• Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023
Jessica Hafford joins RSA Films Photo & Art
Jessica Hafford
NEW YORK -- 

Ridley Scott Creative Group’s RSA Films Photo & Art has appointed Jessica Hafford as sr. agent/executive producer for the Americas. The move builds on the success of the group’s recent expansions with the launch of an unscripted division led by Dominic Crossley-Holland and the appointment of Bethany Papenbrock as managing director, EU based in the group’s Amsterdam offices. 

Hafford’s professional photography career began as photo producer and editor at Details Magazine, then on to freelancing positions as art buyer and producer at BBH, Kenneth Cole, H&M and more. She moved on to a position as executive producer at M+A Worldwide before setting up her own production service company, Random Productions Inc. Hafford’s work has amassed her a roster of clients over the years, including Cover Girl, Dior Homme, Elle Magazine, H. Stern, Harper’s Bazaar International, Luomo, Vogue Magazine, Izod, Juicy Couture, Jil Sander, Lancome, Shiseido, Tag Heuer, Tanqueray, W Magazine, and Vogue International. 

“RSA Films Photo and Art has such a strong and creative roster,” Hafford said. “I feel extremely fortunate to work amongst such talented people. I hope my years of experience working on the client, creative and production sides of the industry give me the 360-degree views needed to support, ideate and to help drive the photography division forward. I am also looking forward to creative collaborations with both the artists and all the teams that make up the Ridley Scott Creative Group.” 

Susie Babchick, head of photo and art, commented, “I am delighted to be working with Jessica. Her experience and expertise are exactly what is needed to further promote and develop the photography division in the U.S. and across the Americas. We’re excited to build on the campaigns produced so far, which have been stand-alone print campaigns, as well as photography that is commissioned and produced alongside RSA Films directors’ productions.”

  • Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023
Rodeo Show adds EP Katie Walker
Katie Walker
VENICE, Calif. -- 

Content development and production company Rodeo Show has brought Katie Walker on board as executive producer. Walker has spent years as a producer of award-winning commercials and campaigns for global brands including Stella Artois, AT&T, Samsung, GE, Kellogg’s, ESPN and Starbucks. She brings to Rodeo Show a background in branding and identity as well as a keen eye for storytelling and talent acquisition.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Katie at various postings for more than 20 years,” said Rodeo Show EP Mike Brady. “She is smart, funny, and consistently excellent. Her work ethic is fantastic, and her ideas are always thoughtful and insightful.”

“I’m excited to join Rodeo Show and work with my old friends Mike and Hani [Selim, EP/managing director],” adds Walker from her home in Chicago. “I love the way they think about and approach each production, especially when a project is challenging. Their sensibilities match my own and I truly believe we can pull off the impossible when our creative minds come together on behalf of a director and the creative vision.”

Walker most recently served as SVP, EP/head of integrated television production for Edelman. At Edelman, Walker oversaw the Kellogg’s account, which she recalled, “never had fewer than a dozen projects in production at any given moment.” These included projects as varied as executing brand partnerships between Special K and actress Taraji P. Henson, launching a pop- up restaurant for Pringles in Times Square, and creating an edible playable record for Frosted Flakes. “With Edelman being totally rooted in earned media, we had to ensure that every project was of-the-moment and culturally relevant,” recalls Walker. 

Prior to that, Walker brought her producing talents to Chicago’s TRIS3CT, where she was Head of Production for the independent ad agency. There, she oversaw and produced content for the Chicago Bears, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Conagra Foods, Kimberly Clark, Feeding America, and many others. In addition, Walker ran TRIS3CT’s in-house full-service production studio, Jerry Rig, marrying her previous wealth of experience in the advertising and production worlds. 

Previous experiences saw Walker managing the Midwest region as production director for Razorfish, which included creating content to launch AT&T’s flagship store, managing their motion team, and producing an interactive event around the “Use Me, Leave Me” fleet of shareable bikes at SXSW. Walker also served as EP for Mekanism in New York, and before that, as producer for Believe Media’s L.A. team. 

“Rodeo Show has an exciting mix of up-and-comers and more established directors, whose work runs the gamut from docu-style, comedy, performance, music video, emotional storytelling, and beyond,” noted Walker. “As a woman-owned and led production company, we can be very purposeful in working with a diverse and inclusive group of creatives, both in terms of their backgrounds and styles, and mentoring them and offering the proper resources to help them share their unique voices and grow their careers.”

  • Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Darko Silajdžić departs DDB Prague for Imminent opportunity
PRAGUE -- 

After 11 years at the agency, Darko Silajdžić is leaving his post as executive group chairman of DDB Prague. His next steps lead to fashion and culture as Silajdžić heads a shop which had been in the DDB Europe network but is now going independent. The new venture has been dubbed Imminent, formerly DDB Fresh. Launched in September 2022, DDB Fresh focused on the area of innovative sustainable fashion for clients from non-fashion industries. DDB Fresh became indie shop Imminent on February 1.

“Sometimes you have to take a step that you wouldn’t have expected a few months ago, but in many ways is the best possible,” explained Silajdžić, adding, “It just proves that the DDB Unexpected Works philosophy really works.” 

Imminent will expand its activities in addition to fashion to “objects of culture” in the broader sense of the word. It will continue to work closely with DDB, both on ongoing projects and on acquiring new orders. Together with Silajdžić, the existing team headed by Veronika Babkovova, co-founder of the project, is moving to Imminent.

Under Silajdžić’s leadership, DDB Prague experienced a successful run. The agency almost tripled in number of employees and expanded its operations to include DDB FTW (a global gaming agency), DDB Fresh and production company Fame Factory.

Silajdžić’s departure does not disrupt the continuity of leadership at DDB Prague. Silajdžić served as CEO before handing over the management of the Prague branch to Jan Faflik two years ago. DDB FTW continues to be led by CEO Gaving Cheng. “From the point of view of the functioning of the agency, nothing has changed,” said Faflík, “We will of course miss Darko with his experience and his enthusiasm, but he has built strong foundations on which it is a pleasure to build. I look forward to our new partnership.”

  • Friday, Feb. 3, 2023
The Mill makes key additions to NY and London color teams
Elodie Ichter
NEW YORK -- 

The Mill, a Technicolor Creative Studio, has hired Katie Dymmock as a colorist in London, and Kenya Agunloye and Elodie Ichter, respectively, as producer and sr. colorist in New York.

As the global color network continues to expand, the three will focus on growth opportunities and the development of The Mill’s color offering. They will be part of the existing international team of colorists’ mission of “bringing creative visions to life.”

Dymmock is an award-winning colorist who has spent the previous four years forging her craft at Coffee & TV. In that time, she has quickly established herself, winning "Best new Colorist" at the Kinsale Shark awards. With a background in photography and a degree in visual effects, Dymmock had her love of image manipulation lead her to the world of grading where she strives for outstanding use of color in storytelling. Known for her prowess in fashion and beauty grading, her diverse portfolio of work extends to brands such as Adidas, Dior, Lacoste, Nike, Monlcer, Mercedes, Sky and Charlotte Tilbury.

Mill London colorists, Philip Hambi and Peter Oppersdroff, are enthused over Dymmock's addition to the team. Hambi said, “It's incredibly exciting to have someone join the team with so much drive and enthusiasm to achieve great things. Her diverse skillset, mature palette and nuanced touch will really complement what we already have going on and help us achieve our ambitions here at the Mill.” Oppersdroff added, “Creativity and collaboration are the foundations on which this department is built and Katie fits into that philosophy perfectly. We relished the challenge of reigniting the Color spark at The Mill together.”

Ichter was born and raised in France, She studied cinema at ESRA, an international film school in Paris. From there, her career began at Éclair Laboratoire, where she scanned film negatives right when the digital world was born in the early 2000s. After working as a color assist in France for companies such as Éclair and Duboi, Ichter made the move to London where she worked at Deluxe. Later, Ichter made her way across the Atlantic to Hollywood in 2010 at Efilm, where she officially began color grading. Prior to joining The Mill, Ichter also spent time at Harbor and Picture Shop.

Throughout her career, Ichter has worked on high-profile films, including Chloé Zhao’s Academy Award-winning Nomadland, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Her roster of collaborations features a lineup including Quentin Tarantino, Ben Affleck, Catherine Hardwicke, Andy Serkis and Nadia Hallgren. Ichter looks forward to joining The Mill to grow as a commercial colorist. The New York studio offers the perfect environment for her to develop her skillset in the advertising world and work with The Mill’s list of brands to bring their color ideas to life.

Agunloye brings experience from working in broadcast, film and digital media. After years of working as an agency producer and becoming adept in bidding, budgeting, managing shoot schedules and pre and postproduction teams, she’s brought her talents to The Mill as a color producer.

