Everyone's A Critic: Our Team's Favorite Projects
WE DON'T LIKE TO ADMIT IT, BUT WE ALL HAVE OUR FAVORITES
For Aaron: The Documentary
This project will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the one project that defined who I would become as both a filmmaker and a man. It was deeply personal and taught me more about life then I had learned in the 23 years combined leading up to it. No matter where we go in the next decade or what projects I have the opportunity to direct, “For Aaron” will always be my favorite.
Justin Jarrett, Director
Jtwofilms.com 1.0
My favorite project of all time would have to be the first iteration of the JTWO website. We transformed an alley from Ninja Turtles into a functional website. I had to learn Flash in one weekend in order to create all of the functionality Justin wanted incorporated. It was pretty cool until Apple killed Flash and everyone stopped using desktop computers.
Andrew Broft, Web Designer
Two Lou’s. One Club.
Two Lou’s. One Club.
I think I’ll always love this project for a number of reasons. First, it was the direct sequel to, “This is Lou” which we had created the year before to open the Louix Awards. We wanted to create our own take on a Guy Richie film and we just had a blast on set experimenting with transitions, camera angles and makeup. For “Two Lou’s” we wanted to up the ante and really go all out.I grew up on 80’s action movies like Bloodsport and if you watch it today it is one of the most over the top ridiculous pieces of popcorn cinema out there. You can’t watch it and not laugh! So we wanted to take that and put our spin on it. When my sound guy Steven got his teeth knocked out in the opening credits, I knew we had succeeded.
Justin Jarrett
My favorite project with JTwo has been the Louix Award openers that we shot the past two years. It’s rare you get to have complete creative control and boy did we. Over-the- top characters, dramatic lighting and JCVD-inspired fight scenes are just some of the chaos that we cooked up in our narrative masterpiece.
Maria Vattimo, Cinematographer
Barre None
Of all the videos I’ve had the pleasure of working on at JTWO, my favorite will always be the one that started it all, my intern project: “Barre None.” I love this piece not only because it’s about my best friend, but because it was the first time I worked with everyone in the office. I’ll always be grateful for the guidance they gave me. From working through challenges during the process to then watching the final cut win multiple awards, I had really proved to myself that I can do this. Now if I hit points of frustration in my work, I’ll give my video a watch to remind myself that it can be done, it will be done and it’ll be pretty damn good.
Maria Cantu, Director
Barre None
Directed by Maria Cantu
The [INC]ubator Project
In her short documentary, Maria tells the captivating and beautiful story of a young ballerina who is able to push through the harsh realities and overbearing pressures of the dancing world with unconditional love for the art.
The BluePrint
My favorite project is the book trailer for The Blueprint. It is the first true test of all the After Effects work that I’ve been learning. I got to work closely with Maria Cantu which is a fun and different dynamic than being directed by Justin; I love working for Justin but he’s more of a mentor figure while Maria is more of a peer figure. This is just a fancy way of saying that I feel more confident being rude to Maria. Working long nights is tiring, but when you get to make the single greatest book trailer of all time, it feels like it’s worth it. However, please consider the fact that I am the type of person that would brag about beating a 6 year old at monopoly. My favorite memory was when Travis and I tried to get the Popeye’s chicken sandwich on 4 different occasions. The 4th one was the only one where the sandwich was actually available. It was a good day.
Omar, Editor
Fred’s Footsteps
Kyle’s Story: Getting a chance to sit in a room and hear Kyle Pszenny’s story with Fred’s Footsteps was really an incredible experience for me. After hearing all he went through and to still have a positive attitude about his life and to really use his tragedy as a springboard to help others was really impactful to me in my personal life and I have to say he was an inspiration that still sticks with me today.
Jelani Thomas, Sound Engineer
Visit Philly
Working on a series of Visit Philly Commercial spots was fun for our team for many reasons, but to be given the opportunity to really put a stamp on the city we call home was special. Our content was everywhere from TV to billboards.
Travis Capacete, Producer
"City of Summer Love"
Client: Visit Philly + Wawa
This Spring we teamed up with Visit Philly to produce a spot for Wawa Welcome America’s July 4th annual celebration, which features 7 days of 50+ free events citywide including fireworks, concerts, block parties, and more! In an effort to showcase the event’s festive family atmosphere, we worked closely with Visit Philly and actors to bring a giddy, light hearted sketch to life.
Finley Untamed
Right out of school in 2013, I interned with JTWO. This was the first time I was able to work on something that wasn’t graded. I was tasked with a few projects, but one had stuck with me and that was the Jermichael Finley documentary project, Finley Untamed. It was my first project outside of school that I felt connected to. The story was inspiring and being part of such a dedicated team made it that much better.
