Director/DP Albert Kodagolian has teamed with executive producer Chris Crawford to launch Bueno Films. The new venture has the additional backing of stage facilities Quixote and Smashbox Studios. Bueno Films has offices on the Smashbox lot in West Hollywood. (Smashbox maintains an additional stage complex in Culver City, Calif., while Quixote has stages in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles.)
Bueno Films is looking to serve the agency creative community on several fronts, with commercial production, conceptual chops in branded content, and potential savings on varied projects through the company’s relationship with–and access to the resources of–Smashbox and Quixote. Besides stages, those Smashbox and Quixote resources include mobile production units and assorted gear.
On the conceptual/creative front, Pete Figel has been hired to lead Bueno Films’ branded content division. Figel is a veteran agency writer, perhaps best known for his eight-year tenure at Y&R Chicago, where he turned out such lauded work as the Sear’s “Arboretum” spot which scored two honors at the 2007 AICP Show. Most recently he has been freelancing as a copywriter, working regularly with BBDO Chicago and TBWAChiatDay, New York, among other agencies.
Kodagolian, who was formerly represented by bicoastal Park Pictures, envisions Bueno Films as a boutique shop that will be nimble enough to adjust to an evolving advertising marketplace, providing the agency creative community with whatever it needs to produce, develop and help conceptualize content. He also sees Bueno taking the initiative in creating projects to present to select agencies.
International fare Most recently Kodagolian has been active internationally, his latest project being a campaign for HSBC Bank shot in India for JWT Toronto. His other Canadian ad credits include Frito-Lay for Toronto agency Juniper Park, MasterCard for McCann Erickson, Toronto, and Bell Canada for Zulu Alpha Kilo, Toronto. All these jobs were produced by Toronto-based production house Steam Films which continues to rep Kodagolian in Canada.
The director has also turned out recent jobs for the U.K.’s Channel 5 out of Grey, London, Czech Insurance for Ogilvy, Prague, and Panasonic via Amsterdam Worldwide, Amsterdam. These projects were produced by RSA in London.
Kodagolian has a track record of notable work out of RSA in London, a prime example being the 2006 promo spot “Human Suit” for Sci-Fi (since rebranded Syfy) Channel. “Human Suit” earned SHOOT “Top Spot” distinction as did the Kodagolian-directed “Bus” the previous year for Theraflu out of Saatchi & Saatchi, New York. The latter was produced by bicoastal/international Believe Media, Kodagolian’s stateside roost prior to Park Pictures.
Back in 2003, Kodagolian, who at the time was with Santa Monica-based Tate USA (now Tate & Partners, Santa Monica) gained inclusion into SHOOT‘s first annual New Directors Showcase. The next year he directed the :60 cinema spot “Projectionist” for the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival out of DDB Seattle, which gained entry into SHOOT‘s “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery and won multiple Telly Awards, including craft honors for direction and cinematography. Kodagolian’s Budweiser ad “Journey” debuted during the ’05 Super Bowl telecast. The spot was produced by Tate for DDB Chicago.
EP Crawford, Representation
Bueno Films’ executive producer Crawford has freelance executive produced and produced regularly for Kodagolian over the years, collaborations which entailed both U.S. and international commercials. Crawford also served as an executive producer/producer for noted director Tony Kaye spanning different production company affiliations over a three-and-a-half-year stretch.
Bueno Films’ sales team consists of independent reps Jamie Scalera, Sasha Stern and Kat Downs of Miss Smith, Inc., in the East, Nikki Weiss in the Midwest and Danielle Ostrowski in the West.
Kodagolian noted that he has a successful track record with several of these reps. Weiss helped land him notable assignments during his stay at Tate USA while Scalera and Stern played key roles in procuring high-profile projects for him at Believe Media.
