Focus Creeps–the directorial team of Aaron Brown and Ben Chappell who earned inclusion into last year’s SHOOT New Directors Showcase on the strength of such work as Cass McCombs’ music video “Dreams Come True”–has picked up the music pace via its roost Foundation Content, the hybrid production/post/creative house headed by president Samantha Hart.
The helming duo has amassed such credits since its Showcase splash as music videos for Arctic Monkeys, kd lang, Wavves, Girls and Delorean. Furthermore Focus Creeps and Joseph Patel co-directed Scion A/V and Vice Broadcasting Systems’ New Garage Explosion!!, a feature documentary about the bands and culture surrounding the international garage rock community.
With studios in Chicago and Culver City, Foundation Content is a full service production and post company with a focus on innovation, collaboration, and efficient execution designed to maximize creative potential across multiple platforms. The company houses directors, editors, graphic artists, writers, producers, sound design, a top colorist, and stage under one roof. Clients have included Target, United Airlines, Progressive Insurance, Hampton Inn, and AT&T.
The Culver City facility recently opened a stage, a dedicated pre-rigged, pre-calibrated production environment with the necessary amenities for full-scale commercials, television, features, and video games.
“It’s exciting to see the new division in L.A. really taking off, collaborating so well and seamlessly with our Chicago team,” said Evan Cohen, VP of production. “We’re looking forward to the continued growth this inspired space offers.” The stage has already been the backdrop for projects as diverse as the online game Rift, a Focus Creeps shoot for the U.K. based band Arctic Monkeys and a series of online ads for Progressive Insurance directed by Foundation’s James Lipetzky.
SUPERLATIVE Signs Director Claudia Abend For Spots and Branded Content
Latin American director/editor and documentary filmmaker Claudia Abend has joined SUPERLATIVE for her first U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content.
Abend's empathetic docu-style POV has garnered several international awards for the documentary films Hit (2008) and The Flower of Life (2018). Her spotmaking credits include such brands as Procter & Gamble, Nestle and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. SUPERLATIVE has already worked with Abend, together producing a new ad campaign for digital agency Tinuiti and The Honest Company, a consumer goods corporation featuring eco-minded products.
“We found Claudia through her poignant documentaries on the festival circuit,” said SUPERLATIVE creative manager Stefan Dezil. “We are excited about her textured narratives, emotional storytelling, and her powerhouse long-form storytelling abilities, currently on her third feature film. As SUPERLATIVE continues to build our brand after premiering our latest films at Sundance and SXSW, Claudia is the kind of multidimensional artist we are excited to partner with on branded content and beyond. Fluent in English and Spanish, her reel shows real prowess with infants, food and skin products, families both young and old. Great visual storytelling and inspirational doc work.”
Abend began her career in her native Uruguay, studying film and editing in college. “My dad would show me films like Citizen Kane,” she said. “I love cinema and became an editor. It was here that I learned all about communicating human emotion.”
From the get-go, Abend hit it big as a documentary director, teaming with Adrianna Loeff on Hit, a movie chronicling pop artists of Uruguayan music. Abend took home a Best Editing... Read More