Industry veteran Mark Sitley–whose last staff post was as executive creative director/production at Euro RSCG Worldwide, New York–has partnered with production execs Luke Thornton and Liz Silver to launch Beyond Belief, a new content company which will be headquartered in New York with an office in Los Angeles. Thornton and Silver are the principals in six-year-old, bicoastal/international spot and music video production house Believe Media; their new venture with Sitley is a standalone shop and not a satellite of Believe.
“We’re dedicating ourselves to the creative and nimble production of intellectual property for marketers, produced in any media, in any platform and any venue,” said Sitley who is managing director of Beyond Belief. “Our projects will be as much about film and TV as they might be about gaming, music, publishing, interactive or wireless content. We’re defining our universe as anything that’s not geared to traditional advertising.”
Sitley, Thornton and Silver have a track record in sponsored entertainment–and in collaborating with one another in that space. Prior to Euro RSCG Worldwide, Sitley was director of North American production for Fallon Worldwide, where he oversaw production on the agency’s groundbreaking BMW Films series. The first round of those films was produced by bicoastal Anonymous Content. But Believe Media’s interactive division, i-Believe, played a key role in laying the groundwork for the BMW Films project, helping to develop the idea for the Web-delivered shorts in collaboration with Fallon creatives and doing the initial work on the BMW Films’ down-loadable player. Thornton and Silver were part of that collaboration with Fallon, as were director David van Eyssen, who later left the company, and Nic Johnson (SHOOT, 8/4/00). Sitley had a hand in hiring Believe as a new media consultant for Fallon in the development of BMW Films.
Now Johnson heads up Beyond Belief’s branding and interactive work as its creative director. He has been working with online content for more than a decade, creating such fare for Disney, Intel and Discover Card, among others. For Believe Media, Johnson has designed and created Web sites and online content for record labels as well as for such brands as Starbucks, Nordstroms and Nikon. Plans call for Beyond Belief to tap into an extensive talent pool, with Sitley citing the many writers, designers, directors and advertising creatives he, Thornton and Silver have collaborated with over the years.
“With Mark on board we’re well suited to focus on the next model of advertising,” stated Thornton, whose Believe Media has produced programs for such brands as Cadillac, Nike, Coca-Cola and GMC. “He’s worked with the best agencies in the business and totally understands where marketers and agencies are headed in terms of creating new channels of content.”
Prior to Fallon, Sitley spent a decade working for a wide range of brands as a director of TV commercials (including via now defunct Sitley Parker Films), and as a freelance production consultant. At one point he headed production for talent agency CAA, Beverly Hills, in its early work for Coca-Cola International. Previously he served as director of broadcast production for Chiat/Day, New York (now TBWA/Chiat/Day). He began his career at DDB New York and later held positions at since closed agencies Edge Creative and Ally & Gargano.
Beyoncé’s Halftime Show Highlighted Netflix’s NFL Debut On Xmas Day
Beyoncé provided more excitement than either game during Netflix's NFL debut on Christmas Day.
Riding into her halftime appearance on a white horse, the 32-time Grammy winner rocked her hometown Houston crowd with a nearly 13-minute performance on Wednesday.
She surprised fans by bringing along Shaboozey to perform "Sweet Honey Buckiin" and Post Malone joined her for "Levii's Jeans."
The action on the field didn't live up to expectations as the NFL showcased four of the AFC's top five teams.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce exposed a glitch in Pittsburgh's defense during Kansas City's 29-10 rout in the first game.
The broadcast itself went off just fine, quickly becoming the second-most popular live title on Netflix to date, according to NFL Media.
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens led C.J. Stroud and the Texans to 17-2 at halftime before Beyoncé stole the show.
Mariah Carey opened Wednesday's doubleheader with a taped performance of "All I Want for Christmas is You" and then the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs trounced the Steelers to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
There were no signs of any major streaming issues during the game after Netflix experienced minor blunders at the start of the pregame show. The broadcast opened with roughly 10 seconds of silence because it appeared studio host Kay Adams' microphone wasn't turned on.
Beyoncé's live performance at NRG Stadium was supposed to be the biggest test for the streaming giant and it seemed to go off without a hitch.
Mahomes threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns and Kelce had eight catches for 84 yards and one score as the Chiefs (15-1) earned a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. The... Read More