Light Iron--a leading postproduction solutions provider and member of the Panavision family of companies--has appointed veteran post professional Josh Haynie to the newly created role of VP of U.S. Operations. Based in Light Iron’s flagship Hollywood facility, Haynie will be responsible for leveraging the company’s resources across Los Angeles, New York, New Orleans, and future locations.
“Light Iron has experienced significant growth since being acquired by Panavision,” said Peter Cioni, the company’s CFO. “To continue on this trajectory, we’re bringing in a leader to assist us with navigating the complexities that commonly impact larger businesses. Josh’s experience is unmatched: he has strong operational and managerial skills, as well as deep client relationships, which will enable Light Iron to continue to grow and be a leader in the industry.”
Haynie joins Light Iron after 13 years at EFILM, where, as managing director, he maintained direct responsibility for all aspects of the company’s operations including EC3 (on-location services), facility dailies, trailers, digital intermediate, home video, and restoration. Haynie managed a team of 100+ employees, and more than 650 digital intermediates were completed under his watch. Previously, Haynie held positions at Sunset Digital, Octane/Lightning Dubs, Sunset Post, and other production and post companies. Haynie is an Associate Member of the ASC, and is also actively involved in the HPA, SMPTE, and VES.
Haynie noted that it is an exciting time to join Light Iron: “From the expansion of Light Iron’s episodic services and NY facilities to the development of the color science in the new Millennium DXL camera, it is clear that the integration of Panavision and Light Iron brings significant benefits to clients. I look forward to working with the entire team to further elevate a level of service that is unprecedented in our industry.”
Panavision CEO Kim Snyder added, “The addition of Josh Haynie comes at a key moment in the overall growth of Panavision. We are committed to providing a full portfolio of innovative, creative solutions throughout the production and post process.”
People on the Move
- Monday, Oct. 24, 2016
- Monday, Oct. 24, 2016
Global digital production company MediaMonks has appointed S. Jason Prohaska, and Gradwell Sears to the roles of managing director and creative director, respectively. They join Jouke Vuurmans, Ola Björling, David Estis and Nathalie Visser to complete the New York leadership team.
Prohaska has nine years under his belt as partner and managing director of creative digital agency Big Spaceship. He has also held leadership positions at Mattel, Your Majesty Co., Method, and HUSH. He is an original co-founding member of SoDA and began his career building fine art collections and visual imaging platforms for artists, collectors and museum foundations in the U.S. and Europe.
Sears returns to New York from AKQA’s London office where he led global digital creative for Rolls-Royce, Virgin Holidays, MINI and BMW Art Car. He previously lived and worked in New York for over 14 years, developing and directing digital creative output for Kraftworks and Arnold Worldwide.
As managing director, Prohaska will focus on creative business strategy, expanding NA and LATAM synchronization, U.S. talent development and culture building, while Sears will use his expertise to further extend the creative offerings across North and Latin America.
The team as a whole will continue to pave the way in AR/AI and VR under the leadership of Björling, and platforms, big builds and brand campaigns under the leadership of Vuurmans. Estis, who recently led the team for The Pro Walk, a four-room hero fan experience for Amex at the 2016 U.S. Open, will drive concept development across 2D and 3D film, connected experiences and experiential design.
“The use of creative technology is constantly expanding and MediaMonks is at the forefront of that,” said Prohaska. “With so much expertise and inspiring leadership under one roof it’s exciting to be able to work with such a combination of disciplines, from VR, AR-AI and 3D to experiential design and connected platforms. While my role is to bring the New York office to its fun-filled powerhouse potential, I’ll also be directly involved in brand strategy and creative technologies that are driving our industry.”
- Friday, Oct. 21, 2016
Vicki Ordeshook has been named executive producer, national sales and marketing, for Superlounge, working alongside EP/partner Dave Farrell. In the newly created role, Ordeshook will oversee sales and marketing for the production company. She has secured James Bartlett of Mr. Bartlett for East Coast representation, and John Buckley of Buckley Reps on the West Coast. Kristina Kovacevic-Plunkett and Joanna Miller of KK&Joanna remain in place in the Midwest. Prior to joining Superlounge, Ordeshook spent three years at Elias, where she served as an EP across all facets of its business with a concentration on sales and marketing.
