Aardman has signed Finnish 2D director, illustrator and animator Åsa Lucander for work in the UK.
With 10 years of industry experience working in illustration, animation and graphic design both in the U.K. and Scandinavia, Lucander has a passion for hand rendered drawings and exploring textures and mediums. She has directed commercials for TV and online, with recent clients including British Gas, Channel 4, Virgin Media and Radio 4. She has also worked with BBC’s popular Science Club, as well as directed multiple short films. Her latest short, Lost Property, is currently on the festival circuit.
“Åsa’s animations are lively and playful, with humor that is sometimes dark, yet offbeat and liberating,” said Heather Wright, EP of Aardman Animations. “She nimbly blends music, authentic dialogue, film segments, hand drawn characters and stop-framed pupped in innovative ways.”
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More