Brand New School has added Gerald Mark Soto to its NY studio in the role of animation director.
Soto has made a name for himself over the last 20 years through design, animation, and direction for commercial, experiential, broadcast, and film projects. He’s known for his creative inventiveness, versatility and problem-solving ability. A true professor in and outside the studio, Soto continues to teach and mentor in the graphic design department at the School of Visual Arts, as he has for over a decade.
Soto has earned recognition and awards over his career for work with brands including Nike, American Express, The New York Times, Samsung, Squarespace, Apple, and—frequent BNS client—Google. Some of Soto’s most recent content includes leading the BNS animation team for Google’s CES 2020 presence. The massive delivery included the tech giant’s content for a 70-foot tall custom-built screen headlining the Google Playground. Soto led the 2D animation team, developed and directed the motion language for all the graphics utilized throughout the animation process, and animated a configuration of products on one of the largest exterior screens in North America.
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