Bicoastal production studio m ss ng p eces has signed director and live artist Annie Saunders to its immersive roster for commercial representation in the U.S.
Led by Mike Woods, the m ss ng p eces immersive roster is responsible for assorted pieces of forward-thinking work in experiential and new media, including Baskin Robbins’ Scoops Ahoy and Scoop Snoop, Tinder’s Swipe Night, and Miller Light’s Cantenna.
Saunders–who had most recently been repped in the ad space by production house Helo–is a multidisciplinary director and creator for immersive physical and digital spaces. She has crafted unique and large-scale experiential activations for brands, including The Home for Santander Bank and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which won the D&AD Yellow Pencil for Spatial and Installation Design, an AICP Next Award in the Experiential category, Gerety and One Show Awards, the UK APA awards for Best Experiential Project and Best Use of Technology for Good, and is now archived in the Department of Film at MoMA. Saunders has also directed work for ASICS, HP, Bulleit, MasterCard, and Dos Equis.
Additionally, Saunders is the founder and artistic director of site-specific performance company Wilderness, and a participant in the New Museum/New Inc/Onassis Foundation ONX Studio for mixed reality creators as well as the Public Theater’s Devised Theater Working Group. She is also a core collaborator with Lars Jan’s Early Morning Opera, and worked for 10 years as a creative activist with Eve Ensler’s V-Day project. Saunders has created commissioned work for leading arts institutions including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Getty Villa, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. She is currently working on a multi-platform collaboration about intersectionality and friendship with Anna Maria Nabirye titled Up In Arms, developing the live and digital installation Rest with EMPAC and UCLA, and creating a geolocative app-based soundwalk in Lower Manhattan with Arts Brookfield.
“We’ve been well aware of Annie’s amazing work for a long time, and it’s a dream to add her to our expanding roster of top level talent. Her eye for both human and experience design added to a natural use of groundbreaking technology makes her a perfect director for modern, dynamic, digital client work,” said Woods, director of immersive at m ss ng p eces.
“I’ve been impressed with the varied creative output from m ss ng p eces’ immersive directors, and with the deep level of support and engagement that the company provides,” shared Saunders. “I’m looking forward to joining the roster and hitting the ground running in 2021.”
Comedic Director Roderick Fenske Joins Yard Dog TV For U.S. Spot Work
Roderick Fenske, the award-winning agency copywriter/creative director turned comedic director of commercials and films, has joined Yard Dog TV for U.S. representation.
Fenske--known for his idiosyncratic casting, stylish art direction, and blend of practical and digital effects--saw his newest commercial work, for Drink Weird Ice Tea, break earlier this month. His most recent short film, I’m Dead, You’re Welcome, starring JR Russell, Taissa Zveiter, Sandy Eels, and Julia Lorpriore, is making the rounds of film festivals now, having won Best Comedy Short at the Flagstaff International Film Festival last month.
Fenske, who started out in the business as a copywriter, is one of a select group of agency creatives to have found success in both New York and London, where his last post was as a creative director at TBWA there. “I owe so much of my career to Trevor Beattie [TBWA London chairman/creative director at the time], because he believed in me and started my career directing commercials,” said Fenske, citing work for Sony PlayStation, French Connection UK, and Channel 5.
Those spots led to an invitation to become a member of the visionary Swedish film collective known as ACNE. “I learned so much there working in a directing collective. With everybody talking about how to make stuff look stylish and cinematic it was like a film school for me,” Fenske explained. “Production design is so important because humor can be much more unexpected when you have an elevated look.”
Over the course of his career, Fenske’s work has received many international awards from shows including the Cannes Lions, British D&AD, and AICP. He moved from London to Los Angeles, and during this time he met Yard Dog... Read More