BHZ2A-10-BLOCK I-(1)
BIOHAZARD VFX NEW BUSINESS HANDBOOK
AI LAB TARGETS
SUM
SECTION 1 · SUBSECTION 1.1
HOW THE WORK FLOWS
HOW THE WORK FLOWS
1.1.1
PURPOSE.
Working list for winning OpenAI and Anthropic work for Biohazard VFX: who makes their films, who commissions them, where we already have Instagram connections, and the pitch. Public sources only, researched 13 November 2026. Personal emails sold by data brokers are left out on purpose; use LinkedIn, Instagram or a warm intro.
1.1.2
THREE DOORS.
- BRAND SPOTS. The lab hires an agency (OpenAI: Isle of Any, Special US, Accenture Song; Anthropic: Mother London). The agency picks the production company, which picks VFX. Hard to enter cold; the way in is subcontracting to the VFX houses in Section 3.
- LAUNCH FILMS. Model launches, dots, DevDay, Claude features. Commissioned by the in-house creative teams, often direct to a studio (Scholar animated dots). Fast, CG and motion heavy, small-studio friendly. This is our best door.
- IN-HOUSE OVERFLOW. Both labs are building in-house video teams. OpenAI is hiring Motion Designers for marketing and B2B launches (USD 223-247k); Anthropic's in-house Creative Studio is hiring a Video Director, Product Launches. Motion design stays in-house; specialist work does not: photoreal CG, simulation, Houdini, compositing.
1.1.3
PITCH.
Small senior VFX and CG studio that turns around photoreal and abstract CG launch films in days, with Houdini, Blender and Nuke under one roof, comfortable using AI tools inside a human-led pipeline. Both labs publicly frame their own ads as human craft with AI as a tool, so show exactly that: a breakdown where AI is used for exploration and the finals are crafted.
Table 1.1-1. Sequence
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cut a 45-60 s reel aimed at launch films: SXRS city and lightning, CG car, abstract and product CG, one AI-assisted breakdown. |
| 2 | Subcontract outreach: Scholar, Builders Club, Stray, Blacksmith. Pitch senior CG and Houdini overflow for fast launch turnarounds. |
| 3 | Warm intros through mutuals (Section 4), Buse first. |
| 4 | Direct notes to Stubenvoll (OpenAI) and Stirk / Diaz (Anthropic) with the reel and one specific launch-film idea each. |
NOTE
Lab credits gained as a subcontractor go straight onto the reel and make step 4 credible.
BHZ2A-10-BLOCK I-(1)
BIOHAZARD VFX NEW BUSINESS HANDBOOK
AI LAB TARGETS
LABS
SECTION 2 · SUBSECTION 2.1
IN-HOUSE CONTACTS
IN-HOUSE CONTACTS
2.1.1
OPENAI.
- ZACH STUBENVOLL, VP Creative, leads global creative and design. Ex-The Factory; co-founded Reflective Works. LinkedIn · zachstubenvoll.com · @zachstubenvoll
- ELKE KARSKENS, Head of International Marketing, MD UK, Ireland and Northern Europe. Client on the Isle of Any spots. LinkedIn
- MICHAEL TABTABAI left OpenAI for Airbnb (VP Global Creative) in 2026. Not an OpenAI contact now; worth keeping if Airbnb is interesting. LinkedIn · michaeltabtabai.com
- Brand accounts: @openai, @chatgpt. Motion Designer job post: OpenAI careers.
2.1.2
ANTHROPIC.
- ANDREW STIRK, Head of Brand. Client on Keep Thinking and the Super Bowl campaign A Time and a Place. LinkedIn
- JULEYA DIAZ, Brand Program Manager, Los Angeles. LinkedIn
- SOPHIE HO, Brand, client team on A Time and a Place. Find on LinkedIn.
- SASHA DE MARIGNY, Chief Brand and Communications Officer. LinkedIn post
- Brand accounts: @claudeai (you follow), @anthropicai. In-house Creative Studio job post: Video Director, Product Launches.
