Los Angeles-based DUCK Studios has signed French-Swiss directing and art directing duo Ben & Julia. The duo, who run Ben & Julia Studios in Berlin, are multidisciplinary talents whose work spans mixing animations, shooting live footage, producing drawings, and manufacturing puppetry for commercials, virals, music videos and animations. Ben & Julia first joined forces in 2006. Prior to this, Julia spent time as an associate producer and graphic designer for MTV and as an art director for TV and press. Ben worked as a director, editor and VFX artist for various agencies in Paris….Toronto-based production house Brown has signed director Scott Otto Anderson. The up-and-coming Sydney-based filmmaker, artist and designer directs music videos, television and commercial programming. Recently Andersen completed a feature-length documentary entitled Hairtales which is currently on the festival circuit. His experience as a spot director spans such clients as MTV, Honda, Lexus, Canon and Cadbury while also directing the cult music show, Alchemy, on SBS TV in Sydney. He also directs music videos for popular bands and musicians including Lady Sovereign's “Those Were The Days.” Anderson is a founding member of the directing collective Family and in 2009 he formed the company Photoplay Films with long-time collaborator Oliver Lawrence. Anderson's work for Wateraid was recognized in 2006 with a Bronze Lion at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. He is repped by Saville Productions in the U.S. and Les Producers in France….Milla Stolte has joined goodness Mfg., a Trailer Park company, as director of strategy & planning, a newly created position at the agency. Stolte will oversee goodness' now combined planning and social media groups. Stolte spent the past two years at Tribal DDB N.Y. as head of planning & strategy across all accounts–Reebok, H&R Block, Disney, Nickelodeon, et al. She also led Tribal's social media arm, Radar. Prior to that, Stolte was a planner at Modernista!, focusing on accounts such as Hummer, Napster and Product (RED). Stolte is currently involved in several new business pitches for goodness, in addition to projects in development for LucasArts and Coda….
SUPERLATIVE Signs Director Claudia Abend For Spots and Branded Content
Latin American director/editor and documentary filmmaker Claudia Abend has joined SUPERLATIVE for her first U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content.
Abend's empathetic docu-style POV has garnered several international awards for the documentary films Hit (2008) and The Flower of Life (2018). Her spotmaking credits include such brands as Procter & Gamble, Nestle and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. SUPERLATIVE has already worked with Abend, together producing a new ad campaign for digital agency Tinuiti and The Honest Company, a consumer goods corporation featuring eco-minded products.
“We found Claudia through her poignant documentaries on the festival circuit,” said SUPERLATIVE creative manager Stefan Dezil. “We are excited about her textured narratives, emotional storytelling, and her powerhouse long-form storytelling abilities, currently on her third feature film. As SUPERLATIVE continues to build our brand after premiering our latest films at Sundance and SXSW, Claudia is the kind of multidimensional artist we are excited to partner with on branded content and beyond. Fluent in English and Spanish, her reel shows real prowess with infants, food and skin products, families both young and old. Great visual storytelling and inspirational doc work.”
Abend began her career in her native Uruguay, studying film and editing in college. “My dad would show me films like Citizen Kane,” she said. “I love cinema and became an editor. It was here that I learned all about communicating human emotion.”
From the get-go, Abend hit it big as a documentary director, teaming with Adrianna Loeff on Hit, a movie chronicling pop artists of Uruguayan music. Abend took home a Best Editing... Read More