Alex Lubrano, executive producer for color, who joined The Mill in October 2022, commented, “I am thrilled to announce our newest members! It’s been a dream of mine to build a team, but It’s been personally special for me because it’s a full female color team in the New York studio. We’re so excited to work and continue to grow. Big appreciation to Angela Lupo [The Mill NY EP] for this opportunity, as well as for Ashley Woods, colorist, and Amonnie Nicolas, color assist.”

  • Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023
Dan Keefe named head of We Are Social Studios 
Dan Keefe
LONDON -- 

Global socially-led creative agency We Are Social has appointed Dan Keefe as head of its in-house production division, We Are Social Studios in London. 

Leading a team of six, Keefe will focus on championing creative excellence and pushing filmmaking boundaries in social-first production at We Are Social Studios.

In 2022, its most successful year to date, the division produced campaigns for both its own clients and those of We Are Social, including Meta, McCain’s and Pepsi. Keefe will be tasked with building on this success by both strengthening relationships with the agency’s clients and growing the business beyond the existing We Are Social roster. 

He will be responsible for delivering the agency’s production commitments in its 2023 Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Charter for Change, including ensuring fair representation of talent both on and off screen, and that at least one in three directors on projects are from an underrepresented group. Keefe will report to Lucy Doubleday, We Are Social’s managing partner.

Keefe joins We Are Social Studios from Coffee & TV where he was executive producer. Here, he developed the company’s evolution from a VFX company to an all-round creative studio, with clients including FOX, Nando’s and Vodafone. Prior to this, he co-founded BBH’s in-house production division Black Sheep Studios and led it to both financial and reputational success. Black Sheep Studios won a BAFTA for the short film ‘Home’ in 2017, and its work has won Cannes Lions, D&AD Pencils and UKMVA awards.

We Are Social Studios is an award-winning production company set up in 2018 in response to the increasing amount of social first production being produced for We Are Social’s clients. Keefe replaces Jo Lumb, co-founder of We Are Social Studios, who left the company at the end of 2022. 

Keefe commented: “Brands are increasingly opting for a more agile production model and this is something We Are Social Studios is perfectly placed to deliver. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into this amazing opportunity to lead a business that’s already got great momentum, working with and building upon an impressive roster of brands who want world class, social-first production.”

  • Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023
Summer Griffiths to lead commercial division at Spark & Riot
Summer Griffiths
LOS ANGELES -- 

Summer Griffiths, an Emmy-nominated executive producer who has spent the last decade developing and producing television series, documentaries, podcasts, and branded partnerships for the likes of Snapchat, Google, L’Oréal, and Comcast, has joined Spark & Riot as EP. Reporting to Spark & Riot founder Ana de Diego, Griffiths will lead the commercial side of the female-powered content production and management studio.

As Spark & Riot continues to expand into film and television, the time was right to hire a leader to help steer its commercial division. “Summer’s production background and ‘can-do’ attitude make her the perfect fit for us,” said de Diego. “We’re still a startup in many ways so I need partners who are willing and able to get their hands dirty and help out wherever they’re needed. That’s Summer.”

Prior to Spark & Riot, Griffiths rose through the ranks at established entertainment companies including Bunim Murray Productions, Propagate Content, and The Content Group (now Asylum Entertainment Group). Most recently, she served as VP at Scale Productions, where she helped brands make their mark through strategic use of influencers and premium narrative storytelling. Fruits of her labor there included the Children’s & Family Emmy-nominated YouTube Kids’ series Tab Time, starring Tabitha Brown, as well as The Black Beauty Effect for Xfinity, a three-part docuseries capturing the current evolution, revolution, and disruption taking place within the beauty industry.

“Ana is doing something novel with Spark & Riot. She pours time and dedication into quality talent, holds nothing short of premium standards at every stage of the process, and prioritizes impact initiatives,” said Griffiths. “She’s built a company that I not only admire but aspire to take to new heights by expanding our network and reaching into untapped markets in need of premium storytelling with a white-glove experience.”

Relative to her new career chapter at Spark & Riot, Griffiths shared, “While there’s a lot of crossover from my experience in TV development and production, I’m excited to dive into the rapid waters of advertising on a global scale,” said Griffiths. “Spark & Riot grants access to cross continental collaboration, lending ample opportunity to garner and harness talent that we don’t tap into enough in the U.S. I’m enthusiastic to package premium storytelling, whether it’s in 30 seconds on the commercial side or 30 minutes within Spark & Riot’s blooming TV and film division.”

