After a hiatus from commercial directing to focus on their latest feature film, brothers Tom and Charlie Guard, have returned to advertising, signing for U.S. and U.K. representation with the women-owned production company, Merman. The Guard brothers recently wrote and directed the thriller, Dead Shot, which opened to strong reviews last year. The feature’s cast included Colin Morgan, Aml Ameen, Felicity Jones, and Mark Strong.
While at their prior commercial home, SMUGGLER, the Guards helmed campaigns for Lexus, Sony PlayStation, Nike, Nokia, Stella, Chevy, GM and Toyota (featuring blues legend B.B. King), among many others. Their work has been celebrated on many top advertising lists, and has been awarded top prizes at industry award programs. Their Audi spot “Prom” was ranked among the most popular on the USA Today Ad Meter.
“We’ve always been so impressed with Tom and Charlie,” said Merman global managing partner Ellen Jacobson-Clarke. “They are artists who approach commercialmaking with a cinematic eye and an uncanny ability to tell stories that are heartfelt, soulful and emotional. We’re excited to be finally working with them and not bidding against them!”
“We felt an instant connection with the team at Merman,” shared Tom and Charlie Guard in a joint statement. “Their passion for character, comedy and their effortless knack for seizing the zeitgeist is something of a marvel. Great work comes out of great homes–we’re thrilled to be jumping in with them and can’t wait to charge a new horizon.”
The Guard brothers began working together at Cambridge University and went on to direct a series of shorts which won awards at festivals around the world, catapulting them into advertising and features. Integrity is at the heart of their work and their skill at telling stories with scale, charm and a lightness of touch has characterized their most memorable campaigns.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More