Director/cameraman Eric Saarinen has signed with production house greatguns for representation in the U.S. and internationally. He will be able to tap into the company’s Venice, Calif., London and Bangkok operations. Furthermore, greatguns plans to expand in the Asian theater with the launch of a Singapore office by late summer and a Shanghai shop further down the road.
Saarinen comes over to greatguns from TWC Films, Santa Monica, where he spent a couple of years. During his TWC tenure, Saarinen helmed work for such clients as John Deere, the U.S. Air Force, Atlanta Tourism, and Chevy. For the latter he directed “Disappear,” an eight-decade stop-action, time lapse history of automobiles and gas stations, culminating in the forthcoming hybrid electric vehicle, the Chevy Volt.
Saarinen is well known in the automotive advertising arena with work that goes far beyond sheet metal. In fact, Saarinen’s exploits over the years have helped to redefine the car ad discipline, key examples being Jeep’s “Snow Covered” (with visual effects by Digital Domain) for the then Bozell Worldwide, which won the Grand Prix at the 1994 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival; the lauded documentary series of “Road To Rio” spots for Nissan Pathfinder via TBWAChiatDay, Los Angeles; the Land Rover “Discovery” spot from GSD&M in which a 180-degree orbiting camera seemingly takes us around the world to depict Land Rover as the most well-traveled vehicle on Earth; and a whimsical Fiat commercial for Italy that thrusts us into a harried, heavily trafficked city commute featuring people who are riding aboard animals.
Saarinen’s automotive track record was but one of the elements that drew greatguns to the director, according to Tom Korsan, managing partner of greatguns:USA. “Eric is a great problem solver and artist, has his hands in all kinds of technology trying to find new ways to tell stories, and is just a straight-up, nice guy,” said Korsan. “He’s been doing some guerilla filmmaking work, shooting with the Canon 5D Mark II [a hybrid HDSLR that shoots still work and HD video] that is taking him into new directions.”
For example, Saarinen is deploying the Canon 5D Mark II digital camera on some additional shooting in Los Angeles for Mitsubishi Air Conditioning and Heating. This imagery is being meshed with some film footage he captured in New Zealand during the course of his directing a TWC-produced package of spots for Mitsubishi. Based on the New Zealand footage, the client saw potential to evolve the spot campaign into a five-minute film for multiple platforms. Now under the greatguns banner, Saarinen’s work on the 5D is playing a part in bringing that short film, titled The Airhunter, to fruition.
Prior to TWC, Saarinen enjoyed a lengthy run at the since closed Plum Productions, a venerable mainstay house that he and partner/executive producer Chuck Sloan had co-founded.
Curatorial Committee Roster Is Set For The 2025 AICP Post Awards
The AICP has set the full roster for the Curatorial Committee for the 2025 AICP Post Awards. The group, representing experts from the full gamut of postproduction crafts as well as from the agency and brand ranks, will meet this spring under the leadership of AICP Post Awards chairperson James Razzall, U.S. president of advertising, Framestore.
The extended entry deadline for the full suite of AICP Awards--which includes The AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the Commercial, and the AICP Next Awards--is Wednesday, March 5. Full entry details can be found here. The results of each show will debut during AICP Week in New York this June, and be featured at a gala celebration at The Museum of Modern Art.
One of Razzall’s key responsibilities as chair is to form the AICP Post Awards Curatorial Committee, which will determine the selection of the final winners and choose the Post Awards Best of Show from among the category winners. “I was looking for the best people at the top level in all their respective crafts,” explained Razzall. “We aimed to be as diverse and geographically as broad as possible. And we looked for cross-discipline opinions. We strove for a mix of people, including those who curate the work, not just our peers in post but also the best people we have worked with on the brand and agency side.
“Across the board, we were looking for people with a strong voice,” Razzall continued. “Our goal is to have a proper conversation, so we can filter through to make sure the best work is being recognized. When you consider the amount of effort that’s gone into these entries and the level of craft that they exhibit, we owe them that respect and honor of judging the work... Read More