Dan Thomas Brown
Emmy and Promax award-winning broadcast professional with over 30 years of experience in design, creative direction, and production for programming, marketing and corporate communications
"Why We Go" - CNN
In 2015, CNN invited its viewers to "Go There," showcasing the ways in which only CNN can gather and tell a story. This Emmy, Promax and Clio award-winning 2018 brand spot gives us an understanding of why CNN correspondents choose to go. Production took place in Washington DC, London and Greece over two weeks, shooting at CNN's DC bureau, airports in London and Thessaloniki, and a Syrian refugee camp in Idomeni, Greece, near the Macedonian border.
Credit: CNN Creative Marketing
- SVP, Rick Lewchuk
- VP Creative Director, Whit Friese
- Sr. Dir. of Production/Producer, Dan Brown
- Agency: Minted Content, EP Lance O'Connor
- Music: Nick Wood, Syn Music
"The World in One Place" - CNN Original Series
To introduce CNN's expanded Original Series lineup for the 2018 season, we built and photographed a giant monitor wall in the California desert, combining crane and drone camera rigs.
We added images from the series in post-production, and created a special score for the campaign.
Credit: CNN Creative Marketing
- SVP, Rick Lewchuk
- VP Creative Director, Whit Friese
- Sr. Dir. of Production/Producer, Dan Brown
- Agency: Minted Content, EP Lance O'Connor
- Music: Nick Wood, Syn Music
- Compositing: Bryan Fitch, Editor, CNN Post Production
"This is CNN Original Series" - CNN Upfront 2018
For CNN's Upfront presentation in New York's Madison Square Garden, we enlisted CNN ambassador James Earl Jones to introduce the audience to the Original Series' established roster, plus highlight the upcoming documentary series for the 2018 season. Due to scheduling, we shot a stand-in for the house in Malibu, and shot James separately in NYC, and composited him into the final scene. The final presentation spanned 3 screens across the giant stage.
Credit: CNN Creative Marketing
- SVP, Rick Lewchuk
- VP Creative Director, Whit Friese
- Sr. Dir. of Production/Producer, Dan Brown
- Agency: Minted Content, EP Lance O'Connor
- Music: Nick Wood, Syn Music
- Editor: Jon Esther, Machinehead Creative
- Compositing: Bryan Fitch, Editor, CNN Post Production
CNN Upfront 2019 - "Decades of Movies"
CNN mounted its most ambitious Original Series to date, documenting American cinema from its inception to the present, in partnership with Herzog Productions and Playtone Films. We decided to take the moments CNN appeared in films as an introduction into CNN covering those films, splashed across seven screens on NY's Madison Squre Garden's main stage.
CNN Upfront 2019 - "CNN Original Series"
CNN Original Series for 2019 on seven screens on NY's Madison Square Garden's main stage.
"CNN Original Series" - CNN Upfront 2017
Another 3-screen format created for CNN's 2017 Upfront presentation in NY's Madison Square Garden, highlighting Original Series from Anthony Bourdain, Lisa Ling, W. Kamau Bell, Morgan Spurlock, Mike Rowe, Bill Weir, John Walsh, Reza Aslan and documentary series The Eighties, Declassified, and Race for the White House.
Credit: CNN Creative Marketing
- SVP, Rick Lewchuk
- VP Creative Director, Whit Friese
- Sr. Dir. of Production/Producer, Dan Brown
- Art Direction: Krishnan Purushothaman
- Editor: Jon Esther, Machinehead Creative
- Compositor/Editor: Bryan Fitch, CNN Post Production
"The Redemption Project with Van Jones" Campaign
The Redemption Project - Launch Spot
Offering a rare glimpse into the restorative justice process, each episode follows the victim of a life-altering crime as they meet face-to-face with their offender in the hopes of some sense of healing. Van Jones serves as the guide, as this powerful series explores the human potential for redemption.
For the launch campaign, we chose the simple image of two opposing chairs to represent the conflict between offender and victim.
Series Trailer
Credit: CNN Creative Marketing
- SVP, Rick Lewchuk
- VP Creative Director, Whit Friese
- Sr. Dir. of Production/Producer, Dan Brown
- Agency: MinusL Productions, EP Craig DiBiase
- Senior Producer: John Dance
- Art Direction: Krishnan Purushothaman
- Editor: Brian Simmons, CNN Post Production
More Work
Anderson Cooper - LA Press Award
Intro tape for AC's LA Press club honor
CNN Upfront 2014 - "Storyteller"
Interviews with CNN talent in NY, DC and ATL
CNN Digital - Innovation Sales Presentation
CNN Digital's latest tech innovations are a piece of cake
HLN - "News That Hits Home"
News that hits home - in this case, "33 Main Street, USA."
HLN Original Series - "Frozen Moments"
Slowed reality that captures the scene of the crime
CNN Films - Sundance Premieres
Top documentary directors debut CNN Films at Sundance Film Festival
CNN - "Facts First" Campaign Study
CNN separates apples from bananas, putting facts first
"Planet in Peril" - 2007 TCA Presentation
CNN's first network special in High Definition
"Before" - CNN25
Before major advancements in media, there was CNN
"Do You Remember?" - CNN25
The memorable, world-changing events you saw only on CNN