Infusion Of Talent At Amber; Extra Juice
Amber Music has added composers Leo Sidran and Phil Mossman. Sidran produced the Oscar-winning song “Al Otro Lado Del Rio” from The Motorcycle Diaries. Mossman is a member of the group LCD Soundsystem. Both will be based in the New York office of Amber, which also maintains operations in London and Los Angeles….Audio post mixer Sonia Castro has joined Juice, the Santa Monica shop headed by owner/chief audio architect Alex Alba. Castro comes over from Santa Monica-based 48 Windows and prior to that was with AudioBanks, Santa Monica. She has mixed for assorted clients, including regional work for BMW, and campaigns for Jack in the Box and Carl’s Jr. Castro has mixed for the two latter advertisers over the past decade-plus….Bob Giammarco of audioEngine, New York and Phoenix, provided sound design and audio post mixing for a black-and-white PSA for the Men’s Anti-violence Network (an initiative of the Arizona Foundation for Women), directed and shot by Sergio Arguello of Suns Productions, Phoenix, via agency Cramer-Krasselt, Phoenix. In the spot, Phoenix Suns’ forward Brian Grant discusses the difference between the roughness encountered in a basketball game and that in a domestic violence situation. “A lot happens in a game,” says Grant as he practices shooting hoops, his movements echoing in an empty court. “It’s intense.” He walks right up to the camera and smacks it with the palm of his hand. The camera shakes and blurs, as we hear the thunderous sound of impending danger. When a player does it during a game, he gets a technical foul. “But when an abuser does it, they’re just getting started,” relates Grant. The PSA concludes with contact info for the Men’s Anti-violence network, a group of more than 100 business and community leaders dedicated to stopping–and increasing public awareness of–domestic violence…..Creative director/partner Dave Hodge of Finger Music, Venice, Calif.–who’s active in spots (i.e., Coca-Cola, Dodge)–is slated to play several tour dates in California, Texas, Washington and Oregon with indie rock band Broken Social Scene. This marks the second Broken Social Scene outing for Hodge, who hit the road with the band this past summer, appearing at European summer festivals, as well as in New York. Hodge, who plays trombone, will also be performing with Broken Social Scene’s supporting act, recording artist Feist, whose new album, Let It Die, is in stores now.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More