- 1One line: who we are
- 2One launch-film idea for them
- 3Reel link, 60 s max
- 4Ask: overflow or a test spot
- √ No attachments, no deck
CAUTION
Andrew Stirk's Instagram is private and near-empty; use LinkedIn for him.
BHZ2A-10-BLOCK I-(1)
BIOHAZARD VFX NEW BUSINESS HANDBOOK
AI LAB TARGETS
STUDIOS
SECTION 3 · SUBSECTION 3.1
STUDIOS, AGENCIES, PRODUCTION
STUDIOS, AGENCIES, PRODUCTION
3.1.1
VFX AND ANIMATION STUDIOS (SUBCONTRACT UNDER).
- SCHOLAR, LA/NY. Dots character animation, hand-animated in C4D and After Effects. helloscholar.com · @helloscholar · LinkedIn · Vimeo
- BUILDERS CLUB, London/NY. OpenAI Super Bowl The Intelligence Age (Houdini plus Sora pointillism). ECD/director Jonas Hegi (@jonashegi). builders-club.com · enquiries@builders-club.com · @buildersclub_studios · case study
- STRAY, London. VFX and design on Keep Thinking. CD/VFX supervisor Dan Williams (@danwynwilliams). stray.london · hello@stray.london · @stray.ldn
- BLACKSMITH, New York. VFX on ChatGPT Dish, Pull Up, Road Trip and Fix. VFX supervisor Iwan Zwarts, EP Perry Tate. blacksmith.tv · @blacksmithvfx
- ELECTRIC THEATRE COLLECTIVE. VFX on OpenAI But Now (LA); colour on Keep Thinking. electrictheatre.tv · @electric_theatre_collective
- TIME BASED ARTS, London. VFX on the Claude Super Bowl spots (Cannes Film Grand Prix). time-based-arts.com · @timebasedarts
- ETHOS, LA. Colour and finishing on the ChatGPT spots and But Now. ethos.studio · @ethos_studio
3.1.2
AGENCIES.
- ISLE OF ANY, New York. OpenAI's main brand agency since 2025. Founders Toby Treyer-Evans, Laurie Howell. isleofany.com · @isleofany
- SPECIAL US, LA. OpenAI But Now, September 2026. us.specialgroup.com · @special_group_us
- ACCENTURE SONG. OpenAI Super Bowl 2025. @accenturesong
- MOTHER LONDON. All Anthropic brand work (Keep Thinking, A Time and a Place, Williams F1). CCO Felix Richter; CD Adam Newby (portfolio). @motherlondon · @mothernewyork
3.1.3
PRODUCTION AND POST.
- SMUGGLER smugglersite.com @smugglersite · BISCUIT FILMWORKS biscuitfilmworks.com @biscuit.filmworks · RADICALMEDIA radicalmedia.com @radicalmedia · LOVE SONG lovesong.tv @lovesongfilms (EP Shirley O'Connor) · DOMA doma.works @doma.works · WAVE STUDIOS NY @wavestudiosny
BHZ2A-10-BLOCK I-(1)
BIOHAZARD VFX NEW BUSINESS HANDBOOK
AI LAB TARGETS
IG
SECTION 4 · SUBSECTION 4.1
INSTAGRAM CONNECTIONS
INSTAGRAM CONNECTIONS
4.1.1
METHOD.
Checked 13 November 2026 from @nicholai.exe's logged-in session, one profile at a time. The Meta Graph API set up for analytics cannot list followers or following of a personal account, so the API was not used. FOLLOWED BY lists accounts you follow that also follow the target; it does not show whether the target follows you.
