Acclaimed directing team Walter Robot (www.walterrobot.com) has joined Radar Studios as the Chicago-based company establishes operations in Los Angeles. Executive Producer Lisa Masseur says the off-beat directing duo of Bill Barminski and Christopher Louie are a dynamic addition to the company’s roster.
“I have been following the music video work of Walter Robot for the past couple of years and when we first decided to expand our roster their work immediately came to mind,” says Masseur. “Their eclectic mix of live-action, animation and effects is right up RADARʼs alley. We couldnʼt ask for a better team to launch our West Coast branch of RADAR.”
Walter Robot’s style is an eclectic mix of media – unique hand-drawn characters and weathered/archival-style footage may appear side-by-side with high end live-action sequences, 2-D animation and type.
Barminski and Louie have been collaborating under the Walter Robot moniker since 2006. Barminskiʼs background is as an artist and filmmaker. His paintings have appeared in the feature film “Horseplayer” and the TV show “Friends” and have been reviewed in such publications as FlashArt, Art in America, Art News, Visions Art Quarterly, New American Paintings and the LA Weekly. “Bill and Chris have a terrific music video and experimental film aesthetic and their work spans a variety of media,” says RADAR director/owner Don Hoeg. “They have an abundance of work and styles the agencies haven’t yet seen. Walter Robot will spark ideas for a host of unique campaigns and clients.”
Barminski has been teaching digital art and design at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television since 1998. Louie, originally a law student, took Barminski’s class in 2004 as a diversion and soon found himself in love with filmmaking.
Barminski recognized Louie’s innate talent and hired him to work on a project for the ongoing live show “Mortified.” During that project, Barminski and Louie conceived of Walter, the giant wooden robot who frequents the team’s work. That work includes the acclaimed Death Cab for Cutie music video “Grapevine Fires,” the 2009 Sundance selection “Joel Stein’s Completely Unfabricated Adventures” as well sequences for the 2010 Sundance documentary selection “Lucky” by director Jeffrey Blitz.
Louie says he and Barminski responded immediately to Radar’s work and aesthetic. “We’re looking forward to working with Lisa and everyone at RADAR here in L.A., in Chicago or wherever we find ourselves.” To view some of Walter Robotʼs work, just click on the link below: http://radar.simian.tv/presentation/reels/03/1/3237
ABOUT RADAR STUDIOS
Radar Studios (www.radarstudios.com) is a ten-year old Chicago-based artist-driven creative production company. Radar’s team of directors, designers, animators and editors approach each project by putting the creative first and employing a variety of techniques
– even inventing a few when necessary – to execute the idea. The result is work that is youthful, energetic, experimental and fun. Recent clients include McDonaldʼs, Maytag, Verifone and Hasbro. www.radarstudios.com