Director Ashley Beck has signed with Culver City-based Gas. Food & Lodging (GF&L) for international representation in spots and music videos. The nine-month-old production house is owned by New Wave Entertainment, a Burbank, Calif.-headquartered company that markets feature films and television programs.
Beck was formerly repped by bicoastal/international The End, a shop he joined last June. During his tenure there, he co-directed with David van Eyssen three spots for software provider MicroStrategy—one which aired during last month’s Super Bowl telecast, the other two debuting in pre-game. The client-direct assignment was facilitated by Beaucoup Chapeaux, Dallas and New York. As earlier reported, van Eyssen also exited The End; he recently became partnered in I Believe Media, an interactive shop, with executive producers Luke Thornton and Liz Silver, former principals at The End (SHOOT, 2/18, p. 1).
The departure of Silver and Thornton prompted Beck to consider another roost. "I thought that at this point in my career, it made sense for me to shop around—particularly with the MicroStrategy ads under my belt," Beck said. He added that he continues to hold Roger Hunt in high regard; Hunt was promoted late last year to succeed Silver and Thornton (SHOOT, 12/10/99, p. 1).
Beck explained that he was drawn to GF&L because "it’s a young company with great resources and management." He cited GF&L’s executive producers Jim Evans, Denise Gilmartin and the recently hired June Guterman.
The MicroStrategy package marked Beck’s U.S. directing debut; he had cut his directorial teeth in early ’99 with spot projects for Mexico and the Latin American market. At press time, Beck was in São Paulo, helming a :60 (with a :30 lift) that will promote a partnership between HBO/Latin America and DirecTV. GF&L teamed with Zohar Cinema, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, on the ad, "The Fourth Dimension," which is a combination live-action/visual effects job.
Beck broke into full-fledged spot directing last year after firmly establishing himself as a visual effects artist/director spanning spots and music videos. He made his first mark in music clips while serving as creative director and effects artist at Post Logic, Hollywood, from ’92 to ’94. Beck helped set up that post/effects facility, and struck up working relationships with several directors, perhaps most notably Mark Romanek of bicoastal/international Satellite. Beck handled visual effects for such Romanek-directed videos as David Bowie’s "Jump They Say," Nine Inch Nails’ "Closer," and Madonna’s "Bedtime Stories." The last video was done after Beck exited Post Logic to form his own visual effects design and supervision business, Fusebox, which he maintained in Beverly Hills until deciding to pursue a directorial career via The End.
On the spot front, Beck contributed his visual artistry to assorted projects at Post Logic and Fusebox. Among his credits are Pepsi’s "Algebra" and "Board of Directors," which went on to win a Gold and a Silver Clio, respectively. Both were directed by Steve Chase, through now defunct Fahrenheit Films. (Chase is now with bicoastal Reactor Films.)
Prior to Post Logic, Beck’s visual sensibilities were honed on the agency, post facility, equipment manufacturer and broadcast promo design sectors of the business. His first professional gig was in ’86 as an art director at a small, now defunct ad agency in Richmond, Va. He then went on to become an art director at CBS-TV’s Richmond affiliate, WTVR, which afforded him the opportunity to get involved in designing, producing and post-producing TV station and program promos.
He detoured to hardware manufacturer Grass Valley in ’90, splitting his time between its New York and West Coast operations. The job entailed his visiting post facilities throughout the country, working in equipment R&D as well as collaborating with other designers and artists. He then left Grass Valley to become involved in the Post Logic launch.
Beck now joins a GF&L directorial roster that includes Rich Wafer, J.C. Barros, Marcus Raboy and Eugenio Zanetti for commercials; as well as Dustin Robertson and the team of Emmett and Brendan Malloy—a.k.a. The Malloys—for spots and videos.
