Tabletop shop Schrom and Yacht Club, a full-service production company with in-house editorial, VFX, and CGI, have entered into a formal alliance, sharing talent, production staff, studios, and resources, with each maintaining its respective distinct culture. The official move comes amidst continued, mutual growth through a series of recent collaborations, including commercial projects for Red Lobster and Papa John’s. Both assignments were tabletop/live-action collaborations between Michael Schrom and Yacht Club partner/director/DP Jake Ladehoff. Schrom has a longstanding partnership with Papa John’s, and the two clients plan to return for multiple rounds of production in the future.
“We’ve been good friends for several years now, sharing ideas, insights, and resources. Michael and the whole Schrom team have been a great resource for me personally to learn the ins and outs of the industry,” said Ladehoff. “I’m thrilled that we’re making this partnership official.”
Yacht Club productions across the board benefit from Schrom’s 31,000 square foot Blauvelt studio space, two stages with drive-in access, commercial prep kitchen, and myriad equipment, sets, props, and XR & LED Studio (a partnership between Schrom and Silverspoon), while Schrom gains access to Yacht Club’s directorial roster, full-time production department, and fully integrated postproduction capabilities. “It’s a very collaborative environment,” said Yacht Club partner/EP Joe DePasquale. “On Papa John’s, [Yacht Club partner/head of post/CG artist] Zach Law was able to sit with Jake at our place in Brooklyn, and build out the CGI home set for the XR screen, complementing what Michael Schrom was bringing via tabletop and practical production. It was extremely efficient because during the pre-light, we were easily able to relay feedback to Zach to adjust the set design based on what Michael and Jake were seeing on camera.”
“Yacht Club is a super-talented group, and after collaborating these past years we all thought it was time to actually put the band together,” said Schrom, who directed the Papa John’s TV spots, while Yacht Club partner and tabletop director/editor Matt Morgan directed and shot the social content.
“Together, we’re able to offer live action, broadcast tabletop, and social all as a single unit and production in the same facility, which provides an incredibly convenient client experience,” DePasquale explained.
Recent soup-to-nuts collaborations blending storytelling and product work also include Ladehoff and Morgan co-directing La Colombe Roasters’ “For the Love of Real” and Fireball’s three-spot “Free Your Fireball” campaign via agency Circus Maximus.
“Beyond the talent, production resources, and workflows, we are also sharing inspiration,” said Schrom executive producer Carl Sturges.
The companies’ project list encompasses an array of work for brands and agencies outside the food/beverage space, such as a number of pharmaceutical projects directed by Ladehoff with Digitas Health and Evoke Health, and docu-style campaigns for agencies GSD&M and Weber Shandwick directed by Julia Kupiec, who joined the Yacht Club roster in early 2022.
Such projects may shoot in-studio, on location in the U.S., or internationally, and combined with the graphics/design side occupied by Morgan and Law, “The parameters of execution are really determined by the client’s objectives,” added sr. producer Kristina Rathjen, who oversees physical production for Yacht Club, which retains its smaller studio space, production office, and post facility in Brooklyn, accommodating a wider range of budgets and logistical needs.
Collectively, the Schrom + Yacht Club roster comprises director Schrom (tabletop), director/DP/photographer Ladehoff (storytelling, lifestyle, docu-style), director John McCabe (tabletop), director/DP/editor/photographer Morgan (tabletop, food, health & beauty), director Michael Fagan (comedy, dialogue), and director Kupiec (lifestyle, docu-style)–along with directors Michael Lukk Litwak (comedy, dialogue) and Fidel Ruiz Healy (visual, comedy, dialogue), who are non-exclusive.
