CREATIVE
PRODUCTION
FULL SERVICE AI
We develop and curate content for brands.
The Culprits is a boutique creative studio specializing in live-action production and AI-enabled creative execution. Founded by director and creative Marcos Zavitsanos, we partner directly with brands to develop and produce work that is faster, smarter, and built for today’s media landscape.
We approach every project with a director’s eye and a producer’s discipline—shooting live action whenever it best serves the story, and integrating AI only when it meaningfully enhances the creative outcome. AI is not a shortcut or a substitute; it is an additional tool used with intention and restraint.
Our work spans traditional live-action shoots, hybrid productions that blend live action and AI, and fully AI-driven executions—each chosen based on the idea, the audience, and the budget. By combining established production craft with modern AI workflows, we expand creative possibilities while maintaining authenticity, cinematic quality, and hands-on creative control from concept through final delivery.
We’re often asked, “Is this a micro agency, a production company, or an AI studio?”
Our answer? “Yes.”
Marcos Zavitsanos is a director and creative with more than two decades of experience creating award-winning work for global brands including Nike, Toyota, Heineken, ADIDAS, Walmart, NASCAR, Gatorade, Budweiser, and Volkswagen. His work has been recognized by Cannes, the London International Advertising Awards, The One Show Pencil, Telly Awards, Mobius Awards, and the 4A’s.
Zavitsanos has also taken on select freelance engagements within agency creative departments, writing and directing work in-house at agencies including Deutsch LA and Ignited.
Proudly raised in Bethesda, Maryland, Zavitsanos moved to Los Angeles to begin his career at the legendary Propaganda Films. Starting as a production assistant, he worked across multiple sets while saving enough money to self-finance his first spec reel. During this period, he worked with directors including David Fincher, Michael Bay, Antoine Fuqua, Spike Jonze, Mark Romanek, and Zack Snyder—who co-signed Zavitsanos’ initiation into the Directors Guild of America, formally launching his directing career.
In 2018, Zavitsanos founded The Culprits to pursue a more streamlined, less-is-more approach to content creation. He currently directs and develops work for a select group of clients including ABC 360, MODUS, and Code: by Gentry.
What we do for our clients.
MODUS
ideation | live action content
Modus designs and manufactures modular display systems and architectural solutions used by brands, venues, and organizations to create flexible, high-impact environments. Their work lives at the intersection of industrial design, engineering, and real-world application—built to perform, adapt, and scale across events, retail, and public spaces.
We are currently leading the full ideation and execution of a branded content campaign for Modus, consisting of four branded content films designed to articulate both the function and philosophy behind the product. From concept development through final delivery, the work spans creative strategy, scripting, art direction, and live-action production—translating Modus’s precision, utility, and design intelligence into cinematic, brand-forward storytelling intended for web, social, and sales platforms.
An informal behind-the-scenes glimpse of Spotlight by Modus - no audio.
madebymodus.com
What we do for our clients.
ABC 360
ideation | live action content | AI content | social | print
For ABC 360, a brand focused on delivering complete meal nutrition in a single bar—providing balanced macros, micronutrients, and functional adaptogens designed for modern lifestylesABC360BAR.COM+1—we’ve partnered across ideation, content strategy, and multi-platform execution to elevate their brand voice and presence. Our work spans social media concepting and production, where we combine visual storytelling and data-informed pacing to highlight product benefits and lifestyle relevance; print and outdoor assets that distill product science into compelling, accessible visuals; AI-assisted ideation and asset generation to accelerate workflow and scale creative output without diluting quality; and live-action content that brings real people and product stories to life on screen. This integrated approach reinforces ABC 360’s positioning as a functional, complete nutrition solution and supports ongoing audience engagement across digital and physical touch points.
Most recently, for Christmas 2025, we created a 60-second AI-driven stop-motion holiday film for ABC 360. Designed to evoke the warmth and handcrafted charm of classic stop-motion holiday specials, the spot intentionally used AI as an invisible tool rather than a spectacle. Every frame was art-directed to feel tactile, imperfect, and human—channeling nostalgia while reinforcing the brand’s promise of feeling good, not weighed down, during the indulgent holiday season. The result was a visually rich, emotionally grounded piece that balanced modern AI-enabled production with timeless storytelling, proving the technology works best when it stays out of the way of the idea.
Santa is stuffed. Cookies, milk, sweets — by Christmas Eve, he’s packed with empty calories. Time for an ABC 360 Bar to give him the protein and nutrients he needs without weighing him down.
abc360bar.com
social media
What we do for our clients.
CODE: By Gentry
direction | production
Car and truck commercials have “driving footage” so Zavitsanos devised a concept built around ultra-high-resolution “walking footage.” The shoes, captured in 8K at varying frame rates, were projected across Worre’s massive 360-degree display. Immersive Design Studios assembled and deployed the content using proprietary software, operating the full visual environment in real time.
When Gentry Humphrey, former Vice President of Nike Air Jordan and a widely regarded sneaker industry icon, invited us to help launch his new footwear line, CODE: By Gentry, the answer was immediate.
The Culprits was brought on to replace CODE’s agency of record and operate as the brand’s sole creative and production partner for approximately one year. Working closely with Lloyd Exeter, CODE’s CMO and a longtime collaborator of Zavitsanos, we helped introduce the brand through a series of campaign films, social-first content, and a five-minute documentary profiling Gentry and his design philosophy.
