28M+
HBO Max subscribers by September 2020, ahead of the film’s October launch
Charm City Kings · HBO Max · AR campaign
They call me…
An AR face filter and social campaign that turned fans into the film’s characters, for HBO Max’s first exclusive movie.
AR Experience & Motion Designer · CXR Agency (Kinemeric)
Client: HBO Max, via 19th and Park · 2020
THEY CALL ME…
Holy Savage
ROLE
AR Experience & Motion Designer
CLIENT
HBO Max, via 19th and Park
DELIVERABLES
AR face filter + 20 social assets
TOOLS
Unity 3D · After Effects · Premiere Pro
Overview
HBO Max’s first exclusive movie needed a launch moment
HBO Max launched in May 2020. Its first exclusive film, Charm City Kings (featuring Meek Mill), released that October. With HBO Max’s in-house team fully booked and time running out, HBO Max and 19th and Park asked our team to build a creative social campaign for the launch, fast.
Three constraints shaped the approach
Speed
The in-house team was at capacity and the release date wasn’t moving.
Cut through the feed
A trailer cut or static poster wouldn’t stand out. The mechanic had to invite participation.
Consistency at scale
Several lead characters, one system that flexes without breaking brand or slowing production.
What I did
A repeatable system, built to move fast
From the full film to a live AR filter, every step ran through one template.
Curate
Picked the strongest character moments from the full film
Template
Designed the “They call me…” visual system
Animate
Transitions and title reveals in After Effects
Edit
Cut and refined GIFs and videos in Premiere Pro
Build
Brought the template to life as an AR filter with the Unity developer
20
static and dynamic social assets
4
characters, one template
1
live AR face filter for Instagram & Facebook
+2
a name generator and a writing-contest portal
Visual system
One template, four characters
Every character gets the same emotional beat, so the campaign scales without breaking brand.
THEY CALL ME…
Holy Savage
THEY CALL ME…
Mouse
THEY CALL ME…
Blax
THEY CALL ME…
Nicki
Polaroid frame
Nods to the film’s documentary tone
Neon-script title
Matches the film’s key art
“They call me…”
The same emotional beat for every character
The campaign in motion
Sizzle reel, character spotlights, social cuts
Produced as 20 static and dynamic assets, optimized for Instagram’s specs without losing polish.
How it works
The live AR mechanic
Built in Unity 3D with live face-tracking for Instagram and Facebook.
Face-tracked, live
The filter follows the fan’s face in real time on Instagram and Facebook.
A Polaroid, built around you
The same frame as the character cards, so fans join the cast.
Your nickname, in neon
The “They call me…” reveal lands the moment worth sharing.
Captured live · screen recordings
Behind the scenes
Building the assets
Footage curation, template design, and motion work happened in After Effects and Premiere Pro, then handed off to Unity for the live face-tracking build.
After EffectsPremiere ProUnity 3D
Results
A campaign that reached beyond the feed
Official filter
Shipped as HBO Max’s campaign filter on Instagram and Facebook
Ongoing reach
Continued driving engagement across platforms after launch
Star power
Engaged Snoop Dogg, Will Smith, and Meek Mill
“The project combined the reach of a traditional digital marketing push with the novelty of AR, giving Charm City Kings a launch moment built for its audience.”Source: Kinemeric’s own case study for this project
Client work for HBO Max via 19th and Park, delivered at CXR Agency (Kinemeric) with a Unity developer. This page shows my role and contributions.
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