Filmmaker Aoife McArdle has joined SMUGGLER for worldwide commercial representation.
McArdle is an award-winning writer and director whose unique visual style and dedication to craft have brought her acclaim across commercials, music videos, film, and TV.
After her studies in literature and film, McArdle began her journey directing music videos, winning a UKMVA for her breakout “Open Eye Signal” for Jon Hopkins. She went on to collaborate with some of the world’s most prominent musical acts, including U2 and Coldplay. This led to opportunities directing commercials, where she continuously and consistently raises the bar. Her work has been recognized with multiple Cannes Lions, British Arrows, Ciclopes, and AICP Awards, to name a few. “Equal Love” for Absolut won the coveted Graphite Pencil for Best Direction at the D&AD Awards. Prior to joining SMUGGLER, McArdle was repped in the ad arena by Somesuch across the U.S. and U.K.
McArdle’s debut feature Kissing Candice premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and emerged as a critics’ favorite. The summer of 2021 brought the premiere of McArdle’s short film and full-scale immersive art installation “All of This Unreal Time,” starring Cillian Murphy, at the Manchester International Festival. The film and installation received widespread acclaim and glowing reviews. The Guardian wrote, “Intense and all-encompassing, the piece never feels overdramatic or insincere. Its sense of despair is accompanied by a glorious, quiet celebration of the ordinary, the regular, the taken-for-granted.” 2021 also saw McArdle’s continued work in television, directing and producing Severance for AppleTV+, starring Patricia Arquette, Adam Scott, John Turturro, and Christopher Walken.
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 XR’s 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 he’s 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.
Rossano’s 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 company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s 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