Director Claire Thomas and exec producer Ursula Gabel Baird have teamed to launch Currant Films, a commercial and branded content production company in Los Angeles. After entering the commercial directing arena just four years ago via Greendot Films, Thomas is a self-described food enthusiast who started her career as a photographer, writer and food stylist. Her blog, The Kitchy Kitchen (which was named Yahoo’s #1 food blog to watch in 2015), garnered her the attention of ad agencies not long after she began filming web videos for the blog. She helmed her first spot for McDonald’s in early 2011, and has gone on to shoot tabletop and lifestyle broadcast spots for brands from Kraft to Kellogg’s and Anthropologie to Amazon.
The Kitchy Kitchen blog was 100% developed from Thomas’ love of food. She concepts, writes and shoots all content for her blog in her spare time. Her social media sites have led advertisers and marketing companies to seek her out—not just to reach her followers, but because her imagery stands out in a sea of digital media. That same imagery led Simon and Schuster to tap Thomas for her first cookbook, "The Kitchy Kitchen: New Classics for Living Deliciously," for which she created, wrote and shot over 200 recipes.
”Claire not only has a prolific body of work, but she has a laser like knowledge of social media in so many areas—food, fashion, lifestyle,” said Baird, also an alum of Greendot Films. “We’ll be shooting spots for broadcast, and she’s recommending to clients additional shots they’ll want for other media platforms. Because she has a consistent, successful presence as an online influencer herself, she knows what works.”
Baird said that she and Thomas will be looking to expand Currant’s roster with directors in a variety of genres.
Thomas just wrapped production on a four-spot package for Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s out of 72andSunny.
Indie reps Jolie Miller and Ann Zagaroli represent Currant for East Coast sales, Matt Bucher with Obsidian heads up the Midwest, and Dexter Randazzo of The Department of Sales covers the
West Coast and Southwest markets.
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