Animation director David Chartier has launched LOOPfilmworks, a Brooklyn shop that will produce commercials and other projects, including short films and features. Chartier had been freelance directing and producing animation spots for the past year. Prior to that, he served as executive producer/director at New York-based Shiny Pictures, a company he co-founded with exec. producer/head of sales Jody Raida in 97.
Chartier left Shiny Pictures in early 98 following the success of I Remember, a short film that played at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. Chartier and Avi Zev Weider co-directed, -produced and -wrote the film, which is a mix of live action and animation. Since Sundance, the short has had a run on the festival circuit that includes stops such as the Seattle International Film Festival and this years South by Southwest Film Festival. With the impetus of the films success, Chartier said that he left Shiny because he wanted to focus more on his own creative output. When I was with Shiny, I was probably 70% [executive producer] and 30% director because I wanted to concentrate on building these other two directors, and making sure that the launch went well and all the logistics of the company were nailed down, he said. In light of the short film, I just quickly realized [Shiny] was a really good idea but perhaps not the right time. People were interested in seeing me direct more stuff.
During his recent freelance stretch, Chartier has directed and produced animated pieces for clients such as HBO, Nickelodeon, and the Disney Channel. The Disney Channel interstitials were awarded to Chartier through Lee Hunt Associates, New York. The HBO work included Talk Show, a stop-motion spoof of the Jerry Springer-Jenny Jones genre that featured the networks letters H and O duking it out over the letter B. (The superimposed title of the talk show is Im in love with your letter.) There was no agency involved in the spot; Chartier did the work directly for HBO and developed the concept with the network.
Chartier has since been commissioned to do an additional promo for HBO and is pitching a three-spot campaign for another network. He is also working on several feature film proposals. Following the screening of I Remember at Sundance, Chartier met with Fox Searchlight and October Films, and indicated that those discussions were ongoing.
Chartier said that he would like to grow LOOP but wanted to do it at a careful, manageable pace. I take a very modular approach, which is not too far off from what I was establishing at Shiny, he said, because in the past, I noticed so many production companies go under because they took on too much overhead too quickly. Chartier said he has begun to put feelers out for a LOOP executive producer and hopes to have that position filled by summer.
Chartier-who graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art with a BFA in studies for interrelated media-has a fine arts background and is a jack-of-all animation trades. His animation demonstrates a proficiency for mixed media, using elements of stop-motion, cel, clay, puppet, and drawn animation. Other techniques the director has used include photo-motion and linoleum block animation.
Mendel & Co., New York, has been named to rep LOOP on the East and West Coasts. Chartier is currently seeking Midwest representation.