Table 4.1-1. Your Instagram reach into each target
| Account | You follow | Followed by (you follow) | Followers |
|---|---|---|---|
| @helloscholar | no | nuke_fx, busesart + 21 | 35.6K |
| @buildersclub_studios | yes | nirmal.exr, antonvdv_ + 79 | 49.6K |
| @jonashegi | no | antonvdv_, busesart + 13 | 3.7K |
| @stray.ldn | yes | nirmal.exr, busesart + 43 | 3.5K |
| @danwynwilliams | no | zeekhan__, kylecody.vfx + 12 | 370 |
| @blacksmithvfx | yes | nuke_fx, nirmal.exr + 46 | 5.1K |
| @timebasedarts | no | zeekhan__, danielpianezza + 69 | 10.3K |
| @electric_theatre_collective | yes | busesart, carlo_quicho + 99 | 24.9K |
| @ethos_studio | yes | nuke_fx, thamkz + 92 | 32.3K |
| @isleofany | no | eyecannndy, mahferraz + 17 | 22.7K |
| @special_group_us | no | mrwolf.studios, pariah_creative + 7 | 2.7K |
| @motherlondon | no | busesart, mahferraz + 30 | 94.7K |
| @smugglersite | yes | carlo_quicho, gfoltynowicz + 95 | 66.3K |
| @biscuit.filmworks | no | busesart, zeekhan__ + 72 | 52.3K |
| @radicalmedia | no | busesart, gfoltynowicz + 51 | 41.3K |
| @lovesongfilms | no | busesart, eyecannndy + 57 | 17.5K |
| @zachstubenvoll | no | smugglersite only | 1.3K |
| @openai | no | nirmal.exr, zeekhan__ + 91 | 6.7M |
| @claudeai | yes | afterworld.studio, gray.darth + 39 | 2.4M |
Table 4.1-2. Warm-intro candidates
| Who | Why |
|---|---|
| busesart (Buse) | Follows Scholar, Stray, Jonas Hegi (Builders Club), Mother, Biscuit, Love Song, RadicalMedia and ETC. Widest overlap of anyone you follow. |
| nirmal.exr, nuke_fx | Follow Builders Club, Stray, Blacksmith, Scholar, Ethos. |
| zeekhan__, kylecody.vfx | Follow Time Based Arts, Dan Williams (Stray), Biscuit. |
| mahferraz, eyecannndy | Follow Isle of Any, Mother London, Love Song. |
NOTE
A follow is not a relationship. Ask Buse first whether she actually knows anyone at these studios; a real intro beats a cold DM.
BHZ2A-10-BLOCK I-(1)
BIOHAZARD VFX NEW BUSINESS HANDBOOK
AI LAB TARGETS
CRED
SECTION 5 · SUBSECTION 5.1
CAMPAIGN CREDITS
CAMPAIGN CREDITS
Table 5.1-1. OpenAI
| Campaign | Credits | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The Intelligence Age, Super Bowl, Feb 2025 | Accenture Song / Builders Club / DOMA edit / Wave sound. Houdini plus Sora. | One Club, Stash |
| Dish, Pull Up, Road Trip, Sept 2025 | Isle of Any / Smuggler, dir. Miles Jay (35 mm) / Cartel / Blacksmith VFX / Ethos / Wave | LBB, shots |
| Fix; This Year with ChatGPT, Feb 2026 | Isle of Any / RadicalMedia, dir. Derek Cianfrance / Cartel / Blacksmith / Wave | LBB, LBB news |
| But Now, Sept 2026 | Special US / Biscuit Filmworks / Electric Theatre Collective LA VFX / Ethos | LBB, LBB work |
| dots launch film, DevDay, 29 Sept 2026 | Character animation by Scholar (C4D, After Effects) | OpenAI, Scholar post |
| GPT-6.1 Terra, 26 Oct 2026 | No public credit found; likely in-house | — |
Table 5.1-2. Anthropic
| Campaign | Credits | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Keep Thinking, Sept 2025 | Mother London / Love Song, dir. Daniel Wolfe / Marsheen edit / Stray VFX / ETC colour / King Lear sound | The Drum, Creative Salon |
| A Time and a Place, Super Bowl, Feb 2026 (Cannes Film Grand Prix) | Mother London / Biscuit, dir. Jeff Low / The Quarry edit / Time Based Arts VFX / King Lear sound | Creative Salon, case, Adweek |
NOTE
Credit lists come from the trade press (LBB, shots, The Drum, Creative Salon) and the studios' own case studies.