Boutique live-action production company Rakish has added director Chris Woods to its roster for U.S. commercial representation. Woods is a Cannes Lions-winning director whose efforts for such brands as Firestone, Skittles, Braun and Georgia Lottery, among others, fuses an eclectic comedic repertoire with stylized art direction.
Woods’ natural sensibility for comedic timing in tandem with his heightened visual approach continues to evolve with his latest work for Pathways to Education, a Canadian nonprofit. The Pathways to Education piece reflects a new visual style for Woods, combining an emotional message with epic visual effects.
Producing the Pathways to Education project was Scouts Honour, a production company which continues to handle Woods in Canada. Prior to joining the L.A.-based Rakish, Woods was repped in the U.S. ad market by Hungry Man.
Rakish EP Brad Johns cited Pathways as a great example of Woods’ “versatility, individuality and taste level. It excites us that he is able to bring this to each creative brief across genres. His work consistently straddles the conceptual and artistic visual approach, and we’re challenging him to push on and become one of the best comedic/visual storytellers in the industry”.
Woods began his career as a still photographer, channeling his love for skateboarding to capture stylized shots that quickly earned attention amongst both the skate and photography culture. As his work began to get published, he continued to hone his skills as a portrait photographer, organically transitioning to professionally commissioned work for the likes of Rolling Stone and SPIN as well as commercial clients including Nike and Apple. As he further developed his visual aesthetic, he transitioned into motion, directing his first commercial for Bell Canada that earned numerous awards and international industry acclaim. Narrowing in on commercial directing, he has worked with top celebrities, musicians, athletes and has helmed high-profile campaigns including multiple Super Bowl spots.
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