Expands Space, Adds To Roster.
By SANDRA GARCIA
Visual effects shop BLiNK.fx, New York, has merged with its sister postproduction company Fuzion Creative Post, New York, to form one company that will operate under the BLiNK.fx moniker. The newly consolidated entity will be headed by creative director/general manager Paul Agid, who held the same position at BLiNK. fx before the merger. BLiNK.fx has also added director of CGI Patricia Heard-Greene, Henry artist Mark Repasky, Hal artist and designer Jim Kottaras, designer/director Daniel Garcia and CG animator Peter Hamilton.
MTI/The Image Group, the New York-based parent company to both BLiNK.fx and Fuzion, ultimately made the decision to pool the two companies’ creative resources. "We were doing more and more broadcast design work as the year progressed, and having a sister company with a similar equipment complement didn’t make sense anymore," explained Agid.
BliNK.fx had been working primarily with commercial directors and advertising agencies on the third floor of its midtown Manhattan space, while Fuzion had been focusing on broadcast networks and design firms on the sixth floor of the same building. Now the companies have combined operations on the sixth floor.
Henry artist Repasky has come to BLiNK.fx from Broadway Video, New York, where he worked for 12 years as a visual effects designer (most recently on the Henry V8). His latest clients include Time-Warner, Comedy Central and Showtime. Repasky is also skilled at online finishing, and editing on the Avid.
Heard-Greene has joined BLiNK.fx as its director of CGI. Previously, she was a CGI animator at Black Logic, New York, working on jobs for McCann-Erickson, Grey Advertising, and jordanmcgrathcaseandpartners, all based in New York. Before Black Logic, Heard-Greene was employed at Click 3X, New York, for two years.
Hal artist and designer Kottaras has worked in the broadcast design arena as a freelancer for several years and had frequently collaborated with BLiNK.fx and Fuzion. Kottaras joined Fuzion in April of this year and is the only member of Fuzion’s creative staff left after the merger. He has recently worked on projects for Showtime and HBO. Since joining BLiNK.fx, Kottaras has been instrumental in the redesign of the Wisdom Channel Network launch.
Garcia has worked as a freelance designer/director, creating commercials, network IDs and bumpers for clients such as MTV, DDB Needham, New York (now DDB) and HBO.
CG animator Hamilton was hired after doing a summer internship at BLiNK.fx. In August, Hamilton graduated from Springfield College, Springfield, Mass., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and computer graphics.
BLiNK.fx’s roster includes designer and AfterEffects artist Bran Dougherty-Johnson, Inferno artists Nathan Walker and Toni DiMauro, executive producer Evan Sanyour, producer Helen Troy and director of operations Tommy Shay. The company has two Infernos, a Henry and a Hal Express, two AfterEffects suites and four SGI-based 3-D workstations running Alias/Maya and Softimage. BLiNK.fx is represented by New York-based Annie Cotton.
MTI/The Image Group is also parent to Image Midtown Studios, Image Group Post, Image Group Studios, Image Editorial, Image Group Entertainment, Image Penn Studios and Image Production Center, all in New York.
Jury Presidents Named For The One Show 2025
The One Club for Creativity has announced the global creatives from around the world who will serve as jury presidents for The One Show 2025.
These creatives will lead judging for each discipline, and have a vote on the work.
Confirmed One Show 2025 Jury presidents, by discipline, are as follows:
--Brand-Side/In-House: David Lee, CCO, Squarespace, New York
--Branded Entertainment: Malcolm Poynton, Global CCO, Cheil Worldwide, London
--Creative Use of Data, Creative Use of Technology: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, CCO, FCB Canada, Toronto
--Cultural Driver: Bianca Guimaraes, partner, ECD, Mischief, New York
--Design: Liza Enebeis, creative director, partner, Studio Dumbar/DEPT®, Rotterdam
--Direct Marketing: Vicki Maguire, CCO, Havas London
--Film & Video: Javier Campopiano, global CCO, McCann Worldgroup & McCann Global, Madrid
--Gaming: Taj Reid, global chief experience officer, US CCO, Edelman, New York
--Integrated, Experiential & Immersive: Chris Beresford-Hill, worldwide CCO, BBDO New York
--Fusion Pencil: Walter T. Geer III, CCO, Innovation North America, VML, New York
--Green Pencil: Barbara Humphries, ECD, The Monkeys, Sydney
--Health & Wellness, Pharma: Wendy Lund, chief client officer, WPP, New York
--IP & Product Design: Ronald Ng, global CCO, MRM, New York
--Moving Image Craft & Production: Irene Kugelmann, chief creative officer, DDB Group of Companies Germany, Berlin
--Music & Sound Craft: Joel Simon, CCO, JSM Music, New York
--Out of Home, Print & Promotional: Kainaz Karmakar, CCO, Ogilvy India, Mumbai
--Public Relations: Patricia Ávila, regional director for Latin America, Ágora, São Paulo
--Radio... Read More