Music production company Animal Music has expanded its presence with a new studio in Greater Los Angeles. The independent shop, originally launched in 1986 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, extended its reach to the U.S. market with the formation of a Miami operation in 2000. Now it has opened a third studio in El Camp, a community of creative companies all involved in the advertising/marketing world in El Segundo, Calif.
The studio sought an opportunity on the left coast, where a growing number of multicultural clients were looking for musical collaborators to come on board projects with big advertisers. Seeing the positive prospects, they decided to place their bets and invest in this new market by relocating one of their creative producers, Agustin Mas, to Los Angeles to oversee the coordination and production of all the West Coast projects from start to finish. Mas kicked off his career as an intern with Animal Music in 2012 and quickly rose the ranks to head audio engineer/composer in Miami.
“Leading the expansion of Animal Music to California has been a wonderful challenge,” said Mas. “We have always understood how important it is to generate creative musical ideas and some of the best ideas have come from proactive collaborations that result in musically driven campaigns.”
For a few years now, Animal Music has built up a network of talent around the world, including the Los Angeles area. With all the business opportunities in the West Coast, it seemed like a natural next step to shift gears a bit and allocate resources to where new clients were looking for musical creative partners.
“Everyone knows that collaboration is key when it comes to any musical endeavor, and in our case it’s no different,” said Alberto Farinas, executive producer of Animal Music. “Being present in three different time zones at the same time (Buenos Aires, Miami, and Los Angeles) while making sure to keep an open line of communication between the three studios, has allowed us to create an ongoing ensemble, by leveraging our extended network of talent and allowing us to keep up to the beat of our clients.”
Most recently, Animal Music worked for Lexus RPM, creating an online series with Latin-Pop artist Raquel Sofia. Other projects include work for Toyota with Saatchi & Saatchi LA, Google Play and E! with BBH LA, Honda with Orci, Comcast Xfinity with Grupo Gallegos, and Inifiti with Designory.
Review: Director James Watkins’ “Speak No Evil”
Quick. Has there ever been a horror film set in a country home with a decent cell signal?
Nope, and there's no signal at Paddy and Ciara's house, either, deep in the English countryside. Soon, that land line will be cut, too, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.
Paddy and Ciara are that fun-but-somewhat-odd British couple whom Louise and Ben, early in "Speak No Evil," meet on their idyllic Tuscan family holiday. Americans based in London, Louise and Ben are at loose ends, with both job and relationship issues. And so, when the new acquaintances write to invite them for a country weekend, they decide to go.
After all, how bad could it be?
Don't answer that. There are many such moments in the first two-thirds of "Speak No Evil," a Hollywood remake of the 2022 Danish film, here starring a deeply menacing James McAvoy. Moments where Louise and Ben, out of mere politeness and social convention, act against their instincts, which tell them something is wrong – very wrong.
Director James Watkins and especially his excellent troupe of actors, adult and children alike, do a nice job of building the tension, slowly but surely. Until all bloody hell breaks loose, of course. And then, in its third act, "Speak No Evil" becomes an entertaining but routine horror flick, with predictable results.
But for a while, it's a way more intelligent film. And the jumpy moments work — I'll confess to literally springing out of my seat when someone uneventfully turned on a power drill.
We begin in stunning Tuscany, where Louise (Mackenzie Davis, in the film's most accessible and empathetic performance) and Ben (Scoot McNairy, all nerves and insecurity) are vacationing with 11-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler). At the pool, they... Read More