Bob Industries has signed two young directors, Alissa Torvinen-Kouame and Randy Wilkins, for U.S. commercial representation. Each is already established in music videos, TV and film and now take on their first representation in the ad arena.
Wilkins is a three-time New York Emmy-winning writer, director, cinematographer, and editor from the Bronx, NY. Wilkins has come up the ranks as a Spike Lee protege, working as an editor and cinematographer on several of the eminent director’s projects, including She’s Gotta Have It and Rodney King, both for Netflix. As a director, Wilkins helmed the ESPN 30 for 30/Lil’ Spike Joint 86-32 which chronicles the story of 19-year-old boxing Olympian Roy Jones, Jr. and the harrowing lesson that all that glitters isn’t gold. In addition, Wilkins has enjoyed success with his award-winning digital series Docket 32357.
Wilkins’ latest effort is directing the series premiere episode of Dear…, featuring Spike Lee for Apple+. Wilkins is currently in development for both his feature script Pray For A Little More Spring and the feature documentary MOVE, while also in co-development for the miniseries Forward Ever. Wilkins’ first foray into commercials came last month with his ad for Major League Baseball’s tribute to the great Jackie Robinson, commemorating Jackie Robinson Day. MLB executives specifically approached Wilkins to direct the ad, and he subsequently singled out Dodgers’ star Mookie Betts to narrate the piece.
Torvinen-Kouame is a visual storyteller with a fresh and vibrant creative perspective, training her eye on moments of lyricism and magic in the everyday world. She has collaborated with artists such as P!nk and Will.I.Am, actors Liev Schreiber and Zooey Deschanel, and has helmed campaigns for clients including Johnson & Johnson, HP, and RAINN. Her first feature film, K-12, is an eerily enchanting feature-length musical film written and starred in by Melanie Martinez to accompany her second studio album. Torvinen-Kouame and Martinez co-directed K-12. The narrative is interwoven with 13 album tracks featuring dance sequences by choreographer Brian Friedman. It opened last year in theaters across 32 countries and garnered over 20 million YouTube views within its first week alone. Torvinen-Kouame’s latest haunting video for Phoebe Bridgers, “I Know the End,” is “a brief cinematic masterpiece, eliciting the chilling horror of a cryptic fever dream. Ending with a spectacular shot in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the video is an unforgettable feat from start to finish,” as described by Frank Ockenfels of Paste Magazine.
T.K. Knowles, executive producer/managing partner at Bob, said, “These two incredibly brilliant young directors are the future of advertising. What they are able to elicit with their visual language and already highly developed sense for natural performance is extraordinary. Our team is looking forward to cultivating their talent and pushing their creative capacity to develop their singular voices further.”
John O’Grady, EP/managing partner at Bob, added, “As a company, we have always strived to introduce new voices that we feel are important to be heard. Both Alissa and Randy are truly inspiring at what they do and we are thrilled to be a part of their creative journey.”
Preymaker Opens A Studio In Cape Town; Julie Brown, Byron Tofas Take On Key Roles
Creative + technology studio Preymaker, founded in New York in 2020 by industry veterans Angus Kneale, Melanie Wickham and Verity Grantham, has opened a studio in Cape Town.
Leading the day-to-day business at the new South Africa outpost are industry veterans Julie Brown, serving as head of operations, and Byron Tofas, creative lead. Brown has recently held leadership positions at Engage Video Group as the head of production and delivery while also playing a key role in the strategic leadership of the business through a five year growth phase. At Ogilvy & Mather SA, she oversaw and led delivery for some of the agency’s biggest client portfolios. Tofas, a creative whose honors include multiple Loeries and PromaxBDAs, was previously VFX supervisor at BlackGinger overseeing teams on commercials, series and feature films. His credits include Hollywood blockbusters such as Avengers: Age of Ultron, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, along with the 2023 VFX Craft Gold Loerie-winning “Ya’ hunga forever,” a hilarious Black Panther parody for Big John.
Preymaker, using the studio’s 100% custom cloud-based platform created in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), has already tapped artists across SA whose contributions spanned design, animation, look dev, lighting, FX and compositing on Goodby Silverstein & Partners’ “The Aviators” for Xfinity from Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow and Oscar-winning cinematographer Greig Fraser; and BBDO NY’s “A Do What Moves You Film” featuring Camila Cabello for Bacardi. The SA team was also instrumental on the multiple award-winning original short film BLUE, created entirely in the cloud using Unreal Engine’s... Read More