People on the Move

Digital studio Reel FX, Dallas/Santa Monica, has added Colin McGreal as creative director. McGreal is a versatile creative director and designer with over two decades of branded content experience working with such clients as Verizon, American Express, Ford, Samsung, Wendy’s, Goodyear, Toyota and Time Warner Cable.

McGreal most recently worked as creative director on Reel FX’s Hunger Games VR Experience for Lionsgate/Samsung, which launched during NY Comic-Con. His other Reel FX VR work includes the “You vs. Sharapova” Virtual Reality experience for American Express, which launched at the 2015 US Open, and the Pacific Rim Jaeger Pilot VR Experience for out of Legendary Pictures.

“As someone who has engaged with a diverse collection of studios, Reel FX has continuously grown more attractive as I’ve watched them aggressively embrace new platforms in the entertainment and commercial world,” notes McGreal. “It is this commitment to staying ahead of the curve that has drawn me to formalize our long-standing relationship.”

McGreal, a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, cut his professional chops by toting cans of film for a film lab in Hell’s Kitchen on a midnight shift and not quitting after getting mugged his second night on the job. Tiring of the vampire shift, he moved to designing boards at R/GA, learning a whole new facet of the industry. After directing his first spots in Saigon, McGreal worked as creative director for studios such as Charlex, Shilo, Spontaneous, Suspect and HUGE, completing spots for agencies such as McCann-Erickson, Saatchi, Digitas, Publicis, JWT and BBDO.

Cross-cultural agency the community, part of SapientNitro, has appointed Tyler Witkin as a sr. strategic planner. In this newly created position, Witkin will be charged with integrating consumer insights and research into the agency’s brand stories. Based in Miami, she will report directly to Andrew Speyer, executive director of planning and strategy.

“The cultural fluidity and rapid evolution of today’s consumers brings new opportunities for us to create a competitive advantage for our clients,” said Speyer. “Tyler’s understanding of how culture and trends can escalate the relevance of brands will further help us deliver to our clients.”

Prior to joining the community, Witkin was at Cavalry Agency in Chicago, most recently as director of strategic planning. While there, she directed strategy for several of MillerCoors’ brands and its new product innovations pipeline. Before that, she was a strategic planner at FCB where she led development of strategy for Newell Rubbermaid brands including Sharpie, PaperMate and Expo, as well as Valspar Paint and Kmart.

Production and post studio Nice Shoes has brought on executive producer Tara Holmes to lead the studio’s Color & Finishing division. Holmes joins Nice Shoes having acted as director of creative services at Company 3, EP of Post Production at AllDayEveryDay, and most recently as sr. producer at Cutting Room. Her hiring follows the addition of Angela Bowen as EP for Nice Shoes Creative Studio, with the two divvying up management of the studio’s creative offerings and resources while also partnering on full-service projects.

“I’m looking forward to working with Angela to expand on our clients’ perception of what Nice Shoes can achieve,” said Holmes. “We want to ensure that there’s a seamless collaborative experience for our clients, whether they’re working with Color & Finishing, Creative Studio, or the whole team.”

Holmes’ experience at previous studios includes collaborations with such brands as Calvin Klein on its first ever Super Bowl spot, overseeing live color grading for Express in Times Square and on Snickers’ memorable Super Bowl spot starring Betty White. She will manage a color and finishing talent roster at Nice Shoes which includes Chris Ryan, Lenny Mastrandrea, Ron Sudul, Gene Curley, Sal Malfitano, Oscar Oboza, Phil Choe, Russ Bigsby and Jason Farber.

Holmes will also work closely with managing director Justin Pandolfino to expand and support the Remote Color Grading network, which connects Nice Shoes’ artists with partner studios throughout North America. In addition to working with the company’s remote partners, Holmes will also focus on building relationships in Chicago and Minneapolis, where Nice Shoes recently established satellite studios headed up by Sudul and Oboza, respectively.

“Even with all of their expansion in the past few years, Nice Shoes has held onto the family vibe and camaraderie that has drawn clients for years. They’re not a division of some conglomerate,” added Holmes. “It appealed to me as a client, and it appealed to me even more when I was offered the position. I’m really hoping to build off of the strength of the Nice Shoes brand as we grow in new and exciting ways.”

Arcade Edit has added editor Kyle Brown to its roster. Brown will be based out of Arcade’s L.A. office with his talents available to clients across the U.S.

As an editor, Brown has worked on many high-profile spots, including a GE spot featuring Jeff Goldblum and directed by cult favorite directing duo--and frequent collaborators--Tim & Eric. Brown also worked on Intel’s “Project Daniel,” which took home top prizes at Cannes, The One Show, The Clios, and Curator’s Recognition at AICP. Brown’s most recent projects include the well-received Super Bowl spot “Win at Glue” for Loctite, Nike’s “No Maybes” and the Mercandantes’ latest piece for Netflix.

“Kyle has a very diverse range and editorial style, something that is very much reflected in his work,” said Damian Stevens, managing partner, Arcade Edit.

Originally from the Bay Area, Brown landed in L.A by way of UC Santa Barbara. He started his career on the production side, benefiting from his time working in-house at several established production companies as both a treatment writer and in-house editor. Brown’s experience working through the commercial creative process, and the resulting relationships with directorial talent he formed, opened up many doors, including the opportunity to be involved in national campaign work, as well as to serve as lead editor of Headcase, a half-hour comedy show on Starz. Brown has also had the opportunity to work with many top ad agencies and brands on a number of projects, including commercials, documentaries and long-form narrative projects. Brown comes over to Arcade from NO6.