Editorial shop Fluid has brought Valerie Iorio on board as sr. producer. Iorio got her start on the agency side, producing for top accounts including Bank of America at BBDO before transitioning to the postproduction realm. She spent the last several years at Beast NY, working with such agencies as JWT, Draft FCB, 360i, Grey, BBDO and Saatchi.
Iorio rounds out Fluid’s producing team of sr. producer Michelle Seidenfrau and associate producer Meg Hall, led by executive producer Laura Relovsky.
Filmworkers has reached an agreement with veteran colorist Craig Leffel to represent him for color correction projects in the Midwest. Leffel will continue to serve as executive producer of Big Spoon Industries, the creative production studio he formed last fall, while handling color correction assignments through Filmworkers.
Leffel has been a colorist in Chicago for more than 20 years. He has worked with all of the city’s top advertising agencies for accounts including Coors Lite, American Family Insurance, Kraft, Coca-Cola, the Illinois Board of Tourism, and the Chicago Blackhawks.
“Craig is a longtime friend and a pillar of the Chicago advertising community,” said Filmworkers president Reid Brody.
Leffel’s background includes a 15-year run as senior colorist at Optimus and three years as director of production of its production arm, ONE at Optimus. He also was a partner in the company. He left Optimus last fall to launch Big Spoon Industries, a collective of directors, artists and designers focused on producing work directly for brands, digital agencies, marketing firms and others.
Leffel said that his agreement with Filmworkers allows him to continue to pursue his passion for production and storytelling, while meeting demand for his skill as a colorist. “It’s a great opportunity,” he observed. “I’ve had a long relationship with Reid, and we share a similar respect for color correction. I like the people at Filmworkers and the support they give to their artists. They are a perfect ally.”
“Color correction, for me, is a very iterative process,” he said. “It’s about interpreting the thinking of the creative team and interpreting what was captured on the set, and turning it into something people want to see on screen. In the best scenario, it goes beyond what anyone hoped or imagined.”
Leffel complements a talent staff at Filmworkers that includes senior colorists Michael Mazur and Fred Keller, and colorists Matt Harger and Jeff Altman.
Oscar-winning visual effects and creative content studio Framestore has promoted Christine Cattano to executive producer of its Virtual Reality Studio in New York from her previous position of producer. In the new role, Cattano will continue to work directly alongside the department’s founder, executive creative director Mike Woods. She will continue to serve as a primary client liaison and will oversee a growing team in response to rapid project expansion within the department. Accompanying the promotion and department growth, Framestore has also brought on Collin Walters and Ron Fosner as recruiters within the VR studio.
Framestore’s VR studio opened its doors last April after the success of the “Ascend the Wall” activation for HBO’s Game of Thrones at SXSWi. Since then, the studio launched pioneering projects across Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR that brought together talent from many of Framestore’s practice areas. Highlights include Merrell’s “Trailscape,” the first-ever commercial “walk around” use of virtual reality that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival; a tour of the spaceship in Christopher Nolan’s film Interstellar; “The Teleporter” for Marriott Hotels; and the “Volvo Reality” app to test-drive the auto brand’s XC90 vehicle.
In her previous role at Framestore, Cattano served as a production lead for all digital and integrated projects. Before joining Framestore, Cattano was sr. producer at marketing agency Campfire, where she handled production for transmedia initiatives across multiple platforms, including digital, experiential, social and PR. With extensive experience managing non-traditional projects, she played an integral role in creating campaigns for brands such as National Geographic Channel, HBO and Harley Davidson.
Formosa Group has formally launched Formosa Villa, its commercial/branded entertainment division, and brought on board mixer John Bolen and executive producer Lauren Cascio. Bolen comes to Formosa Villa from PLAY with more than two decades of experience in postproduction sound, working with such agencies as TBWA\Chiat\Day, Media Arts Lab, 72andSunny, Venables Bell & Partners, Wieden+Kennedy, Deutsch, Vitro and David&Goliath. Formosa Group is housed at the newly renovated Formosa Santa Monica facility.
