2 Minutes With … Marti Romances, CD and Co-Founder of Territory Studio, San Francisco
Marti is creative director and co-founder of Territory Studio, San Francisco. He draws from a range of influences, disciplines and perspectives to design content across gaming, brands and digital. He's worked for clients such as Nike, Marvel, General Motors and Google.
We spent two minutes with Marti to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations and recent work he's admired.
Marti, tell us …
Where you grew up, and where you live now?
I grew up in Barcelona, lived in London for eight years, and I have been in San Francisco for seven years.
Why you pursued a career in entertainment?
I initially pursued architecture but ended up studying multimedia design, which allowed me to experiment with everything from audio to programming and more. I decided to focus on a career in design and motion graphics after I started creating short films and participating in contests. That's when I began to create title sequences and VFX.
Three movies/TV shows you couldn't do without.
Back to The Future. I just enjoyed this movie way too much when I was growing up! What a fascinating concept!
Severance (TV Series). I immersed myself completely in this show and started recommending it to everyone. I worked with Ben on Zoolander 2 and always admired his talent. He's an amazing director.
Your favorite movie trailer or poster?
Moon's poster—or the Star Wars posters by Olly Moss.
One of your favorite projects you've ever worked on.
The Martian, because I challenged myself to understand all of NASA's advanced data systems in order to create the design work that the film required. I am also very proud of how both Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers Infinity War/Endgame turned out.
A recent project you're proud of.
The project we delivered for Audi Activesphere shows how we are adapting without losing the visionary and innovative way we approach design.
One thing about how entertainment marketing is evolving that you're excited about?
We are doing a lot of 3D billboards these days–like this one for Nike. I think there is a lot of opportunity to start mixing out of home campaigns with AR experiences—and now we have also started working with the Las Vegas Sphere.
Someone else's work, in entertainment or beyond, that you admired lately?
Everything related to NERFs technology, Gaussian Splatting and other 3D meshing techniques for radiance fields. Neuralangelo, Volinga and other up-and-coming tools are very exciting.
A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring?
Book: Good to Great by Jim Collins.
A visual artist or band/musician you admire?
Your favorite fictional character?
Someone worth following in social media?
Obviously, @territorystudio and one of my favorite projects we have been working on for over a year with Nike: @.swoosh.
Your main strength as a marketer/creative?
Diversified experience in applying design to different industries (films, games, tech, advertising) has allowed me to have a wider field of view than other professionals who focus on just one of these verticals.
Your biggest weakness?
Focusing too much on that 1 percent that is imperfect, instead of celebrating the 99 percent that is great.
What you'd be doing if you weren't in entertainment?
Something that would still combine design and innovative technologies.
2 Minutes With is our regular interview series where we chat with creatives about their backgrounds, creative inspirations, work they admire and more. For more about 2 Minutes With, or to be considered for the series, please get in touch.
