Director Rick Knief, formerly of Crossroads Films, bicoastal and Chicago, has joined Nola Pictures
Director Rick Knief, formerly of Crossroads Films, bicoastal and Chicago, has joined Nola Pictures, a recently formed New York-based production house headed by executive producer Charlie Curran. Knief comes aboard a Nola directorial roster that includes Kim Dempster, Jerry Simpson and Kenny Morrison….The directorial duo Aggressive–a.k.a. Dan Shapiro and Alex Topaller–has signed with New York-headquartered commercial production house Zero 2 Sixty for exclusive representation….Editor Damion Clayton has joined bicoastal Spot Welders. Clayton, who will work out of the company’s New York office, comes over from Bikini Edit, New York….New York-based Chemistry has added editor Hannah Neufeld. She spent the past five years at wild(child) Editorial, New York….
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