People on the Move

Visual effects company Framestore has hired Guillaume Raffi as creative producer across its VR, Design and Labs departments in the L.A. office. 

Raffi’s experience spans producing entertainment and commercial content within video, graphic design and interactive development. Most recently he launched the L.A. office of Paris-based Nightshift Post. At Nightshift Raffi contributed to campaigns for Hennessy, Gucci, Nespresso and L’Oréal, and worked with Iconoclast’s We Are From LA on the award-winning, 24 hour music video for Pharrell Williams’ “Happy.”

Prior to that Raffi was executive producer at Psyop and producer at visual effects shop BUF in Paris for features (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Wong Kar Wai’s 2046, Oliver Stones’ Alexander), animated features (Luc Besson’s Arthur and the Invisibles), and commercials. Raffi worked closely with director Antoine Bardou-Jacquet, and Paranoid’s Thierry Poiraud and Francois Vogel, focusing on the U.S. market and music videos (including U2’s “Vertigo”).

Raffi also started the in-house post studio of Paranoid where he supervised campaigns for PlayStation, Nike, Verizon, Visa, Walmart, Cablevision and Electronic Arts, among others.

“I’m very excited to work amongst the industry pioneers at Framestore,” said Raffi. “Virtual reality and digital installations are some of the hottest topics in culture right now. Framestore has been doing design work since the ‘80s that I looked up to as a kid, including many of the James Bond title sequences.”

Framestore extended its Design Studio offering to Los Angeles earlier in the year and has already produced work for VW, Venice Architectural Biennale and Gatorade’s “Sports Fuel” campaign. Framestore VR Studio is one of the most prolific in the industry, with nearly 20 unique experiences and over 75 award titles including the Mobile Grand Prix at the 2016 Cannes International Festival of Creativity. Framestore’s experiential offering, Labs, won the first-ever Data Visualization Yellow Pencil at D&AD this year for Morgan Stanley’s “Digital Signage.”

“Guillaume joining Framestore marks a pivotal moment of growth and convergence for the company,” said James Razzall, sr. EP of Framestore’s Los Angeles office. “He comes equipped with the proper skillset, attitude and creativity to carry the job.”

Amanda Tibbits, executive producer at VOLT Studios, has been named company partner. Since joining the company as EP in 2014, Tibbits has been a vital part of every project and instrumental in developing the studio’s creative partnerships.

VOLT Studios offers creative production and post services including motion design, VFX, and finish, as well as color via Oscar Oboza in the Nice Shoes wing of the shop. Tibbits is involved in all projects, working closely with agencies and brands on campaigns of all sizes and scope. Among them, collaborations with Fallon for Arby’s, Carmichael Lynch and Subaru, mono and Life Cereal, Target, and Girls Empowerment for Sesame Street Workshop. She has also been instrumental in developing the company’s talent network.

Prior to joining VOLT Studios, Tibbits held key agency roles, most recently project manager at mono. As managing editorial producer at Fallon, Tibbits intensified her expertise in postproduction, overseeing the agencies in-house editorial studio. While at Campbell Mithun, she produced international productions from start to finish for beauty brands such as Tresemme, St Ives, Nexxus and Famous Footwear.

Tibbits’ connection to VOLT Studios’ founder Steve Medin and partner/COO Charlie Lach runs deep; the duo hired Tibbits in her very first industry job at Crash and Sue’s. She started as a receptionist and quickly found her calling as she assumed the role of account manager/producer. The trio kept in touch over the years, reconnecting at Pixel Farm where Tibbits was a producer for three years, and happily reuniting at VOLT Studios.

“With several stints together throughout our careers, I feel like I’ve been chasing her around for 20 years. I’ve finally caught her,” said Medin. “Amanda has always been my #1 EP, and I’m thrilled to have her as a partner.”

“I am excited to usher in this next step with VOLT Studios,” said Tibbits. “This is a company of people who have a strong background in the business of advertising, and who are also open to new approaches. I am surrounded by smart, driven, creative people who love to be inventive and make great things.”

Engine Group, a global marketing services network, announced the appointment of Aaron Dus to VP of strategy and innovation for Engine West. He will be reporting to Doug Troy, chief operating and financial officer, Engine West.
 
Based out of the company’s Los Angeles office, Dus will work with Engine’s West Coast agencies, including digitally led creative shop Deep Focus, entertainment and content marketing agency Trailer Park, full-service creative agency Art Machine, as well as the content creation and distribution offering Moment Studio. He will be charged with leading strategic direction and collaborative opportunities for these agencies and their existing clients, including YouTube, Neutrogena and the Los Angeles Rams. In addition, Dus will also work closely with Engine Group East’s chief strategy officer Jonathan Lum to drive integration and synergy across Engine US.
 
Dus joins Engine Group from Rosetta│Razorfish Global where, as associate partner and VP of strategic planning, he was responsible for leading the agency’s SWAT Team and overseeing strategic initiatives on clients like Samsung, MagicLeap, and Bolthouse Farms.
 
“Innovation that really makes an impact begins with the right strategy,” said Dus. “Engine is a network that has integration and strategy at its core. I’m excited to be working with such a strong team of leaders, helping to cross-pollinate their ideas and inspire them to think differently for clients.”
 
Dus has been recognized for his work with a number of awards. Most notably, he received the Gold David Ogilvy Award in the financial services category in 2011 for his work on Ameriprize Financial’s “More Within Reach” platform. Throughout his career he has worked with such brands as eBay, Walmart, MasterCard, and LEGO.

Susan Neuman has been named to serve in the newly created role of SVP, head of production, at Barkley, an independent agency in Kansas City.

“The creation of the role comes after a year of  supernova growth in our production department—not only in size, but the array of things we’re producing and kinds of companies we’re working with,” said Jason Elm, Barkley executive creative director. “Susan has already been instrumental in that growth, and she’s the right person to lead it going forward.”

In her previous role as VP, executive producer, Neuman worked  with Barkley leadership to revamp production protocols to support non-traditional marketing efforts. 

“I hate to see an amazing idea get killed because it’s not clear how to make it happen,” said Neuman. “In this new role, I’m even better positioned to push forward solutions.” 
 
Neuman joined Barkley in 2014 to head up production efforts for the International Dairy Queen account. Neuman previously served as VP/executive producer at Bernstein-Rein Advertising, another Kansas City independent, working on national broadcast and digital campaigns for Wal-Mart, Time Warner Cable, Hostess, Petsmart, McDonald’s and Ruby Tuesday, among others. Immediately before Barkley, she held a sr.  manager role on the client side with Applebee’s Marketing Communications team , on point with then-agency of record CP+B, to produce national broadcast work and other integrated marketing initiatives.