Paul Korver, a filmmaker who turned his focus to postproduction two years ago, has formally launched telecine/finishing shop Cinelicious, securing noted colorist Steve Rodriguez, and setting up operations in new Hollywood digs.
Rodriguez, who came over from Company 3, has already wrapped under the Cinelicious banner a nine-spot Hyundai package produced by Biscuit Filmworks for agency Innocean Worldwide Americas. Three of the spots–“Body Pass,” “Paint” and “10 Years” (which stars quarterback Brett Favre still mulling retirement from football in the year 2020)–debuted during last month’s Super Bowl telecast. Biscuit’s Tim Godsall directed the Super Bowl ads. A fourth spot, “Luxury,” was helmed by Noam Murro of Biscuit, and aired immediately after the conclusion of the game.
Rodriguez has assorted spots to his credit over the years, spanning stretches at such shops as The Post Group, Post Logic, and two tours of duty at Company 3 sandwiched around his tenure at Riot in Santa Monica. He has served as colorist on ads for the likes of Nike (the memorable “No Excuses” featuring a wheelchair athlete, directed by Errol Morris of Moxie Pictures for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore.), Lexus for Team One, a recent Time Warner Cable campaign via Uniworld, New York, and adidas.
For the latter, Rodriguez served as colorist on the lauded Kevin Garnett-starring “Carry” spot from the then TBWAChiatDay, San Francisco. “Carry” garnered a 2005 Cannes Bronze Lion and was one of the commercials that earned Murro the DGA Award as the best spot director of 2004.
Bringing Rodriguez into the Cinelicious fold was a key dynamic for Korver, who serves as the shop’s executive producer. Their paths first crossed at Company 3 when Rodriguez color corrected the Christina Aguilera music video “Save Me From Myself” which Korver directed. The two struck up a rapport, kept in touch and eventually came together in this new venture.
But Rodriguez is but one of the components Korver has assembled to bring Cinelicious to fruition. He has been building the post business and his strategies under the radar over the past couple of years, operating out of interim quarters and taking on indie projects, modestly budgeted commercials and music videos. Initially he deployed some used telecine equipment (URSA Diamond and daVinci) which he obtained from Riot.
Now, though, with the formal launch of Cinelicious, Korver has stepped up his commitment, securing not only Rodriguez, but also moving into the new 5,000-square-foot Hollywood facility, and buying high-level resources including an HD/2K capable Spirit Datacine, a fully loaded daVinci 2K+ realtime color correction, and DVNR 2K realtime grain plus dust and scratch conceal.
Korver also has plans in the works to soon unveil a 2K, 3D, 4K DI Theater with a 20-foot screen, as well as 4K film scanning services.
He’s betting on Hollywood again attracting ad agency artisans and clients, hearkening back in a sense to the heyday of shops like 525 when commercial post was firmly ensconced in the heart of the city, well before the westward migration of facilities to Santa Monica and Venice. Korver reasoned that Hollywood is in the midst of a rebirth creatively and commercially, noting that buzz-generating restaurants and hotels (i.e., the new W in Hollywood, and Palihouse in West Hollywood) are also cropping up.
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More