Bicoastal production house aWHITELABELproduct has signed director Olivier Gondry for global representation. Known for his visual effects where he plays with time slice technology and stop motion animation, Gondry has a body of work spanning commercials and music videos.
Formerly repped by Partizan, Gondry has helmed notable campaigns for McDonald’s, LG Electronics, Audi, Fiat and HP, and music videos for OK Go, The Vines, and the French Group Hermaentaire. For the latter, Gondry directed the clip “Chewing-Homme,” which won best animation honors at the Protoclip Music Video Festival in Paris last fall.
Gondry started his career as a visual effects artisan, working at BUF in Paris and then Method stateside. He gained prominence as he added breakthrough VFX to his brother Michel Gondry’s music videos for iconic artists Daft Punk, Björk, Radiohead and the White Stripes, and spots for BMW and Levis. Eventually he and Michel co-directed videos such as Chemical Brothers’ “Star Guitar” and Kylie Minogue’s “Come Into My World.” After those efforts, Michel encouraged him to direct his own videos; Olivier Gondry did just that with clips for Noir Desir’s “a l’envers a l’endroit” and Lacquer’s “Behind.” From there, his directorial career blossomed in both videos and commercials.
Olivier Gondry now joins aWHITELABELproduct directors’ roster that includes Arni & Kinski, Mikael Jansson, Aneil Karia, Darius Khondji, Peter Lindbergh, Carlos Manga Jr., David Michalek, Paul Middleditch, Panoptic, James Pilkington, Eugenio Recuenco, Tim Richardson, Nick Robertston, Stephane Sednaoui, Benjamin Seroussi, Carter Smith, Tell No One, and Mathieu Wothke.
Ellen Jacobson-Clarke and Annique De Caestaecker are partners/exec producers at aWHITELABELproduct.
Blaise Cepis Signs With Institute For Commercial and Artist Representation
Production company Institute has added director and photographer Blaise Cepis to its roster. Cepis marks Institute’s fourth dual signing to both its commercial directing and photography rosters, alongside Lauren Greenfield, Ray Neutron, and Thandiwe Muriu, cementing Institute’s multi-platform production expertise in delivering creative collaboration for clients.
Cepis is known for creating bright, absurd, subtly opulent, and surreal visuals in his work, which celebrates the exaggerated human condition and the unique traits that make people unforgettable. A graduate of the Parsons School of Design, he built his career as an art director at ad agencies including JWT, Mother, Sid Lee, and Orchard Creative, working on campaigns for brands such as Cadillac, Red Bull, PepsiCo, Absolut, and Smirnoff. He then spent nearly a decade making a name for himself as a freelance director and photographer, blending his advertising experience and background in fine art and design to create wholly original work. As a director/photographer, he has worked with brand clients including Calvin Klein, Adidas, Puma, Velveeta, Bombas, Chevrolet, Remy Martin, Impossible Foods, The New Yorker, NBC, and Vice. Prior to joining Institute, Cepis had been repped by artist management firm agency/production company DMB.
“Institute’s roster is brimming with exceptional, heavy-hitting talent, and I’m honored to join the ranks,” said Cepis. “As a director, being able to rally the team around an idea while earning the trust of our collaborators is my ultimate goal. Having the support of such an amazing team, with all of their experience and presence, feels great. I’m excited to get started.”
“Blaise is deeply, naturally talented,” said Tori Palmatier, managing... Read More