Logan McGee, Graphic Artist
Lost Boyz of Chicago
Lost Boyz of Chicago
My favorite project that we worked on was our first ever project in Chicago on the South side with the Lost Boyz of Chicago. We placed our crew in the south side of Chicago to understand exactly what day to day life is like there while on production. We got to see first hand how the community pulls together to help each other through the rough times that can come about, while being surrounded by gun shots as we were outside on set.
Conor Hare, Producer
Victus Product Catalogue
Victus has given us so much creative freedom and variety in design projects, so creating the layout for the entire product catalogue was one of my favorite projects overall. It was exciting to not only create the catalogue, but to incorporate and showcase years of our design work throughout.
Monica Grevera, Graphic Artist
Responsibility.org
My favorite JTWO project I got to be a part of was the mini doc we filmed in Texas for Responsibility.org in November of 2018. On this shoot, we followed a man named Issouf throughout his daily routines as a recovered alcoholic and got his story first-hand on how he recovered through the DUI Court program. His story of hitting rock bottom and getting back on his feet was very powerful and getting to film him graduate from the program and give his speech was heartwarming. The b-roll shots we got all had a grittiness to them that I really loved.
Alex Siwik, Cinematographer
Victus Vandal
Victus Vandal
The Victus Vandal bat was easily my favorite project to work on. The incorporation of hand-drawn elements and usage of gold foil made for great printed pieces. Being able to be the face of the Vandal and the artist on set is something I’ll brag about for the foreseeable future.
Christian Debuque, Graphic Artist
My favorite project I’ve worked on would probably have to be the Victus Vandal series. Working together with Federal Grip Co. to create the sets in their studio was a blast, but my favorite part was mixing all of the spots. There were a lot of cool drones, music and sound effects that made mixing everything a fun challenge, especially the main spot. Sonically speaking, it was all over the place and I really enjoyed trying to make a punchy mix that was just as aggressive as the edit. I’m super proud of the final product, and I’m even more proud of all of the hard work our team put in.
Steven Layton, Sound Engineer/Swiss Army Knife
Philadelphia Flyers: Playoff Hype Video
Our crew loves Philly sports so when the Flyers asked us to get the city hyped with a new spot for their playoff push we couldn’t say no. We had fans getting haircuts, tattoos and going crazy all across the city.
Philadelphia Flyers - "Get Hyped"
Client: Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers reached out to our team to produce their postseason playoff hype video. As a studio full of fans, we couldn’t wait to get to work.
Janssen Storytellers
San Diego: My favorite JTWO project was the Janssen storytellers shoot in Los Angeles. I got to drive a solid 2002 minivan with super cushy seats (a lot of butts sat where I was) and the shoot itself was dope. It was my first time in LA, it was the longest flight I’ve ever experienced and the first time using my new drone. Solid shoot with all around.
Jay Miller, Cinematographer
Avian
This opportunity was identified in 2013 through one of JB’s colleagues in Leonardtown but it wasn’t a referral gig. We had to respond to a proposal as well as additional questions. What set us a part was our responses which embodied JTWO’s deep rooted creativity and approach to designing a solution that told AVIAN’s story. The outcome was a modernized website (simple, single scroll, responsive) with embedded content that created a marketing stunt from within and outside of the their organization (their customers were mainly Department of Defense) that ultimately demonstrated their capabilities of being progressive and forward-thinking to solving client challenges. It also led to follow-up media work!
Jim Pettit, Account Manager
Legion Transformation Center
Legion Transformation Center
As I looked over the extensive collection of JTWO projects I’ve had a hand in editing into existence, it was tough to find a favorite. Was it the project buoyed by intense, emotional interviews? The one with the most beautiful sunset drone shots? Which challenged me the most? Or felt right when I made the last cut? Comprehensively, it has to be “Legion Transformation Center: Why Franchise With Us.” It’s got real people (unlike those horrific chevy commercials) some quick sexy cuts, good music tracks and a story that cut through my skepticism and actually managed to resonate with me. Though I don’t have any ambitions to own a franchise of anything, I think this project will tip the scale for someone who actually does.
Ian Schobel, Editor
Memory Lane
We have had a lot of talented people come through our doors. We asked some of them to sound off on some of their favorite memories and moments.
We have had a lot of talented people come through our doors. We asked some of them to sound off on some of their favorite memories and moments.
IAN SCHOBEL, EDITOR
My favorite memories in my two years at JTWO is the night I slept over on the couch in the cave. It was very cold. The second is (I remember it like it was yesterday) when our glorious band, Sonic Deepthroat, delivered a Golden Guitar-worthy performance at the prestigious Foundry at the Fillmore. We snagged second place, but I still felt like a winner!
CHRISTIAN DEBUQUE, GRAPHIC ARTIST
The 2019 Battle of The Bands practice and performance. JTWO’s Sonic Deepthroat ripped through a 4-song set list and played a much more memorable cover of Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy” than another agency’s weak attempt.
