LAIKA/house, the commercial division of Portland-based LAIKA (formerly Vinton Studios), has promoted two key staffers: Kirk Kelley and Jan Johnson. Director Kelley has been upped to creative director while Johnson, formerly head of 2D production, assumes the role of co-executive producer for all LAIKA/house productions spanning commercials and short films across all animation platforms.
Both execs will report to LAIKA/house president and executive producer Lourri Hammack. Kelley joined the studio in 1995 and since then has been supervising director of the shop’s iconic M&M’s campaign encompassing 50-plus commercials, including the noted “Star Wars” ad. His directorial credits include spot packages for such clients as Honda, Energizer, Nestle, Chili’s, Arby’s, Esure U.K., and Hostess.
Kelley’s reach extends beyond the spot arena. In ’01, his experimental short film Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) was released. The short, which meshes visual effects, and stop-motion and CG characters, garnered a Silver Award at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. Kelley also directed several episodes of the Emmy Award-winning stop-motion primetime series, The PJs, a co-production of the studio with Eddie Murphy Productions and Imagine Entertainment.
In his new creative director role, Kelley will provide creative leadership to LAIKA/house artists in all aspects of production. “The fun part of my job comes from watching the artistry of the new designers, directors and illustrators we’ve brought on board as it fuses with our rich history of character animation,” related Kelley.
As for Johnson, she had been executive producer of LAIKA/house’s 2D animation division since arriving in ’02 (when the studio was operating under the Vinton moniker). She previously served as executive producer at Celluloid Studios, a cel animation house, which Vinton subsequently acquired. Johnson brought extensive cel animation expertise to the Portland studio, complementing its established niche in stop motion and CG. She helped to grow the studio’s capacity in the cel realm, producing or supervising the production of more than 50 commercials and short films during her tenure.
In her new post, Johnson will partner with Hammack in overseeing all animation disciplines within the studio. “It’s a great opportunity,” said Johnson, “to embrace even more artists and techniques.”
LAIKA is owned by Phil Knight, chairman and co-founder of Nike. The studio was rebranded as LAIKA in the summer of ’05, when it absorbed Vinton Studios, an animation mainstay for more than 30 years. The company also maintains LAIKA Entertainment, which has two greenlit animated feature films in various stages of production. Coraline, based on the best selling children’s novel by Neil Gaiman, is being adapted for the screen and directed by Henry Selick. And Jack & Ben’s Animated Adventure, a story of brotherly love set in the animal kingdom, is being directed by Jorgen Klubien.