Ordeshook graduated from LMU’s School of Film and Television with a degree in Film Production, then joined music/sound company Machine Head, where she rose through the ranks to executive producer. Over the next decade, she expanded her producing skills beyond advertising into film, television and video games, including serving as executive music and sound roducer of The Call, starring John Malkovich and Uma Thurman, directed by Antoine Fuqua and sponsored by Pirelli Tires. Additionally, Ordeshook worked in artist management, live action production, post and sales, before joining Elias in 2013.
“I’m excited to be involved in taking Superlounge to the next level,” said Ordeshook,-“building the roster and spreading the news about their talents, delightful personalities, hands-on approach and commitment to making great stories come to life. This position is also a great opportunity to get back to my first love, filmmaking.”
Superlounge recently completed production on its second round of Toyota’s “Built To Amaze” digital campaign (via Saatchi LA), and a Ford campaign created via GTB (formerly Team Detroit). Both projects were directed by Jordan Brady.
In addition to Brady, the Superlounge roster is comprised of award-winning commercial directors Daniel Sheppard, Brett Wagner, Barton Landsman, Jeff Aron Lable and Jeanette Godoy.
- Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016
The Artery (formerly The Artery VFX) has named Ronen Tanchum to serve as creative and technical director who will head the company’s newly launched VR/AR division. The announcement of his addition was made by Deborah Sullivan, The Artery’s EP/managing director.
Prior to joining The Artery, Tanchum produced complex FX setups and overseen digital tools development for such recent blockbuster features as Deadpool, Transformers, The Amazing Spider-Man, Happy Feet 2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Wolverine.
Recent projects for which The Artery has created visuals include the Sony Pictures Classics film Norman starring Richard Gere; the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards; the new Netflix TV series “The Get Down”; and social media imagery for Pepsi.
Given the rapidly burgeoning demand for virtual reality and augmented reality content from major brands and creators of filmed entertainment content around the globe, The Artery sees an enormous new potential market, worldwide, for the company’s development of original content in VR & AR on behalf of a diverse range of clients, prompting the formation of its new division.
“VR today stands at just the tip of the iceberg,” says Tanchum. “Before VR came along, we were just observers, and controlled our worlds through a mouse and a keyboard. Through the VR medium, humans become active participants in the virtual world – we get to step into our own imaginations with a direct link to our brains for the first time, experiencing the first impressions of a virtual world. As creators, VR offers us a very powerful tool by which to present a unique new experience.”
Tanchum added, “We inform our clients that VR shouldn’t be created just because it’s ‘cool.’ The new VR platform should be used to play an integral part of the storyline itself – a well crafted VR experience should embellish and complement the story. We pride ourselves in our ‘story first’ approach to this new platform.”
- Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016
Insurrection Media, Inc. has hired veteran executive Jordanna Fraiberg to head development for the company, overseeing all aspects of its growing slate as well as its strategic partnerships with Skybound Entertainment, Abominable Pictures and HarperCollins.
A senior industry executive, producer and published author, Fraiberg has nearly two decades of experience in TV, film, and digital development. Most recently she helped launch a new original digital content initiative at Audible, an Amazon Company. Previously, she was VP, production and development for Village Roadshow Pictures Entertainment where she served for nine years helping shepherd projects such as The Dukes of Hazzard, License to Wed, Nights in Rodanthe, The Invasion and The Reaping.
Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, CEO of Insurrection Media, said of Fraiberg, “Her direct experience as a writer gives her the wisdom and empathy to guide and inspire the talent Insurrection is so fortunate to work with.”
Fraiberg has authored two YA books, Our Song and In Your Room, both published by Razorbill/Penguin. She has also been a television writer, serving as consulting producer and writing four episodes for the TV series Duality developed by Televisa USA.
Fraiberg said of Insurrection that she was “greatly inspired by the company’s unique model, which empowers creators in the expanding digital TV and OTT landscapes. Working with writers and directors is my passion, and I couldn’t be more excited to develop world class series with Kiliaen and his team.”
- Monday, Oct. 17, 2016
Lauren Hertzberg has joined Cut+Run as executive producer of its New York office. She will work closely with a team which includes West Coast managing director Michelle Eskin and company partners/editors Akiko Iwakawa and Jon Grover.
