• Tuesday, Jul. 11, 2017
EP Catherine Finkenstaedt joins Slim
Catherine Finkenstaedt and friend.
VENICE, Calif. -- 

Catherine Finkenstaedt—a noted commercial and music video producer—has joined Slim, a creative production company based in Venice, as executive producer. 
 
Finkenstaedt had most recently been at Spears and Arrows. She had earlier served at GO Film and Wondros. She will be working with various directors at Slim including: Karen Cunningham, ZCDC, Thomas Garber, Jason Headley, Vincent Urban, Pet & Flo, Brad Morrison, Jeff Baena and Wondo.

Slim EP Tom Weissferdt said, “Catherine and I have a long history, starting at Squeak Pictures. She has an incredible understanding of directors; their passion points and creative strengths.” In addition, “she has vast expertise in the identification, cultivation, and nurturing of directors in traditional commercial, digital, and music content where we, as a company, continue to grow and thrive.”

Finkenstaedt shared, “We are in a sea of change in commercial and integrated production and I am excited to help support the directors and to also help identify others whose voices are yet to be heard in traditional or integrated marketing content.”
 
Finkenstaedt’s leadership within the past companies she has served also led her to the presidency of the Music Video Producers Association (MVPA) where she co-chaired the annual MVPA Awards.  She has executive produced campaigns for various companies including Target, Toyota, Nike, AT&T, Comcast, Activision, Visa, Macy’s, and the Tokyo Olympic Committee; worked with such noted directors as Jake Scott, Sam Bayer, The Malloys, Patrick Daughters, Anton Corbijn, Chris Cunningham, Mark Romanek, David Kellogg, Matthew Rolston, McG, Antoine Fuqua, Sophie Muller and Hype Williams; musical artists including Ricky Martin, Britney Spears, *NSYNC, Metallica, and Oasis; as well as agencies such as Wieden+Kennedy, Leo Burnett, FCB, BBDO, 72andSunny, Team One, and GSD&M.

  • Monday, Jul. 10, 2017
Lauren Concar named exec director of Garden State Film Festival
Lauren Concar
ASBURY PARK, NJ -- 

Lauren Concar has become executive director of the Garden State Film Festival (GSFF). She takes on the role as the GSFF returns to its original home in Asbury Park for the 2018 festival. The return move marks the festival’s “Sweet 16” anniversary and follows a successful four-year run in Atlantic City.
 
Concar has been with the festival for many years, acting most recently as the festival’s director of operations. She and production manager Kristen Dirato have been responsible for many of the festival’s weekend events in the last few years, including all the advance planning, event management and operations during the event. Concar has also taken on many of the administrative functions of the executive director for more than a year. She is an award-winning producer, director and editor, and is the head of the Brookdale Television department at Brookdale Community College.

GSFF board chairman Nicholas J. Falcone said of Concar, “She knows this festival backwards and forwards and most importantly knows the people who make this event. She knows what the fans want and her background in production allows her a deep understanding of the needs of the filmmakers. She is steady, focused and will bring great things to the GSFF in her expanded role.”         

Founder Diane Raver said, “Lauren was raised in the film festival; she is really part of its fabric. Over the years, she has taken on more responsibilities and has logged countless hours, doing all the important work of preparing for the event and the essential follow-up work after the event. Those who know Lauren know she will be extraordinary and those about to meet will be most impressed.”

The 2018 festival is scheduled for March 22-25, 2018. The call for entries opened on July 1, 2017.

  • Wednesday, Jul. 5, 2017
Infinity Squared hires EP Cathy Rechichi
Cathy Rechichi (l) and Dave Jansen
SYDNEY, Australia -- 

Cathy Rechichi has joined Infinity Squared as executive producer based in its Sydney office.
 
She has produced projects ranging from music videos to high end TV commercials, feature length films, large scale live events, web series, multi-platform projects, telemovies and international line productions. Rechichi has produced notable work with such directors and artists as Lesli Linka Glatter, Nick Reynolds, Malcolm Venville, Catriona Mackenzie, Paul Goldman and Nick Cave. Her previous roles include serving as general manager of the Big Day Out.
 
Rechichi will join founder and EP Dave Jansen in the day-to-day running of production at Infinity Squared. Jansen and managing director Tom Phillips focus on growth and diversifying the company’s offering.

  • Wednesday, Jun. 28, 2017
PS260 adds editor David Blackburn
David Blackburn
VENICE, Calif. -- 

Postproduction and editorial house PS260 has brought editor David Blackburn aboard its roster. He will be based in the bicoastal company’s office in Venice.
 