OMAR ALQAHTANI, EDITOR
My favorite memory was wearing a wedding dress onstage at battle of the bands and getting fake married to my girlfriend. This was followed by us disgustingly making out for 3 whole minutes onstage and NO ONE was able to stop us.
CONOR HARE, PRODUCER
My favorite memory about JTWO would have to be the first year we entered the Battle of the Bands. We went into the concert only practicing 2 days before the actual show and we had to change the entire setlist due to a couple bandmates dropping out. Our band practiced for a total of 6 hours and pretty much winged it on stage and ended up winning the Golden Guitar as Champions.
MONICA GREVERA, GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Working with Victus has been filled with interesting experiences. One of my favorite memories was photographing all of the Victus baseball bats for Player’s Weekend. Josh and I really enjoyed touring the space, meeting the whole team and seeing the detail in the artwork on each bat up close. Also, I never imagined I would design a tattoo, until I saw the baseball player, Tim Anderson had inked the logo I designed for him prominently on his inner forearm. That was quite a surprise!
STEVEN LAYTON, SOUND ENGINEER
I have a lot of fond memories from my time here at JTWO, but the ones that stand out the most are from some of our most exhausting shoots. Between Kumho Tires, the NBA, the Penn Relays Documentary and all we did with the Victus Show Series, our team has put in so much hard and rewarding work. With these shoots specifically, I gained closer relationships with all of our crew members. One of my favorite memories is sitting down after the relays with everybody back at the office, having a drink and just rehashing the crazy events of the weekend together. Whether it was from the interviews, carnival, or centerfield crew, it was so cool to regroup and hear everybody’s individual accounts and stories from the weekend. Even though they were some of the longest, most exhausting days, I will always look back on these shoots and remember the great times I had with our team.
ALEX SIWIK, CINEMATOGRAPHER
My favorite JTWO memory was getting to go out to LA for the Janssen Storytellers shoot in December of 2018. This was one of my first real travel jobs and my first time on the west coast. While on the job as a camera assistant, I got to learn a lot about the Ronin 2, which was very new to me at the time. We shot at some awesome locations, my favorite being the hilltop in Loma Linda where we got stunning shots of our talent doing yoga with the valley and mountains in the background.
MARIA CANTU, DIRECTOR
My favorite JTWO memory was at the 2019 Louix Awards. The JTWO fam all had a great night together, I won my first Louix, and when it was over, we were the only ones on the dance floor breaking it down. Ian did a backbend out of nowhere and I had never laughed harder.
JELANI THOMAS, PRODUCER
My favorite memories are mostly based around the people I’ve had a chance to meet and work with and the incredible stories I’ve gotten to hear particularly through The Projects That Matter Initiative. Some of my favorite clients to work with were responsibility.org, Fred’s Footsteps, Mission First Housing and Bringing Hope Home.
ANDREW BROFT, WEB DEVELOPER
Favorite memory: anytime I had the chance to visit the Philly offices from NYC and hang out with the JTWO family. VIBES all day.
JAY MILLER, CINEMATOGRAPHER
My favorite memory would have to be that time me and Trav pulled an all nighter. Shot, slept for one hour and then started the next shoot. Learned my physical and mental limits that day.
CHRIS HARLEY, CINEMATOGRAPHER
My favorite memory is also that very same Victus Sports shoot. It was Ian’s first day as an intern at JTWO, and for the interior shots, his job was spraying sweat on the players. He will forever be known as Sweat Boy.
MARIA VATTIMO, CINEMATOGRAPHER
My favorite memory at JTWO will have to be filming the Lost Boyz Documentary in Chicago in the summer of 2018. I remember showing up feeling incredibly nervous with this being my first large documentary project, but once the interviews started rolling and we walked the streets of South Side Chicago with our main subject, LaVonte, I felt a great confidence that we were making something really special.
RICK ANGELI, PRODUCER
…that time we were shooting with Al Roker and I yelled, “that’s a wrap” before Justin could. Lesson learned: only the Directors gets to yell, “that’s a wrap.”
NOVA/GRIFFEY
Lunch.
EVERYDAY.
NOTES FROM OUR FOUNDERS: JUSTIN
ONE BIG KID
Justin Jarrett, Principal Director
My fondest memories of my childhood are making short videos with my two best friends, Aaron and Kylar. We would run around our neighborhood for hours planning, shooting, editing (I believe it was iMovie Version One back then) and making short films with my Dad’s video camera. We would spend weeks working on a project simply because we loved being creative. My days since then really haven’t changed all that much.
I am still astonished every single day I walk through the door at JTWO, that I get to do this for a living. The past ten years have been a roller coaster, but I wouldn’t change a single thing. I am exactly where I am supposed to be – I was built for this.
Without the trust from our clients, the support from my friends and the love from my family and crews none of this would have been possible. I’ll never be able to thank all of you enough for believing not only in our work but in us. We are one decade deep and we are just getting started.