Yacht Club, a full-service production company with in-house VFX and CGI based in Brooklyn, has announced its new US sales lineup: Sharon Lew of Lew & Co handles East Coast sales; Dave Campbell of Rogue Rep covers the West Coast; and Jack Reed of Jack Reed Reps covers the South and Texas. The Yacht Club roster is comprised of Director/DP Jake Ladehoff (Storytelling, Lifestyle, Docu-style) and Director/DP/Editor Matt Morgan (Tabletop, Food, Health & Beauty), along with directors Michael Lukk Litwak (Comedy, Dialogue) and Fidel Ruiz Healy (Visual, Comedy, Dialogue), who are non-exclusive.
Founded in 2014 by four partners with deep experience in technical filmmaking – EP Joe DePasquale, director Ladehoff, director/editor Morgan, and Head of Post Zach Law – Yacht Club appeals to agencies and clients seeking the turnkey solutions afforded by the company’s vast in-house resources. In addition to its roster of talent, Yacht Club houses motion graphics, VFX, and CGI capabilities, a shooting kitchen, camera and lighting gear, props library, edit suites, and CGI work stations.
“We’re excited to have Dave, Sharon, and Jack joining our team,” said DePasquale. “The past 18 months have seen a lot of growth for Yacht Club, and we’re eager to get more eyes on our work, particularly on the West Coast and in the South, where we’ve had little exposure. Up to this point, our growth has been largely organic and word-of-mouth-based, so we’re eager to take a more aggressive sales approach.”
2021 has seen Yacht Club come into its own, winning repeat Burger King business, via HogarthWW (production agency) and their WPP cohort DAVID Miami (creative), shooting 4 Morgan-directed spots since July. The company also followed up its previous brand campaign for Gillette with the King C. Gillette 2022 Campaign via agency Circus Maximus. That, too, was directed by Morgan, who also shot stills for the campaign.
Ladehoff, meanwhile, directed, shot, and shot stills for Avocado Green Brands’ “Natural as Love” campaign. Yacht Club has partnered with that client on a number of projects in the past 18 months. This year, Ladehoff also directed spots for pharmaceutical clients Abbott and GSK.
“With our full-service capabilities and hands-on directors, Yacht Club has always taken a modern approach to production centered around efficiency and maximizing the creative potential of a concept,” DePasquale added. “Our infrastructure was able to prove itself during the time of COVID restrictions — working with small teams and short timelines is not foreign to us. Dave, Sharon, and Jack have a great understanding of our model, and we're looking forward to them helping us get our work in front of a wider range of producers and creatives.”
The steady flow of business prompted the partners to bring a new producer on staff: Kristina Rathjen, formerly production manager at Assembly/MacGuffin, where she concentrated on live action and tabletop productions, both of which are integral to the storytelling, docu-style, and product-driven work for which Yacht Club is becoming known.
“We’re easygoing and easy to work with,” DePasquale concluded, “Our partners’ backgrounds in features and spots inform our hands-on approach. We love to experiment with techniques and technology, taking advantage of our in-house resources to maximize the on-screen dollars, while remaining flexible, scalable, and creative.”
