HSI Productions has signed director Alex Ogus for representation in the U.S. and U.K. He continues to be handled in Canada by Industry Films.
Ogus made his first major mark in 2007 when The Fight Network campaign he helmed for Cossette Communications-Marketing in Toronto won a Gold Lion at the Cannes International Advertising Festival. That same year he earned inclusion into SHOOT‘s New Directors Showcase and secured his first U.S. representation via Santa Monica-based TWC, his roost prior to now coming aboard the HSI roster.
The Fight Network package was comedy/dialogue fare, centering on an average guy’s idiotic quest to pick a fight with anyone in his immediate vicinity.
Ogus’ spot filmography also includes noted work for Xbox, Newcastle Brown Ale, Smarties, Time Warner and Media Markt. Among his most recent exploits at TWC was Asics’ “Ping Pong Ball Shoe” via The Vitro Agency for which nearly 3,000 ping pong balls–some colored white, others black and orange–were strung onto 784 strands of fishing line and lifted two feet off the ground by a pair of industrial air compresses and 24 air valves. They levitate to form a Gel-Blur 33 Asics shoe, underscoring a message scrawled on a nearby chalkboard which reads, “Gravity. Meet Your Archenemy.”
The help of aerospace engineer Ryan Wilson was enlisted for the project. He designed the rig facilitating the in-camera attainment of the desired visuals, which is a sharp departure from what would be the norm for such a job, intense post manipulation and effects. Both Ogus and the creative ensemble at Vitro agreed that catching the spirit of this commercial concept “live” was essential to the vision coming to life for the audience. The shoe became a work of art while handling the commerce side by positioning the GEL-Blur 33 as seemingly lighter than air.
The DP was Helge Gerull.
The Vitro team included executive creative director John Vitro, creative director K.T. Thayer, art directors Kevin Lukens, David Reyes and Ali Filsoof, copywriter Schuyler Vanden Bergh, and producer Mickey Strider.
Kamala Harris Receives Chairman’s Prize At NAACP Image Awards
Former Vice President Kamala Harris stepped on the NAACP Image Awards stage Saturday night with a sobering message, calling the civil rights organization a pillar of the Black community and urging people to stay resilient and hold onto their faith during the tenure of President Donald Trump.
"While we have no illusions about what we are up against in this chapter in our American story, this chapter will be written not simply by whoever occupies the oval office nor by the wealthiest among us," Harris said after receiving the NAACP's Chairman's Award. "The American story will be written by you. Written by us. By we the people."
The 56th annual Image Awards was held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in the Los Angeles area.
Harris, defeated by Trump in last year's presidential election, was the first woman and the first person of color to serve as vice president. She had previously been a U.S. senator from California and the state's attorney general.
In her first major public appearance since leaving office, Harris did not reference her election loss or Trump's actions since entering the Oval Office, although Trump mocked her earlier in the day at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Harris spoke about eternal vigilance, the price of liberty, staying alert, seeking the truth and America's future.
"Some see the flames on our horizons, the rising waters in our cities, the shadows gathering over our democracy and ask 'What do we do now?'" Harris said. "But we know exactly what to do, because we have done it before. And we will do it again. We use our power. We organize, mobilize. We educate. We advocate. Our power has never come from having an easy path."
Other winners of the Chairman's prize have included former... Read More