Hertzberg joins Cut+Run from the Whitehouse, where she was the NY EP for the last four-and-a-half years. She started with the company in 2003 and worked her way up the ranks from receptionist to producer, working on projects ranging from global television commercials to music videos, short films, and social media content.
Cut+Run maintains offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Austin and San Francisco.
- Monday, Oct. 17, 2016
Hootenanny, a Chicago-based post house, has hired creative editor Nikki Vapensky. With nearly 25 years of experience, Vapensky comes to Hootenanny from Whitehouse Post where she spent most of her editing career.
Hootenanny’s storytelling acumen has helped her land spot work for clients like McDonald’s, Allstate, Walmart, Disney and Always. For the latter P&G brand, she cut the lauded “Like a Girl” campaign. Most recently Vapensky worked on Jello’s “Delightfully Honest” campaign with Leo Burnett. She also has extensive experience collaborating with agencies including DDB, Y&R, Burrell and Cramer-Krasselt.
Vapensky looks forward to the new opportunities that Hootenanny has to offer. “I really love that it is a woman-owned boutique,” she stated, alluded to owner/editor Liz Tate.
Vapensky joins a Hootenanny roster that includes editors Tate, Graham Metzger, Sean Halvorsen and Hannah Stephens.
- Friday, Oct. 14, 2016
Havas Creative Group has appointed Mike Amour to the position of chairman and CEO of Asia Pacific, effective October 17.
In this new role, Amour will be responsible for leading and driving continued collaboration and growth in one of the most dynamic regions for Havas Group. The appointment is a key milestone in the group’s ongoing efforts to build agile teams and integrated structures to deliver the most impact for clients. Amour will report to Andrew Benett, global CEO of Havas Creative Group, and will be based in Singapore.
Prior to joining Havas Creative Group, Amour was president, Asia Pacific at Starcom Mediavest Group. Previously, he was CEO Asia Pacific at Project: Worldwide. Amour also led Grey Group Asia Pacific for four years as chairman and CEO, where he oversaw significant growth, including acquisitions in China, India, and Vietnam. Prior to that, based in London, New York, Tokyo, Paris and Portland, Amour held senior management positions at McCann, TBWA, and Wieden + Kennedy. Amour will take over from Juan Rocamora, currently chairman, Havas Creative Group APAC, who will retire at the end of the year.
- Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016
RKCR/Y&R has named Priya Patel to serve as its managing director. Patel, who was previously managing partner at RKCR/Y&R, will continue to run a portfolio of client business, oversee the agency operations and will report to Jon Sharpe who took over as CEO in December 2015.
Vicky Jacobs, managing director since 2014, is taking time out of the agency for health reasons.
Patel has been at RKCR/Y&R for 10 years and during her time at the agency has led and helped create award-winning campaigns for accounts including Virgin Money, Volvic, BBC, Bank of Scotland, TUI and M&S.
Patel was integral to the team that launched Virgin Media and was responsible for the lauded campaign “Fantastic Journey.” She also ran the M&S account between 2012-2016 helping to launch the multi award-winning M&S Food campaign “Adventures in...” and the highly acclaimed “Leading Ladies” campaign.
Previously, Patel was new business director when RKCR/Y&R was topping the new business league tables between 2010-2012.
- Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016
Nomad Editing Company’s NY office has signed editor/partner Amanda Moreau, continuing its expansion this fall. She is the most recent addition to the roster along with editors/partners Jim Ulbrich, Adam Schwartz and Jai Shukla. They joined a team which already included long-time staff editor Tyler Peck. Earlier this year, EP/partner Jennifer Lederman joined the company.
Moreau helped launch the New York office of Beast, where she gained 10 years of experience as a sr. editor. She has worked with brands including Reebok, Garnier, Duke Energy, IKEA and Champs. However, it was at Hunter College/CUNY under Roy DeCarava, where her passion for editing was first kindled.
With the new team in place at Nomad, bigger changes are on the horizon for the NY operation which is preparing to begin construction on a larger space just up the street with a move scheduled in early 2017. “Our new location will have more edit rooms and finishing suites for Flame and After Effects--not to mention other fun distractions like a custom bar, darts and ping pong,” added Lederman.