Blackburn joins PS260 from Beast Editorial, previously cutting commercials and creating graphically visual, musically-driven, fashion-forward spots for brands including Adidas, Verizon, Ford, Michelob, Lexus, Champs, T-Mobile, Coors Light, Nascar and PlayStation. He also recently won an AICE editing award for Adidas’ “MiCoach” campaign. Blackburn’s credits also include high profile music videos for artists such as Eminem, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, Aerosmith, Justin Timberlake, George Michael and Marilyn Manson. In 2003, Blackburn was nominated for an MTV award for Best Editing for Eminem’s “Without Me” and won the MVPA’s Best Editing award in 2005 for Blink 182’s “Always.” Blackburn also edited the very first Google Cardboard VR music video for Grammy award-winning artist Avicii.

“I’ve done a lot of work with action, visual effects and music, but first and foremost, I cut for emotion,” Blackburn said. “Storytelling is key. I pay most attention to the emotional arc of the characters and the story, and given that PS260’s work is rooted in emotion and compelling content, I feel like we are a natural fit. I can’t wait to get going with the team and see what’s in store for us this year.”

Blackburn has also cut a variety of feature films including Warner Brothers’ Torque, which was directed by Joseph Kahn; the coming of age movie ATL, directed by Chris Robinson; indie feature Adventures of Power and Detention; and the documentary Why We Ride.

  • Wednesday, Jun. 28, 2017
Chris Roan joins Untitled Worldwide as partner
Chris Roan
NEW YORK -- 

Untitled Worldwide--the strategy and creative shop, with offices in Soho, New York, and Shoreditch, London--has brought Chris Roan on board as partner. Roan brings over 10 years of experience in media, advertising, and innovation, having led strategy, business development, and innovation at Mother US for over six years, and before that, developing entertainment-driven programs for clients at Ogilvy & Mather. He also spent his early career on the media side at the Onion and VICE, where he leveraged their reach, audience insights, and production capabilities to create branded content and integrated marketing programs.

At Untitled, he will focus largely on strategy, business development, and overall growth of the firm globally. In this capacity, he will oversee a wide range of talent and infrastructure investments, as well as developing new models for the firm to better service clients.

Untitled was founded in 2013 by MT Carney whose broad experience includes serving as president of marketing at Disney and co-founding Naked Communications NY. In 2016, Untitled expanded to establish a UK branch, bringing with it a unique business proposition to their clients--helping UK and EU brands export from the UK to the US, and vice versa.

  • Tuesday, Jun. 27, 2017
Colorist Paul Allia joins Picture Shop
Paul Allia
BURBANK, Calif. -- 

Colorist Paul Allia is coming aboard Picture Shop. His notable projects include Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders and Minority Report

Allia comes to the Burbank-headquartered Picture Shop from Technicolor’s broadcast division, where he worked as final colorist collaborating with Academy Award-winning writers and directors including Dustin Lance Black on ABC’s When We Rise.
 
“Paul has been on my radar for a while now; over the years he’s grown to become a fantastic colorist. His talent and ambition combined with his commitment to clients, makes him a great addition to the Picture Shop family,” noted Bill Romeo, president of Picture Shop.
 
“After seeing the facility and talking with the talent it was clear that Bill had created a space that was not only state-of-the-art, but also felt like a second home to both staff and clients,” said Allia. “I’m thrilled to be joining this amazing team, and honored to work with so many people I considered mentors over the years.” 

Currently grading on DaVinci’s Resolve, Allia is set to start July 1.

  • Tuesday, Jun. 27, 2017
Rob Sciarratta named sr. colorist at SIM Group's Post FactoryNY
Rob Sciarratta
NEW YORK -- 

Post FactoryNY, part of the SIM Group family of companies, has added Rob Sciarratta as sr. colorist. The post house made the hire to support the growth of its film and television, as well as commercial divisions.  Recently, Post FactoryNY has worked on projects including Oscar-winning documentary O.J.: Made in America, American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story, and season two of Master of None.

Sciarratta, a five-time winner of the International Monitor Awards for Best Color Correction, will lead the company’s color projects, beginning with American Made, the highly anticipated Tom Cruise film slated for September release. Additional recent work highlights include Blumhouse Film’s franchise The Purge: Election Year and the HBO miniseries The Night Of, as well as commercials for AT&T, Coca-Cola and Mercedes-Benz, and Beyonce’s Ghost music video. In addition to his work at Post FactoryNY, Sciarratta will continue his role as an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts in NYC teaching Color Correction.

