By KATHY DeSALVO
SOL designfx, a Santa Monica-based visual effects, design and CGI animation studio that is a sister company to Chicago-based postproduction facility Cutters, has added Jeff Heusser as visual effects director and Inferno/Flame artist.
Prior to joining SOL, Heusser spent a year working as senior digital compositor at Hollywood-based The Post Group; before this, he was director of digital production at Hollywood-based CIS (Composite Image Systems) for three years.
Among Heusser’s spot credits are "Ballgame" for Mervyn’s California via HMS, Minneapolis; "Mom" for Jeep via Bozell Worldwide, Southfield, Mich.; and "Fable" for Campbell’s Soup out of BBDO New York. At The Post Group, Heusser worked primarily on television and feature projects, such as FOX TV series That 70s Show, the NBC series Law and Order and the movie Wing Commander.
Heusser related when he came aboard CIS in ’95, the company was in the middle of transitioning into more feature work. There he worked on such movies as Dante’s Peak and Titanic (both of which were sub-contracted from Venice, Calif.-based effects house Digital Domain) in addition to The Parent Trap, George of the Jungle, Mafia! and Contact.
"One of the reasons I’ve come over to SOL," explained Heusser, "is that my time in L.A. has been spent at companies that work on a lot of different disciplines, films and TV shows. And I really like the commercials-first and foremost. While I like images of all sorts, the production schedule is a little better for me with commercials. When I look at my reel from my days in Chicago, it was commercials galore. Since then, it’s been diluted a bit."
Before he moved to the West Coast in ’95, Heusser worked as director of digital production at the now-defunct Editel/Chicago, where he was hired in ’90 to design and run what was then the first component digital (D1) edit suite in Chicago. Prior to Editel, Heusser served as a videotape editor at New York-based Charlex preceded by a four and a half year stint as director of postproduction at now defunct Instant Replay Video & Film Production, Cincinnati.
Heusser added he was looking forward to working with SOL partner Maribeth Emigh, who serves as effects director/ designer and Inferno/Flame artist. "Maribeth and I are really excited about this," said Heusser. "In my career, I’ve found my best work has always been when I’m working with a really strong designer in a team situation. I’m a compositor; if you give me a lot of elements, I’ll make them look right-bluescreen work, animation tracking, putting things into shots. But I’m not going to take a logo and give you a new logo design, whereas Maribeth is. So it’s a neat partnership between the two of us. I think we complement each other very well [in that] I’m more technical and she’s the artist."
Heusser joins a SOL designfx team comprised of Emigh; 3D animator Meher Gourjian and producer Michele Hubbs. SOL is represented on the West Coast by sales rep Yvette Lubinsky.
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