Spark & Riot manages a roster of 15 directors mostly based in Europe, who bring their soup-to-nuts creative mindset to the U.S. market. With every client and bid it procures, Spark & Riot carves out a portion of its team’s time and budget to shoot content for nonprofit organizations that have included Ukraine Express, Inside Out Writers (LA), Fundación Origen (Mexico), and Single Step (Bulgaria).

 

  • Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023
Ian Unterreiner named president of VisualCreatures
Ian Unterreiner
LOS ANGELES -- 

Ian Unterreiner has been appointed president and partner of VisualCreatures (VC), a virtual production studio recently acquired by the Russo brothers’ company, AGBO. (Anthony and Joe Russo’s directorial credits include Avengers: Endgame.) VC, which specializes in real-time applications in visual effects and animation, opened its new studio equipped with a motion capture enabled sound stage at AGBO’s downtown Los Angeles’ creative campus. 

Unterreiner’s appointment will push VC’s research and development deeper into virtual production workflows and AI solutions to provide AGBO and its production partners world-class visuals using efficient, state-of-the-art filmmaking techniques.  Unterreiner will report to AGBO and collaborate with VC co-founders Ryan McNeely and John Cranston on innovation, strategy and creative deployment.

“Ian joins our team with an abundance of thoughtful leadership and vision. His passion for forward thinking perfectly aligns with VC and AGBO’s common goal of making the very best work with the very best people. He will be an incredible partner on our continued path towards creating innovating workflows and game changing content,” said McNeely.

Unterreiner said, “Having spent 13 years at Zoic, whose life blood is innovation, joining Ryan, John and the AGBO team to advance virtual production efforts was a natural progression.  I’m both humbled and privileged to play a role in guiding VisualCreatures’ evolution, whose growth potential is immeasurable.” 

AGBO COO Nick Anglewicz said of Unterreiner, “He embodies the perfect balance of artist champion, futurist and business pragmatist. Ryan and John are animals of innovation and storytelling, especially on the frontier of virtual production. Having these capabilities in-house is a huge boom for AGBO’s creative process and slate, and a perfect complement to our business strategy.” 

Unterreiner brings deep business and creative strategy to the role with nearly two decades of postproduction experience having most recently served as EVP at Emmy-winning entertainment company Zoic Studios. While at Zoic, Unterreiner handled corporate strategy and studio oversight across the company’s Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver locations.

At Zoic Studios, he fused his wide breadth of visual effects and business development expertise to curate top creative talent and generate innovative methods that enhanced the company’s global VFX pipeline. Over his career, he has produced large scale projects in film and television for top studios including Netflix, Marvel, Paramount, Apple and Warner Brothers.  Unterreiner started his career assisting James Cameron during principal photography and postproduction of the feature film Titanic.

  • Friday, Jan. 27, 2023
Stephanie Crockett named president and CEO of Mower
Eric Mower (l) and Stephanie Crockett
SYRACUSE, NY -- 

Stephanie Crockett has been named president and CEO of independent marketing communications agency Mower. Crockett assumes the CEO title from Eric Mower, who becomes executive chairman of the agency that he has guided since 1968.

Crockett joined the agency 18 years ago and was named president and chief operating officer of the company in June 2021. Crockett, 49, is active in a number of professional, business and community organizations. She is immediate past-chairperson of the United Way of Central New York Board of Directors, a member of the CenterState CEO Board of Directors, the Women Presidents Organization and the National Advertising Review Board. It was recently announced she will receive the Central New York Sales & Marketing Executives 2023 Crystal Ball Award, an honor that Eric Mower received in 1984. A graduate of SUNY Geneseo, prior to joining Mower she had marketing roles at agencies and on the client side.

In August 2022, Eric Mower sold the company to a newly established employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). This announcement marks the most recent point in a long-in-the-making ownership transition and succession plan that began nearly 10 years ago when Eric Mower first considered an ESOP as an alternative to an outside sale.

“Mower continues to build on a 55-year heritage as an independent strategic creative resource for our clients. Eric created something unique -- an integrated communications firm producing award winning campaigns for an amazing list of clients,” Crockett said. “Our industry continues to evolve, and now as an ESOP, Mower is structured to flourish in this new environment. We have a spectacular team of professionals that produce results for the brands we represent.”

Mower is coming off of a very successful 2022. In recent months Mower was selected as the ANA Mid-Sized Agency of the Year.

