Editing and campaign craft
- 9:16 vertical editing
- Golden Age comic-style motion graphics
- Captions and subtitles
- Music and sound-effects editing
- Timing and pacing refinement
- Campaign intro and outro systems
INSTAGRAM REELS / META ADS / VINTAGE COMIC STORYTELLING
From one five-second comic edit to a twelve-video vertical campaign.
Project classification: Paid Client Engagement. Commercial proof: Commercial Client Proof.
- Status
- Completed paid client engagement
- Role
- Video Editor, Motion Designer, and AI-Assisted Visual Producer
- Campaign
- 12 vertical video deliverables
- Main Story Reel
- 56.8 seconds
- Format
- 9:16 vertical, 1080 x 1920
- Use
- Instagram and Meta advertising
- Contract
- May 1-11, 2026
What began as a small Instagram Reel assignment grew into ten additional Golden Age comic reels and a 56.8-second narrative ad promoting the James Strand Collection on MyComicShop.com.
The work combined vertical reframing, campaign intros and outros, subtitles, music, sound design, vintage-comic typography, AI-assisted visual development, and fast revision cycles.
The first assignment was intentionally small. The client supplied a short animated comic-book cover and needed it converted into a vertical Instagram Reel.
The square source had to remain readable inside a 9:16 frame. The opening and ending needed additional breathing room, and the final section needed a Golden Age comic-style outro announcing an upcoming collection release.
I researched period comic references, preserved the comic and plastic case within the vertical crop, trimmed the unused side space, and built the missing intro, pacing, text, sound, and outro around the supplied animation.
- Preserve the comic cover and plastic case in frame
- Convert square source material to true 9:16
- Add opening and ending padding
- Create a Golden Age comic-style outro
- Add campaign text and final branding
- Keep the edit clear on a mobile screen
The first delivery led to ten more comic reels.
After reviewing the initial reel, the client asked whether I could continue with ten additional animated comic covers.
The campaign needed a repeatable structure without making every video feel identical. Each reel had its own cover animation, joke, subtitle, sound cue, or timing issue, while the broader collection needed consistent vertical framing, typography, music, and campaign branding.
The weekly contract limit was increased from five to forty hours, and the work shifted from a single edit into a compact multi-reel production system.
Repeatable reel framework
- Review the original animation and dialogue
- Hold or extend the first frame so viewers can register the cover
- Reframe the square animation for 9:16
- Create or adapt the intro around the action
- Add supplied subtitles and improve timing
- Balance music against original sound effects
- Add breathing room before the outro
- Apply a consistent Golden Age campaign ending
- Review the reel in sequence and revise individual action beats
The campaign paired two related visual modes. The vintage storefront establishes the world of Golden Age collecting, while the anonymized case-file composition shifts the story toward theft, evidence, and recovery.
Monochrome imagery, aged texture, bold display type, red, yellow, cream, and black accents, period-inspired sound, and direct promotional copy kept those story beats inside one campaign language.
The reusable framework saved production time, but each reel still required individual judgment. Openings, subtitles, effects, and audio balances changed around the action so every joke or narrative beat remained readable.
- Create consistency without flattening the individuality of each cover
- Use holds, reverses, or brief motion loops instead of obvious frozen frames
- Position subtitles around the original action
- Adjust the intro when it hides an important visual beat
- Use glints, sound accents, and pacing to clarify subtle jokes
- Keep music licensed or sourced appropriately for the intended platform
56.8 seconds / 9:16 vertical
The James Strand Collection Story
After the cover-animation batch, the client commissioned one additional reel built around narrated audio, captions, historical images, documents, and a suggested illustration plan.
I developed the 56.8-second vertical story into the campaign's main narrative piece, adding new visuals, AI-assisted animation, captions, pacing, and a cinematic noir music bed.
The story moves from the early culture of comic collecting into a collection built over decades, its theft and online resale trail, documentary evidence, recovery, and the final June 15 collection drop on MyComicShop.com.
The client supplied narration, captions, images, and revision notes. I used those materials to build a more complete visual sequence instead of relying on a slideshow.
