International independent production company Passion has signed director Jake Mengers for commercials, gaming and music video representation in the U.K., Europe and the U.S.
An accomplished VFX professional who has had tenures at such houses as MPC and Framestore, Mengers has worked on such notable spots as Levi’s “Odyssey,” Three’s “The Pony” and Xbox’s “Mosquito.” Most recently, he held the position of creative director, advertising at MPC London, and during that time he gained considerable experience directing campaigns for brands such as Fox’s Biscuits, Cushelle, Burberry and Lamborghini.
“My first ever 3D job in production was for Passion in 1997 while I was at MPC. It was an alien character for a Woolworths advert–possibly the first 3D creature in British advertising. I had ambitions to be an animator and Passion was really doing it to an extraordinarily high level,” recalled Mengers.
“For much of the following 20 years, at regular intervals I would be blown away at the work Passion was doing. In terms of styling, character design and animation, the work was of a level that I could only aspire to one day be a part of and to now be given an opportunity to join the roster of this groundbreaking company justifies the last 20 years of hard craft–I couldn’t be more excited about the future.”
Now working as a full-time director, Mengers will look to diversify his reel even further: “Over the years I have tried to keep the work I do as a director quite varied. Although creature animation work has brought me some of my most televised campaigns, I have always enjoyed working on a wide range of other disciplines. Whether for an experiential, art or televised campaign, having the support and kudos of a company like Passion behind me will allow me to continually improve and refine my skills while hopefully breaking new ground as a director.”
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