Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc. (Deluxe) has bolstered artistic talent and production leadership in Chicago with several new hires and promotions across Deluxe’s Beast, Company 3 and Method Studios teams co-located in its Michigan Avenue facility to meet the growing demand for its services–particularly in the area of visual-effects-focused advertising content. Seasoned VFX producer Matthew Engel joins the Chicago team from Method Studios’ New York facility, along with newly hired designers Matt Fultz and Tobias Mattner. Additionally, Lauren Roth has been promoted to head of production for the overall Chicago studio across all three creative teams.
“Top brands and agencies are increasingly drawn to Chicago for national campaigns, and expect world-class services to support them. With this talent expansion we’re now better poised to serve their end-to-end post production needs,” said Peter Hullinger, general manager of Deluxe’s Chicago studio housing Beast, Company 3 and Method Studios. “Lauren is the backbone of our facility, and a wonderful client resource, and we’re excited about the contribution she can make in this expanded role. Bringing in Matt, Tobias and Matthew elevates what we’re able to deliver creatively on the VFX front.”
Recent high profile campaigns that Beast/Company3/Method in Chicago contributed to include Always: Like A Girl, Raid, Nike, State Farm, Wrigley, GMC, Timberland, and Nintendo.
Roth moves into the head of production role after serving as sr. producer for Beast, Company 3 and Method Chicago. Involved with these creative teams since 2010, her deep knowledge across their talent and offerings empowers her to provide clients with a seamless and personalized postproduction experience. With more than eight years working with the companies in New York, VFX producer Engel first managed projects for Company 3 before transitioning to the Method VFX team in 2014, where he focused on overseeing heavy VFX projects and guiding clients around VFX workflows, budgets and timelines. Designers Fultz and Mattner inject fresh, international perspectives into the Method creative brain trust.
Roth said, “Our clients love that they can come to one facility where a variety of talent across all three teams works seamlessly to achieve their specific visions. We have a boutique feel, but our resources extend internationally, allowing us to scale up or down to take on projects of any scope.”
Additional promotions in Chicago that further scale the companies’ ability to service its growing client base include Joel Signer to producer, and Claire Smalley and Tara Reeves to production coordinators; Company 3 has also brought in an additional color assistant, Zachary Korpi.
Director Mike Egan Joins Good Behavior
Good Behavior, the comedy commercial production outfit recently launched by director Pete Marquis and his partners Victoria Guenier and Adam Lawson, have brought Mike Egan on board as the company’s first director signing. This also happens to be Egan’s first signing for commercial representation; he has been helming spots freelance for almost four years. Egan has a deep affinity for oddball characters who find themselves in unusual circumstances. He likes capturing these characters with simple, yet dynamic images that let them shine through in all their glory and connect with audiences.
“The Good Behavior name is more than just a name,” said Egan. “The things they care about and the things I care about are like a Venn diagram, circles sitting atop one another. And I love the fact that their logo is a baby cherub smoking a cigarette!”
The last two or three years, whenever I found a piece of work out in the world that I loved, when I tried to find out who made it, all roads led to Pete. I’ve been biding my time for quite a while, being very deliberate about my career, building my reel, having lots of conversations in the business. I had faith that the right folks would find me. Good Behavior finally did.”
Marquis said, “After seeing Mike’s work, I got the sense he wasn’t out to make ads for ad’s sake. He’s not going for the easy laugh or cliche construct. His left of center point of view is on full display in his work. And still he’s able to impart originality in a way that enhances the concept without getting in the way of it. I want to see more of Mike’s work out there in the world. And I want to see more of Mike. I’m thrilled to have an excuse to make both those things happen.”
Egan developed his... Read More