Director Christian Loubek has joined Bob Industries for U.S. commercial representation. He had previously been handled in the American ad market by Anonymous Content. Loubek maintains representation in Canada via Circle Productions.
After two decades shooting high-profile and ambitious projects, Loubek has found new enthusiasm and fresh urgency for directing against the current backdrop of global pandemic and social unrest. While Loubek’s early endeavors were grounded in ironic comedy, his work today possesses an emotional resonance, elevated by strong technical craft and sophisticated casting.
Loubek shared, “I’m excited about this next chapter. For me, this move to Bob is about rolling up my sleeves and surrounding myself with like minded filmmakers who care as much about the journey as they do the end result. TK (Knowles, Bob’s EP/managing partner) is one of the deans of the industry and in Bob, he and John (O’Grady, EP/managing partner) have created an institution whose culture is shaped by talented artists who are decent and fun to work with by design. I asked TK the criteria they have for directors on their roster and he said ‘we have to be drawn to their work & to who they are as individuals.’ I’m just flattered that they seem to think I qualify.”
Loubek began his career as a runner in his teens, working his way up the ranks before transitioning into technical roles behind the camera. His directing break came with a first-of-its-kind piece he wrote, shot, and directed during the dawn of the interactive era. In a CD-Rom for Eddie Bauer, he weaved together three storylines, each of which showcased the brand’s outdoor apparel in innovative ways, that went on to win Gold in Communication Arts’ Advertising Annual. Other notable early work includes an unconventional office standoff for Volkswagen out of Arnold Worldwide; a wry parody of foreign films for the Vancouver Film Festival; a zany riff on parental pride for Discover Card with Goodby Silverstein & Partners; and the iconic opening title sequence for HBO’s Six Feet Under.
He has helmed global ad campaigns and launches for Diet Coke, Nike, ESPN, Citibank, Cisco, Microsoft, Orange Pro, Best Buy, Sharp, Smirnoff, UPS as well Audi, BMW, Fiat, Lexus, Porsche, Volvo, and VW; and collaborated with top agencies worldwide such as Wieden+Kennedy, CP+B, Publicis, Ogilvy & Mather, BBDO, Venables Bell & Partners, McCann/Erickson, Droga5, Grey, DDB, and The Martin Agency. Spanning more than 18 countries and six languages, Loubek’s prolific advertising career has seen him direct A-list stars, NBA players, and Olympic athletes in stunning settings, with exotic animals, 12,000 feet above sea level and even with scuba tanks at 400 kPa underwater.
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