Glassworks London has appointed Jordi Bares as creative director and Paul Schleicher as head of production. Bares and Schleicher have been working together for many years, at The Mill and then Realise Studio, in a creative/production partnership.
Bares’ talent as a technical problem solver will complement Glassworks’ 3D team, where he will work alongside head of 3D Alastair Hearsum. An accomplished VFX producer, Schleicher joins Glassworks’ production department in a sr. role as head of production.
Glassworks COO Phil Linturn: “On the eve of our 20th anniversary, Glassworks is entering a new and exciting era,” stated Phil Linturn, COO of Glassworks. “To ensure that our capabilities evolve and grow with the global success and recognition we are experiencing, we need the best people. In Jordi and Paul, we are not only gaining decades of experience and expertise, we are welcoming one of the most trusted partnerships in the business. Their unique combination of creative, technical and practical talent has been sought and valued by the best directors for many years. Now, combined with our ability to create market-leading work, we are perfectly poised to define a new chapter in the possibilities of visual effects.”
Schleicher described his new roost as “an independent studio that genuinely values the craft of their artists. Beres added, “Glassworks has been the one company in which the 3D, 2D and R&D capabilities have been consistently delivering top of the range work. It is a natural fit for me due to the culture of story and craft, the attention to detail and hopefully I can bring some experiences and techniques that will make it an even better place to work.”
Review: Director Morgan Neville’s “Piece by Piece”
A movie documentary that uses only Lego pieces might seem an unconventional choice. When that documentary is about renowned musician-producer Pharrell Williams, it's actually sort of on-brand.
"Piece by Piece" is a bright, clever song-filled biopic that pretends it's a behind-the-scenes documentary using small plastic bricks, angles and curves to celebrate an artist known for his quirky soul. It is deep and surreal and often adorable. Is it high concept or low? Like Williams, it's a bit of both.
Director Morgan Neville — who has gotten more and more experimental exploring other celebrity lives like Fred Rogers in "Won't You Be My Neighbor?,""Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain" and "Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces" — this time uses real interviews but masks them under little Lego figurines with animated faces. Call this one a documentary in a million pieces.
The filmmakers try to explain their device — "What if nothing is real? What if life is like a Lego set?" Williams says at the beginning — but it's very tenuous. Just submit and enjoy the ride of a poor kid from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who rose to dominate music and become a creative director at Louis Vuitton.
Williams, by his own admission, is a little detached, a little odd. Music triggers colors in his brain — he has synesthesia, beautifully portrayed here — and it's his forward-looking musical brain that will make him a star, first as part of the producing team The Neptunes and then as an in-demand solo producer and songwriter.
There are highs and lows and then highs again. A verse Williams wrote for "Rump Shaker" by Wreckx-N-Effect when he was making a living selling beats would lead to superstars demanding to work with him and partner... Read More