With a degree in recording and music from Johns Hopkins Peabody Conservatory, Bolen began his career at Virginia-based Roland House. He spent eight years there, mixing long form projects for major broadcast clients including PBS, Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel and National Geographic. In 1999, John accepted an offer to move to Los Angeles to work at Eleven Sound in Santa Monica, where he found his love for commercials. Shortly after, in 2003 he opened PLAY, where he spent the next 12 years.
Formosa Group opened its Santa Monica location in September 2014 in the former space of POP Sound. The launch of Formosa Villa and the arrival of John Bolen coincide, and mark the completion of an extensive renovation to the 17,000 square foot Formosa Santa Monica facility. Robert C. Rosenthal is president/COO of Formosa Group.
Fuhu, Inc., the creator of the nabi tablet, the first Android tablet built for kids, and an innovator in technology for kids and families, has hired Rob Palmer as its new chief creative officer. Palmer has led teams at Wieden+Kennedy, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, and most recently Razorfish in developing and orchestrating campaigns for brands such as Apple, Coca-Cola, ESPN and Ebay. At Fuhu, he will be developing and overseeing the creative vision and strategy as well as building a high-caliber internal advertising agency designed to support the company’s growth.
Palmer’s work has contributed to a number of notable advertising campaigns such as Tiger Woods “Hackeysack 2” and Nike’s “What are you getting ready for.” He launched iMac Colors within “Think Different,” “Videogame” for Coca-Cola, and ESPN’s “This is SportsCenter” which even became a Harvard Case Study. His work has garnered awards including Cannes Lions, CLIOs, and One Show Pencils. He also has an Emmy and the MTV Moonman.
Palmer will build an internal agency that will look to transform the nabi brand into a household name. From product specific creative executions to bigger Fuhu branded initiatives, Palmer will lead both traditional and digital advertising strategy.
Pulse Films has named Sarah Park to serve as executive producer: music videos, a move that will further bolster the U.S. arm of the global studio. Having worked in a freelance capacity with Pulse for a number of years, Park has to her credit work for Vitalic, the video for the track “Stamina” subsequently won ‘Best Music Video Award’ at SXSW, while her production of J. Cole’s “She Knows” with Pulse director Sam Pilling secured a prestigious screening at Raindance Film Festival as well as a Best Urban Video – International award at the UK Music Video Awards 2014.
Park will be responsible for nurturing Pulse’s portfolio of directors, matching talent with artists and bands to deliver content that pushes boundaries and allows both parties to explore their creativity to the maximum.
“Pulse’s commitment to innovation and their multi-disciplinary, integrated approach with consistent cross-over between sectors is something that really appealed to me,” said Park. “In this role, I want to both develop new talent, and cross talent over - getting directors with experience in the fields of film, commercials, art and tech to turn their skills to the genre of music, producing videos that will transform what we have come to expect from the medium.”
Describing the music video space as “becoming an increasingly saturated market,” Park noted that “elements like interactivity will be a key focus for the future, producing content that engages the viewer on multiple levels. Within such a competitive landscape these technological advances will be key to ensuring music videos continue to have immense relevance within our culture.”
Park will seek to further widen the genres Pulse work within, with a fine balance between indie/underground artists and those considered more mainstream.
Based in the L.A. office, Park will work alongside Kira Carstensen, Pulse president of commercials and music videos, to continue to evolve the company’s musical output.
Citizen Pictures has promoted three longtime employees to VP status. Tim McOsker takes the role of VP of production and development after helming development since 2013 in addition to serving as executive producer. McOsker is an EP of the twice Emmy-nominated series “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” as well as “The Real Girl’s Kitchen,” and “Guy’s Family Reunion” (which won a Daytime Emmy). In addition to his work on a diverse portfolio of shows since joining Citizen in 2006, McOsker was an EP for Food Network’s “Unwrapped”.
