Alex Smith promoted to head of operations, becomes part of U.K. management team
Anita Nair Osborne has joined Amplify, the global creative agency specialising in experience and culture, as head of content production, working with clients including Airbnb, Epic Games, Google, Lego, Nike, PlayStation and Prime Video. Headquartered in London, Amplify maintains hubs in Sydney and Los Angeles.
Joining from Engine (now 337) where she was head of production, Nair Osborne brings 20 years’ experience to her new role at Amplify. She has consistently produced cutting edge content, working at top UK agencies including Anomaly, Mother and BBH.
As Amplify builds on an expanding client portfolio and continues to grow its global creative content remits, Nair Osborne's role will see her expanding and delivering against the agency’s vision. Amplify’s recent work spans everything from Dr Marten’s ongoing "Tougher than You" content series to Mitsubishi’s latest TV commercial, and from Nike’s SNKRS Day eight-hour live broadcast to pioneering anamorphic CGI for the latest chapter of Fortnite. Notably, Amplify’s multi-channel production prowess was demonstrated with the highly awarded global "Play Has No Limits" for the launch of PlayStation 5, blurring the lines between experience, OOH and content across 24 global cities and landmarks, shot, edited and shared on social channels within six hours.
Jonathan Emmins, founder and global CEO at Amplify, said, "Anita was the standout from a really diverse and high standard of candidates. From her roots shooting music videos for the likes of So Solid Crew to leading 360 campaigns featuring Helen Mirren for L’Oreal, Anita’s extensive knowledge and experience with content production ensures our talented and expanding team has the guidance it needs. This will enable us to continue to take our clients on ever more exciting journeys and even more ambitious projects."
Alex Smith
In parallel, Alex Smith has been promoted to head of operations and joined the Amplify's U.K. management team. Smith will be responsible for London operations and play a key role in the continued expansion of the group and its global offices. Smith joined Amplify in 2019 as head of live, overseeing the management and execution of the agency’s output. Her previous roles include creative operations director, where she played an instrumental role in leading the operational set-up for Amplify's L.A. office in 2020.
Smith began her career working in theatre before spending over a decade working in brand experience and creative marketing for big-name clients, including AIG, Disney, Formula E, Hyundai and Netflix. Before moving into the operational management side of the business, Smith managed projects and teams at Jack Morton, HEART Productions as well as Amplify.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More