The launch culminated in a live brand event at Worre Studios, a next-generation venue featuring a 360-degree LED screen environment and global livestream capabilities. The event centered on Gentry presenting the brand live on stage while immersive product visuals wrapped the audience in motion.
Zavitsanos directed the live production using a nine-camera setup, managing thousands of concurrent livestream feeds worldwide—bringing together film craft, live-event direction, and immersive technology to deliver a launch experience equal parts product showcase and cinematic performance.
The launch also included a five-minute branded documentary piece exploring Gentry Humphrey’s career at Nike and his path toward founding CODE: By Gentry. The film traces Gentry’s evolution from industry insider to brand founder, framing CODE as a natural extension of his decades-long influence on sneaker culture.
The piece features sit-down interviews with respected Nike veterans, offering firsthand perspective on Gentry’s credibility, design philosophy, and why he is uniquely qualified to launch the brand.
codebygentry.com
What we do for our clients.
Dick Carriers: by Richard Carrier
ideation | live action content | AI content | social | print | outdoor
What do you do with an underwear company called Dick Carriers? You lean into the obvious—thoughtfully.
The mission from the start was twofold: showcase a genuinely great men’s underwear brand, while clearly communicating that the name isn’t crass or controversial, but simply the founder’s real name. Yes—Dick Carrier is the Founder and CEO.
To address that head-on, we wrote and directed a 60-second anthem spot titled Name Therapy (coming soon), using humor and self-awareness to disarm assumptions and explain the brand’s origin. The film unfolds as a therapy session, with Dick Carrier seated alongside others who share similarly unfortunate surnames—Lynn Gweeney, Howie Dewitt, and Willie Makit—turning the name into the narrative and the joke into the strategy.
Alongside the storytelling, the spot highlights a thoughtfully designed, well-built garment featuring proprietary components, reinforcing that the brand’s growth is rooted in performance, comfort, and support—not shock value. The campaign extends into print and outdoor, where the same wit is applied to clearly communicate product features and construction, helping position Dick Carriers as one of the fastest-growing and most supportive men’s underwear brands on the market.
When DICK CARRIERS set out to elevate its social media presence, the brand leaned into a universal truth: men across every generation wear underwear—but not all underwear is built the same. We focused on your great grandfather's underwear, your grandfather’s underwear, your father’s underwear, and now your underwear.
With a deliberately lean budget, AI became a production multiplier, allowing us to create a series of high-impact social posts efficiently and at scale. The content explored generational perspectives on comfort, support, and fit, giving the brand a broad yet relatable creative canvas.
To dramatize performance, the brand’s patented BallBustier technology was compared to the suspension of a monster truck, the physical support of a bridge pier, and the mental and emotional support of a therapist—using visual metaphors to make function instantly understandable.
Fabric quality became another point of differentiation. Competitors’ materials were portrayed as rough and unforgiving—evoking a cactus-like texture—while DICK CARRIERS’ proprietary, cloud-soft Sandaluxe fabric was positioned as the clear upgrade in comfort and craftsmanship.
respectyourpackage.com
What we do for our clients.
Agaso Outdoor is an ambitious, multi-disciplinary company. In addition to building world-class vintage Broncos and specializing in the restoration of classic off-road vehicles, the brand has expanded its vision into the unscripted television space.
We are currently working with Agaso to develop an unscripted series centered on the shop, its craftsmen, and the vehicles they build—bringing the same authenticity and attention to detail that defines their work to a long-form storytelling format.
Alongside show development, we continue to produce branded content for the company, including detailed build videos that give automotive enthusiasts an inside look at the process behind these meticulously restored machines—offering transparency, craft, and personality in equal measure.
Agaso Outdoor : Early Bronco Specialist
content development | direction | production | photography
agasooutdoor.com
What we do for our clients.
Beyond Slim
direction | production
Shot on iPhone
When a friend and fellow Creative Director approached me to help solve a significant budget challenge for one of her clients, the solution was simple: the new iPhone.
The client, Beyond Slim, needed to produce a volume of video content quickly to support the launch of new products, but traditional production budgets were not an option. By rethinking the approach, we were able to deliver high-quality results using a lean, modern setup—shooting with two iPhone 16 Pros in 4K LOG mode, supplemented by a small lighting package and a drone.
The streamlined production delivered exactly what the client needed—fast, flexible, and visually polished—proving that with the right creative direction and technical discipline, premium results don’t require a premium-sized crew or budget. The client couldn’t have been happier.
beyondslim.com
What we do for our clients.
AUTOGRAVITY
ideation | art direction | copy | direction
When AutoGravity, a then-front-runner in the automotive purchasing app space, needed a broadcast spot but couldn’t support the full scope of traditional agency services, Deutsch Los Angeles, brought in Marcos Zavitsanos for a focused, in-house freelance engagement.
Zavitsanos was embedded for one month to write and direct the campaign through Deutsch’s production arm, Steelhead. He led the creative end-to-end—art directing the work, writing the copy, and directing the spot.
The concept took a deliberately comedic, misdirected approach—poking fun at conventional car commercials overloaded with bold claims and unreadable fine print. The spot opens like a familiar automotive ad: a couple heading out for a weekend getaway. Midway through, the narrative breaks as the talent looks directly into camera, halting the commercial to plainly explain how simple and transparent the AutoGravity app actually is. The couple makes their point, then resumes their drive—cutting through the noise while reinforcing ease of use.
autogravity.com