The final reel combines vintage comic-shop scenes, period environments, original documents, graded comics, online-marketplace references, text-message and live-stream evidence, collection boxes, comic artwork, campaign typography, and a final MyComicShop.com destination.
During revision, the client identified a section that used books instead of comics. I replaced it with comic-specific imagery, added the requested text, eBay, and Facebook Live references, and highlighted Mt. Scott Drug Co. in the historical location image.
The client's feedback was detailed and specific. Some notes involved timing, some involved sound, and others depended on understanding the original joke or comic action.
I adjusted opening holds, subtitle placement, music levels, effect clarity, visual emphasis, dialogue context, and end timing across the set. For the main James Strand story reel, I replaced incorrect reference material and added the requested supporting evidence.
The goal was not merely to deliver files quickly. It was to make the batch feel consistent while preserving the logic of each individual reel.
- Shortened an outro that felt too long
- Restored the client's preferred grade graphic
- Added subtitles and a glint effect to emphasize a subtle joke
- Held opening frames so viewers could register the action
- Rebalanced music so pounding, dogs, and sword effects remained clear
- Moved subtitles away from important comic action
- Corrected dialogue attribution in a Weird Tales reel
- Replaced book images with comic-specific visuals in the James Strand story
- Added text-message, eBay, Facebook Live, and historical-location references
AI-assisted and evidence-led production
- AI-assisted supplemental visuals and animation
- Client-supplied document and evidence integration
- CapCut-based music and editing workflow elements
- Pixabay royalty-free music for the James Strand story reel
- One initial 9:16 animated comic-cover reel
- Ten additional vertical comic-cover reels
- One 56.8-second James Strand Collection story ad
- Golden Age comic-style intros and outros
- Subtitles and caption treatments
- Music and sound-effects passes
- Reel-specific timing and framing revisions
- A consistent campaign visual system
- Final delivery for social use
1Initial reel
10Additional reels
1Main narrative ad
12Vertical deliverables total
The engagement expanded from an estimated two-to-three-hour edit into twelve vertical deliverables and eighteen billed hours.
The James Strand story reel became the main ad used across Instagram and Meta. The client closed the contract with a 5.0 review, praised the speed and responsiveness of the work, and described Raffy as probably his best hire since he began using the platform during the Elance era.
No advertising-performance metrics were supplied, so this case study does not claim views, sales, reach, conversions, return on ad spend, or campaign revenue.
“Probably my best hire in all that time.”
CLIENT FEEDBACK
“Wow! Raffy did great work and very quickly.”
Instagram Reel Editing
5.0 Upwork Review
The client's exact public review praised the speed, responsiveness, and quality of the work across the completed short-video campaign.
Full review transcript: Wow! Raffy did great work and very quickly. He was immediately responsive to requests for changes, and I couldn’t be happier with the short videos he edited for me. I have used Upwork since the Elance days, and Raffy is probably my best hire in all that time.
This case study documents Raffy Dematawaran's video-editing, motion-design, and AI-assisted production role. MyComicShop.com, comic titles, cover artwork, archival references, and related trademarks belong to their respective owners. Their appearance does not imply ownership or endorsement beyond the documented campaign use.
Social video production
Instagram Reel editing and Meta ad video production shaped for a native 9:16 viewing experience.
Campaign systems
Vertical adaptation and repeatable short-form structures that preserved the individuality of each comic cover.
Comic motion direction
Golden Age comic motion design with deliberate caption, subtitle, and promotional text timing.
Audio and AI-assisted storytelling
Music, sound-effects editing, archival references, and AI-assisted visuals working as one narrative system.
Batch consistency and revisions
Fast client revisions and campaign-wide consistency without flattening reel-specific action or jokes.
Narrative advertising
A longer social ad connecting historical material, campaign evidence, branding, and a clear call to action.
Send the source footage, audio, scripts, references, target platform, and campaign goal. I can help turn one idea into a repeatable reel system or build a longer story-led ad around the strongest message.