International animation and film production company Passion has signed Saschka Unseld as creative director in its New York studio.
Unseld joins from Pixar where he wrote and directed the company’s first photo-real short film The Blue Umbrella, which ran right before Monsters University in theater screenings around the world. During his tenure at Pixar, he also worked as cinematographer on a number of blockbuster features including Toy Story 3, Cars 2 and Brave. “I’m excited to bring my experience in feature films to the world of commercial storytelling,” said Unseld, who will also serve as a director on Passion’s roster for worldwide commercial representation.
Unseld said that “the creative director role at Passion New York combines the three things I have the most experience in; building a studio, developing young directors, and of course directing my own films.”
As a technical innovator, Unseld also works in the emerging field of virtual reality and is currently directing several films for some of the industry’s VR pioneers. “Saschka’s technology bent is a huge advantage for Passion as we grow in the gaming market and in real-time content production,” said Belinda Blacklock, executive producer at Passion New York.
In addition to fielding incoming briefs from gaming and advertising clients, Unseld will work closely with Passion technologists to tailor executions for the latest immersive and reactive content platforms.
Passion maintains offices in London, Paris and NY.