Operations manager Josh Dirmish has been named VP of post production and operations, managing Citizen’s growth with the addition of two new series in 2015. At Citizen, Dirmish has assured that the technology and facility evolve with the company portfolio, including several post-production system upgrades and equipment adds. Prior to Citizen, he was post production manager for High Noon Entertainment, and his credits include work for Food Network, Cooking Channel, Destination America, Starz, and Discovery Channel.
Dustin Astrom has been promoted to VP of business affairs and finance. Astrom has managed financial operations for Citizen since 2006, and grew to successfully guide the company in new client, network, and vendor business affairs.
Live-action director, creative director and editor Eric Anderson has joined MPC Creative, the content production division of MPC, as creative director. Anderson, who joins from LOGAN, is a two-time Emmy Award winner for his opening title sequence work on the series “Dexter” and “Six Feet Under.”
After earning a BFA in film and interdisciplinary studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Anderson quickly found success forming Pachyderm Studio where he handled many iconic ’90s alt-rock albums, notably Nirvana’s “In Utero,” PJ Harvey’s “Rid of Me,” and Soul Asylum’s multi-platinum “Grave Dancers Union.” From music, Anderson transitioned to editing and creative directing at Digital Kitchen where he enjoyed a 12-year tenure. He first worked in that company’s Seattle operation before setting up its Chicago shop.
Anderson’s interest in the entertainment and advertising industry brought him to Los Angeles. He is currently Governor of the Motion + Title Design peer group for the Primetime Emmy Awards at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Among his credits, Anderson has worked on a number of opening titles for feature films from the “Green Lantern” to HBO’s “Banksy does New York” as well as Ilya Naishuller’s upcoming movie “Hardcore.” His commercial work includes the charming Adobe “Echosign” spot, which was captured entirely in-camera, and campaigns for brands such as Target, Bud Light, KOHLER, Coors, and Nike.
Bicoastal music and sound design shop Squeak E. Clean has brought composer, producer and musician Rob Barbato on board its L.A. office as associate creative director.
Barbato has toured and recorded as a side man of the critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Cass McCombs, as well as being a member of the seminal UK post-punk band The Fall. Barbato has produced records for artist such as Bleached, Kevin Morby and La Sera and he’s composed music for Nickelodeons Sanjay and Craig and IFC’s Maron.
Prior to joining Squeak E Clean, Barbato was an in-house composer at Black Iris Music where he arranged “Beautiful Dreamer” for Canon’s “Inspired” spot, via Grey New York, which garnered an Emmy and Silver Lion. Barbato‘s commercial portfolio also includes original compositions for Target, Nike, Toyota, and Google.
Independent ad agency Odysseus Arms has hired Eric Dunn to serve in the newly created role of managing director. He will be responsible for expanding the operation, refining client services and steering digital architecture.
Dunn is a 15-year advertising and media executive with a broad range of brand and business development expertise across a variety of industries, including auto, hospitality, alcohol/spirits, luxury real estate and e-commerce. He joins from San Francisco-based ad agency Duncan/Channon, where he was most recently group account director. During his tenure, Dunn was instrumental in navigating efforts for StubHub, the world’s largest secondary ticket marketplace, as it grappled with Ticketmaster and over 150 other competitors. Dunn helped expand the business from creative projects to a holistic scope including media buying and planning, digital direct response, international campaign development, and “always on” studio support.
Dunn’s experience leading the Kona Brewing account while at Duncan/Channon will help Odysseus Arms further develop its wine and spirit business. Additionally, his expertise in the hospitality sector gained from driving accounts such as Tahoe South, Palms Resort and the Ritz Carlton Residences--combined with Odysseus Arms co-founder Franklin Tipton’s experience leading world-class work for Tourism Victoria in Australia--will help the agency offer premium, international-level strategic services.
“Eric will help us continue to rewrite the ad agency rulebook,” added Odysseus Arms’ co-founder Libby Brockhoff. “We achieved the distinction of a Top 3 brand on Facebook (highest engagement across the entire platform) for Carlo Rossi using a new consumer listening technique. Eric will help us offer these proprietary services on a global scale.”
