Yard Dog TV has signed award-winning commercial director Matthias Berndt for representation in the U.S. Berndt is known internationally for his automotive and visual storytelling work for such clients as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Jeep, BMW, Nissan, Giorgio Armani and Gucci, to name a few.
Berndt shoots for brands and ad agencies all over the world: in the African Desert, downtown Los Angeles and amid the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. “I have climbed high walls and dived deep into oceans. Nothing beats the feeling when the camera is rolling and all the prep pays off and visual magic unfolds in front of the lens,” he said, describing why he will go the extra mile to get the right shot.
“Matthias’s passion for his work has comes through in each conversation I have had with him,” said Beth Pearson, partner/executive producer at Yard Dog TV, which is a woman-owned and certified production company.
Joe Picirillo, also partner and EP at the company, added, “I have followed Matthias’s career for years and have always been inspired by his work. We connected instantly once we met.”
Berndt–who was earlier repped in the American ad market by Native Content–has worked as a CG artist and editor, bringing those disciplines to his directorial endeavors. He uses VFX to push the visual boundaries and has worked with VFX houses worldwide–creating dinosaurs, LED backgrounds and a plethora of photorealistic car work.
But his visual storytelling is driven by more. “As a director I love to work with emotions to give a deeper impact to the scene. Be it behind the camera, working with actors, or crafting the post and VFX, creating a momentum that moves the audience is a constant driving force for me,“ Berndt explained.
Regarding his new roost, Berndt is putting stock in the energy and passion he sees in Pearson and Picirillo. “As a director you work with a team around you. Uniting all that talent to bring out the perfect moment and creating that magical second is one of the most rewarding things for me,” said Berndt.
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 XRโs 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 heโs 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.
Rossanoโs 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 companyโs creative talent network. Rossanoโs career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that companyโs 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