Curious Pictures, headquartered in New York, has signed director Brian Drucker whose background is as an animator and VFX artist. Drucker has worked at a number of top N.Y.-based motion graphics, animation and VFX houses, most recently Freestyle Collective.
He is already at work on his first Curious project, a animated sequence for a feature film being produced by Focus Features.
Drucker is a director/designer with an extensive animation resume that includes art direction, 3D animation/visual effects and compositing. He’s worked as a set designer for live action and theater, and as an exhibit/media designer for museums and live events. His film work combines his background in architecture, design, illustration and photography to create stylized environments and characters.
While at Freestyle Collective, which has since been merged into Nice Shoes, Drucker worked on projects for such brands and media properties as Office Depot, Syfy, Nickelodeon and Fuel TV. As a freelance designer he’s also worked at Rhino, Charlex, Tröllback, Psyop and Loyal Kaspar, among other studios.
“What I like most about Curious is that it’s able to tackle any animation aesthetic–from 3D to stop-motion to traditional to everything in between,” said Drucker. “They’re not afraid of experimenting, and I’m excited about that.”
While he’s had the opportunity to direct some projects prior to joining Curious, this move represents what he calls the next step in his growth as a director. “My goal is to integrate live action and stop motion into my 3D work in unexpected ways, and this is the perfect place from which to do that,” he related. “This is an opportunity for me to let people peer into my imagination, and I’m looking forward to that.”
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