Great Guns, the international production company headed by founder/chairman Laura Gregory, has grown its global footprint with the opening of shops in Shanghai, Singapore and Mumbai. These offices join the company’s continuing operations in London, Bangkok, and Venice, Calif.
As part of the deal facilitating the Mumbai launch, Great Guns has entered into a joint venture with Sajiv Kurup’s Crocodile Films, an Indian film production company with representatives in Kuala Lumpur and the Middle East. Crocodile has produced notable campaigns for Appy Fizz and Grappo Fizz, the Frooti “Mango Theme” commercial, and the Medimix relaunch campaign.
To oversee its expansion, Great Guns has appointed Janene Fitzgerald as head of the Asia Pacific region. Based in Shanghai where she has most recently been producing with Black + Cameron, she will work closely with Kurup. Sheridan Thomas is head of production in London and Kojo Abban has been promoted to head of sales for the U.K. and Europe.
The move to expand globally comes at a time when more clients and agencies seek an international approach to communications, demanding multi-disciplinary directors that can operate in different markets.
To further support its expansion, Great Guns has signed exclusive deals with established directors based in Asia, including Bo Krabbe, Marco Pinesi and Squid. Krabbe, Pinesi and Squid will also be repped out of the London office. Additionally Great Guns has secured animation and design collective MIE for exclusive Asia representation while signing K-Roll from Gang Films, Paris. K-Roll directs both music videos and advertising, having recently helmed a Nina Ricci ad. As part of a crossover deal with Gang Films, the Paris house will be representing Great Guns Paul Shearer and Roar Uthang in France.
Shearer directed Volvo’s Blind Preview, a short film which earned SHOOT Top Spot (11/27/09) distinction. Out of Euro RSCG 4D, Amsterdam, the short introduced the new Volvo S60 without showing the car–instead offering detailed drawings and a painting by blind Turkish artist Eşref Armağan.
As for greatguns:USA under the aegis of managing partner Tom Korsan, the company recently had a hand in a Gold Lion and a Bronze Lion in the Cannes International Advertising Festival’s Direct Lions and Cyber Lions competitions, respectively, as well as a D&AD Yellow Pencil–all for the Virgin Australia “4320LA/SYD” initiative out of Droga5, Sydney. Greatguns: USA and Goodoil Films, Sydney, teamed on the job, which was billed as Australia’s first Twitter-based campaign, giving three Aussies the chance to travel to L.A. for three jam-packed days. The catch: they had to Tweet every minute of the trip, generating buzz for Virgin Australia’s “3 Day L.A. Deals.”
David Nobay was executive creative director for Droga5, with Ben Akers serving as senior copywriter, Ben Smith as senior art director, Paul Johnston as agency producer and John McLean as digital producer.
Matthew Forrest Launches Commercial/Branded Content Production Company Cloud Forest
Producer Matthew Forrest has officially launched Cloud Forest, a Los Angeles-based video production company specializing in commercials and branded content, with additional capabilities in emerging formats like AI and VR.
With the mantra “Where your vision meets our production precision,” Cloud Forest aims to serve brands, agencies and networks with a blend of creativity and operational efficiency.
Forrest brings over 20 years of experience to Cloud Forest. His portfolio includes producing commercial content for Square, Aveeno, and Lyft, branded content series for KitchenAid, Pizza Hut, and Verizon, and projects like Mariah Carey’s “Keys of Christmas.” Forrest’s career highlight came at Endemol Shine, where he earned a Sports Emmy in 2018 for producing Life VR’s “Capturing Everest.”
“Leveraging my varied experiences in both traditional and digital formats, I’m excited to create content across a wide array of platforms with the partners I admire,” said Forrest. “Our focus is on delivering excellence in commercials and branded content, while also offering cutting-edge solutions in AI and VR when appropriate for our clients’ needs.”
Cloud Forest’s talent roster currently features long-time Forrest collaborators such as commercial directors Ben Pluimer, Michael Belcher, Clyde Bessey, Christopher Louie and Kevin K. Shah; director/photographer Shawn Corrigan; photographers Gabriela Oltean and Will Deleon; and creative directors Natalie Perry and Drew Grossman. The studio’s strength lies in curating the right team and accurately defining the necessary resources--budget, roles, and technology--allowing every project to meet its creative and business goals.
This approach has earned praise from industry... Read More