Director/photographer Zen Sekizawa has signed with WoodShop, the production house headed by founder/executive producer Sam Swisher and founder/ECD/director Trevor Shepard. The company roster also includes creative directors/directors Michelle Pak and Peter Cote.
After freelancing with the WoodShop team continuously over the past 10 years, Sekizawa decided to formally sign with the company. “Since the beginning of our work together, there has always been a natural and organic partnership,” explained Sekizawa. “There aren’t many studios where you make great things at this high level and still be friends at the end of it.”
Sekizawa has been working as a photographer, director and artist for over two decades in her hometown of Los Angeles. She is second-generation Angeleno and fourth- generation, Japanese-American.
Since earning her BFA in Photography from Art Center College of Design, she had built an extensive roster of commercial clients including Jaguar, KFC, Nike, Apple, IBM, Sonic, Reynolds Wrap, Lexus, Modelo, Vogue, Vans, SONOS and The New Yorker.
Recent projects for Sekizawa include a launch for Miss Grass, and an Instagram-inspired social media campaign for Sonos, exploring how artists are living, working, and listening at home through a series called “Still Lives.” Sekizawa collaborated in the fall with Playboy on a Holiday Gift Guide. Currently she is working on projects for Vans, The New Yorker and Modelo. Sekizawa is continuously shooting for dual Michelin-starred restaurant n/naka and also creates custom objects and furniture pieces in her arts based collaboration project MANO YA.
“Zen has an incredibly unique perspective, which she brings to every collaboration,” noted WoodShop’s Shepard. “Zen’s use of color, texture and composition, which she brings to motion is amazing. She is able to portray a product to align with how it makes you feel. Zen can do this visually.”
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More