The directorial duo of Michel+Nico has joined Believe Media as their first venture into commercial representation outside their native France (where they are represented by Bandit.) Believe is handling the directing brothers in the U.S. and U.K.
The Honest Player, a short film for Gillette and Grey London featuring international rugby star George North, broke at the end of January to a flurry of press attention in the U.K. It was followed just two days later by the release of a three-minute web film produced directly for Mercedes starring a big wave surfer. Both feature the hallmarks of a Michel+Nico production: storytelling with documentary content, accompanied by inspired visuals.
“To have two such strong pieces to launch them with–this is like a total eclipse and that rarely happens,” said James Covill, executive producer of Believe’s London office, which produced the Gillette spot. “I just love their life stories, and they possess an energy and passion that is rarely seen,” he adds.
The brothers are notable for more than their directing talent. Both are former rugby players themselves. Michel also is a former social worker and Nico an architect–unique backgrounds for any commercial director. Their directing journey began just three years ago, when they taught themselves to film and edit short films and documentaries. They went on to work for such clients as Orange TV, Red Bull TV, Eurosport and several professional sports clubs, which has made up their reel until now.
“There is no more organic way of learning the language of film than our journey,” said Michel about their experience. “We were these guys with cameras in our hands, always in search of creativity. It took us a while before we realized that we really were directors.”
The duo joins a Believe roster long known for its standout work in commercials and music videos. Michel+Nico are the newest addition to Believe’s cadre of storytelling directors such as Bruno Aveillan, Floria Sigismondi and Zack Snyder.
“Michel+Nico have exploded on the scene in their own humble way,” said Believe co-founder Luke Thornton. “It’s an honor for us to play a part in growing their directing careers here in the US as well as in the U.K.”
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