“This announcement is further evidence of a carefully calculated transition for the agency. Stephanie Crockett is our time-tested and most evident candidate to head a group of strong and competent leaders at Mower for the future. She is a consummate professional that has my trust as well as the trust of our staff and our clients,” Eric Mower said.

The balance of the agency’s executive leadership team remains in place, including Doug Bean, vice chairman; Chris Steenstra, chief administrative officer; Cheryl Duggan, chief financial officer; Doug Kamp, chief creative officer; and Rick Lyke, EVP, managing director, public relations and public affairs.

  • Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023
Jane Tattersall to lead Toronto facilities of Picture Shop, Formosa Group
Jane Tattersall
LOS ANGELES -- 

Picture Shop and Formosa Group, Streamland Media’s picture and sound divisions, have formally announced that acclaimed and award-winning sound editor Jane Tattersall has been appointed managing director, Picture Shop, and sr. VP, Formosa Group, Toronto. Tattersall will draw on her vast industry experience and continue to expand and build upon the award-winning talent roster.

“Jane is one of the most respected creative talents in postproduction, and we are delighted she has taken the reins in Toronto,” said Picture Shop president Cara Sheppard.

“In addition to being a gifted supervising sound editor, she is an outstanding leader and successful entrepreneur,” added Formosa Group president and founder Bob Rosenthal. She embodies the excellence, experience and perspective that is critical to sustain success.”

Tattersall founded two successful post businesses, Tattersall Sound (1994) and Tattersall Sound & Picture (2004). She headed Alliance Atlantis’ Post company from 1999-2003, and Sim Post Toronto from 2016-2021. In 2021, she was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Business Award from Women in Film & TV Toronto and she has been on the Film Ontario board of directors since 2015.

Tattersall’s artistic credits include collaborations with renowned filmmakers such as Deepa Mehta and Sarah Polley. Her numerous awards include a BAFTA, three Emmy® nominations, 28 Golden Reel awards and nominations, and multiple Gemini, Genie, and CSA Awards.

“I am excited to lead the outstanding team we have here at Picture Shop and Formosa Group,” said Tattersall. “As industry expectations for creative excellence continue to increase, we are poised to meet and exceed those expectations with the finest talent in picture and sound, along with innovative use of technology and the global breadth of Streamland Media.”

  • Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023
Framestore's immersive team promotes Woolley, adds Agderian
Karl Woolley
LONDON & NEW YORK -- 

Framestore has promoted Karl Woolley to global head of immersive and hired executive producer Mandy Agderian.

Based in London, Woolley joined Framestore in 2005 and has been pivotal in the direction and growth of the Immersive team since its inception in 2013. His work includes the Kiyan Prince Foundation’s groundbreaking #LongLiveThePrince campaign which won the prestigious Cannes Lions Titanium Grand Prix last year, multi-award-winning VR experiences for Games of Thrones with HBO, Samsung’s “A Moon For All Mankind” and Lockheed Martin’s “Field Trip to Mars” to name a few. 

Woolley will be responsible for bringing the London and U.S. immersive teams together under his leadership, ensuring the most efficient approach to projects and growing the business globally. 

Lottie Cooper, global director of business operations, said, “Karl’s promotion recognizes the importance of this area of work for Framestore, as our industry and clients seek to find more ways to address their audiences and consumers through immersive platforms and experiences”.

Woolley said, “The award-winning projects that immersive have delivered are a testament to the hard-work, commitment, and innovation of our talented team. With an exciting year ahead, I look forward to leading us as we continue to push boundaries and further cement Framestore’s reputation in this space”. 

Bringing with her over 15 year’s experience across immersive, interactive and real time projects, EP Agderian joins from The Mill NY. Notable clients she has worked with include Meta, Facebook Gaming, Chanel, Showtime, HBO and NBCU. 

Agderian, who will be based in Framestore’s New York studio, said, “I’m looking forward to creating highly immersive experiences that explore technology in new ways, whilst contributing to the continued growth and success of Framestore’s immersive division”.

Framestore’s immersive team works with creative IP owners and brands to elevate the impact of their imagined worlds. Projects span virtual, physical and mixed realities, location-based entertainment and theme park rides and attractions.

The team recently received two VES Award nominations for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project for their work spanning theme park rides “Jumanji: The Adventure” for Merlin Entertainments and “Avengers: Quantum Encounter” for Disney, plus a THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement: Attraction for “Jurassic World Adventure” for Universal Studios. 

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