Prior to joining PostFactoryNY, Sciarratta was at Company 3.

  • Thursday, Jun. 22, 2017
Andrew Patterson named CTO of Cast & Crew
Andrew Patterson
BURBANK, Calif. -- 

Cast & Crew Entertainment Services, a provider of technology-enabled payroll and production-management services to the entertainment industry, has brought Andrew Patterson on board as chief technology officer.
 
Patterson joins Cast & Crew from PayPal Holdings, Inc. in San Jose, where he was sr. director, transaction engineering, for the past three years. He will sit on the executive committee and report directly to Eric Belcher, Cast & Crew’s president and CEO.  As Cast & Crew’s new CTO, he will oversee several critical areas, including the corporate technology and security teams. He also will direct and manage the company’s engineering team and its development of Cast & Crew’s digital products.
 
Prior to PayPal, Patterson was the CTO at Mercury Payment Systems (now Vantiv Integrated Payments).  Earlier, he spent more than eight years at Toronto-based Moneris Solutions, Canada’s largest payment processor, rising to the level of VP, payments software and emerging products. Previously, he was director, software development for Paradata Systems Inc. for eight years.

  • Wednesday, Jun. 21, 2017
James Sweigert joins Laundry as managing director
James Sweigert
LOS ANGELES -- 

Animation and design studio Laundry has added James Sweigert as managing director. Sweigert, who brings extensive experience in marketing, brand strategy, design, and TV and film production, will spearhead business development at Laundry. The announcement comes on the heels of the studio moving into a new creative space in the Arts District in downtown Los Angeles, and scoring a PromaxBDA Award Gold for its work on the FXX/Truth “How to Make a Cat Video” campaign, as well as launching a new website.
 
Working closely with Laundry executive creative directors and partners PJ Richardson and Anthony Liu, Sweigert will oversee all creative and production management and operations for the studio, which encompasses animation, design, VFX, and live-action production. He is also tasked with nurturing  existing client relationships and cultivating new opportunities with brands, services, and technology partners.
 
“Laundry has a sophisticated creative infrastructure, which I’m excited about bringing to new heights,” said Sweigert. “We can achieve great things with our clients by tapping deeper into the existing strengths of this company across the board, and implementing systems that allow us to become more of a strategic partner early on. I’m also keen on what the future holds for Laundry with respect to VR/AR, 360 and experiential work, as well as expanding our live-action bandwidth.”
 
Sweigert arrives at Laundry following a tenure as executive producer of TV and streaming at mOcean. Other previous positions include executive producer/partner at Nathaniel James, head of production at Brand New School, and assistant EP at Fuel/Razorfish. He’s produced notable projects, including the main titles for the Emmy Award-winning documentary “Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau,” about one of the most prestigious big wave riders, which was featured on ESPN Films: 30 for 30; IDs for the NFL Network’s broadcast of the Super Bowl XLVII between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, which was seen by millions on-air and also appeared on the stadium’s jumbotrons; as well as work for HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and “Sport in America”; a graphics package for the US Open on FOX Sports; and a rebrand for GSN.
 
Also a filmmaker, Sweigert has just completed producing and directing a documentary titled “N-Men: The Untold Story.” The film takes a look at the Northern California skateboarding scene from 1975 through today, featuring interviews with Tony Hawk, Tony Alva and the N-Men who inspired them. The film is scheduled for release in 2018 with Laundry playing an instrumental role in the postproduction.

  • Tuesday, Jun. 20, 2017
Nicole Koestel joins Copacino+Fujikado as sr. art director
Nicole Koestel
SEATTLE -- 

Copacino+Fujikado has hired Nicole Koestel as its new sr. art director. Koestel, a New York talent with Southern roots, traveled 2,400 miles to join Copacino+Fujikado. Effective immediately, she will report directly to Mike Hayward. Koestel brings a wide range of skills, from broadcast to digital and design, and deep experience in consumer packaged goods. Koestel joins from Publicis North America in New York where she also served as sr. art director.
 
“To have such a big local impact with brands like the Seattle Aquarium, Seattle Mariners and Seattle Children’s, and to work with international brands like Holland America and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates is a truly unique opportunity here at Copacino+Fujikado,” said Koestel. “What sold me on C+F though, was the family atmosphere. It’s a tight knit, supportive group here.”
 
Koestel has worked with clients such as Oral-B, Crest, ZzzQuil, Metamucil, Charmin, Nescafe, and Dawn Dish Soap and her work has been recognized by the Addys and One Show.

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