2 Strong Wills Drive This Production Company to Do Everything

Scholar is a multimedia creative production studio based in LA, housing a diverse roster of multifaceted artists dedicated to elevating substance with style. Co-founded 14 years ago by two design-driven writer/directors both named Will - William Campbell and Will Johnson - the company embodies their drive to seek new avenues and “do everything” in a friendly environment.  

“The word ‘culture’ has lost its meaning a bit over the years, but our ultimate goal was to form a place where we really enjoyed doing what we did with the people we did it with,” [Will] Johnson, tells LBB. “To treat everyone who came through the door with the respect and appreciation that we carried with everything we touched… and do it all with a laugh.” 

“To create a place where we could treat people with respect, fairness and enough freedom to make each job better than the last,” adds [William] Campbell. “We are still on that journey trying to do better each day.” 

Above: Scholar's 2024 project reel

Using this positive energy as a USP for potential talent and collaborators, Scholar centralised a “do everything ideology” and curated a like-minded roster that specialises in everything from live action to hand-drawn animation and CGI. “Being part of Scholar is more than hard skills - it’s an approach to challenges,” explains Campbell. “When we reach a hurdle, we get excited, look at options and find new solutions.”

When adding new creators, Johnson says they seek people who aren’t satisfied with what they currently know, who crave something new - no matter how scary it is. “We’ve always tried to push that at Scholar and let people find what makes them happy in the search.”

Despite this shared ambition, the Wills certainly didn’t immediately click when they first met at art school. “We never butted heads, but we definitely clocked one another when we’d walk into class,” shares Johnson. “[It] didn’t help that we were both named Will. Kind of adds a bit of tension from the jump!” Luckily, this created a healthy competition that pushed them both to improve.

“This competitive nature deep in our soul is more than likely what ended up sticking us together for so long,” he continues. “Once we harnessed it, we could use it to spotlight projects and initiatives and get to the core of what we wanted together really quickly.”

Years spent side-by-side looking at each other’s work had an “exponential snowball effect” which pushed the duo beyond what they thought possible, and despite the initial tension, the pair became a unified creative force  -with serendipitously unique branding as ‘the Wills’, to boot.

Bringing together Johnson’s eye for design and Campbell’s theatre background, the duo has always found a cohesive middleground and given each other space to create. On set, if one is crafting the look behind the camera, the other is alongside the actors and clients, extracting the right energy and performances. “Our personalities kind of mixed in that way and we could trade introvert and extrovert on demand,” says Johnson.

“It’s definitely fluid. Always has been. Even in our early days of learning to work together, we just kind of leapfrogged tasks with one another. We each had our strong suits and still probably do to this day, but it gave us that ability to overlap when we needed, but also to spread the workload across two people.” 

“Our backgrounds were the door that led us into this world,” adds Campbell. “Once inside, we sprinted, swooping up skills and trying on new personas. At this point our diverse skill set is what allows us to adapt to each new brand that we work with.” 

He explains that not only is their dynamic fluid, but so is their creative approach. “One of the unique skills necessary in our industry is a passion for new techniques and challenges. In this way, we are always stepping outside of our lane and bringing a new perspective to established systems - be it design approaches or concept and strategy.”

“Luckily,” adds Johnson, “we shapeshift at the right time so there’s always a balance to our fluidity.”

Reflecting on the first project they led together - an AICP Award-winning campaign for supermarket brand Target -  Campbell explains that they had to settle into a flow quickly after being “dumped right into the deep end with very little supervision”, learning to trust each other and negotiate to achieve a goal bigger than them both. “Under pressure, we both stepped up and I quickly saw that we were both better when we worked as partners.”

Above: Target - 'Art Connects' by Superfad Los Angeles

“I remember immediately thinking to myself that Campbell may be the only person I met who worked as hard as I did,” shares Johnson. “He wanted to push every detail further and I think that stuck with me and drove me to push harder. We didn’t rest all that much in our early days, but damn it was fun.” 

Realising the power of their partnership, this kicked off a journey of learning new techniques and avenues of creation. “PS3 [‘Universe of Entertainment’] was another moment of victory for us,” says Johnson. “Long nights and labours of love, but ultimately another piece that solidified what we could do as a tandem.”

Above: Playstation 3 - 'Universe of Entertainment' by Superfad Los Angeles

“Our style and approach was always a little like jazz,” he continues. “Some improv amidst a roadmap of design and animation. How it unfolded was more abstract, leaning into new techniques we hadn’t uncovered, smashing mediums together to always try and make our peers look at us with that ‘how did you do that?’ head tilt. We’ve become much more organised in how we build the foundation for our jobs to jazz from now. Knowing the limitations and what choices would lead to sleepless nights under our desks has ultimately made us stronger partners.”

Though as all creative partners - no matter how strong - can tell you, the Wills’ synergy has been tested along the way. However, it’s through this adversity that the pair has found a fluid way to navigate each other's nuances and preferences - with Campbell describing an “innate ability to guess what the other is thinking and how they may respond.”

“100% it’s been tested,” says Johnson. “You put two strong-willed (pun intended) individuals in a small conference room to creatively mind meld and you are bound to have some head-butts.

“What we learned before starting Scholar, having experienced both positive and negative ways of navigating those situations, was that we both had personal things that we were trying to achieve. Whether it was a new technical approach, an aesthetic evolution, to even a new genre of clientele we’re trying to break into. It was all about communicating. Over-communicating even. Now we just give each other space in the conversations to have opinions and tend to back one another if one opinion is stronger than the other.” 

Campbell adds, “Partnerships are about middle grounds and those compromises help to keep us and the company well in balance.”  

Above: Kohler - 'Make a Lasting Impression'

As the industry around them continues to evolve, the Wills have enjoyed adapting to new clients and interesting creative challenges - most recently with the likes of Kohler, Zoom and Okta, where they worked directly with the brands’ marketing departments all the way through from creative development to completed content. 

“We’ve been able to work extremely closely with Zoom as of late,” says Johnson, “helping to craft some new looks and feels. Helping to write strategies, concepts and scripts to animate and shoot live-action with dialogue, art direction and a quirky sense of humour. When we can check all of those boxes with extremely kind and open-minded collaborators, it’s always a win-win.”

Above: Zoom - 'Welcome to Zoom Workplace'

Outside of their professional dynamic, the pair have also managed to find a balance. While their partnership is very strong - “I possibly talk to Johnson more than anyone else in my life,” jokes Campbell - they are also very conscious of spending time in their own independent lives beyond the office. “We enjoy our weekends away from each other so every Monday is a pleasure.” 

“We also are both really great at listening to one another’s insane ideas on the industry or if one of us is spiralling, the other can harness an actual plan,” says Johnson. “The constant communication helps because there’s two of us, we can spread the hard moments and the love across the both of us. One thing to note though, Campbell did give a proper laugh-filled speech at my wedding last year, and we’ll trade recipes on Tequila on the rocks as well. So we’re still going strong.”

It’s this patience and ability to listen that Johnson takes as his greatest lesson from their shared journey so far. “Talk it out and you’ll know if it’s right or if it’s wrong. We are always poking holes in things and discussing them into the ground looking at the future through our own brains. Really, no decisions are ever made as a knee-jerk reaction to what’s happening in the industry or the world.”

And for Campbell, it all comes back to the power of their partnership - and the value that working as a team has provided both the Wills, and their production company. “I got into this because I felt like I could do entire jobs on my own from start to finish - but that could not be further from the truth,” he says.

“Creating an atmosphere where people feel welcome and we all can grow has shaped Scholar into what it is today.”