoles and stripped-back industrial design before settling on a playful plastic device with its own screen, buttons and dials. Something you could imagine sitting on a desk.
I designed, modelled, lit and animated the hardware in Blender, then used 2D After Effects animation to show what Boxer actually does. The film moves between those two worlds, with sound design giving the controls and transitions a satisfying sense of weight. I conceived and made the tool and the film myself.
The response
When I shared the film with the After Effects community on Reddit (opens in a new tab), people were curious about the fictional hardware as much as the extension itself.
For me, that was the value of the approach. A small independent tool became an opportunity to make something with its own character, rather than simply demonstrate a feature.
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