Creative director/designer Susan Armstrong has come aboard New York-based Headlight Design+VFX, part of the Crossroads family of companies. She first made her mark at Topix/Mad Dog, Toronto, beginning what has proven to be a longstanding collaborative relationship with director Floria Sigismondi. Armstrong and Sigismondi first teamed on David Bowie’s “Little Wonder” music video, which caused a stir with its dark, disturbing visuals.
Armstrong went on to work as a designer/artist on such Sigismondi-helmed clips as Tricky’s “Makes Me Wanna Die,” Sheryl Crow’s “Anything But Down” and Canadian signer Amiel Larrieux’s “Get Up.” The latter featured a unique pixilated look that Armstrong created with an Inferno plug-in she helped to develop.
After her four-year tenure at Topix, Armstrong joined Eyeball/New York, where she worked on such projects as promos for HBO and the WB Network, as well as a spot campaign for Michelin. In 2001, Armstrong moved on to Click 3x, New York as a designer/effects artist before elevating to a creative director there, designing packages for Showtime series Queer As Folk and Huff, as well as the opens for two Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Shows. Her work for the ’04 AICP Show garnered a Gold Broadcast Design Award.
Over the years, Armstrong has worked on spots for assorted clients, including Verizon, Samsung, Canon, AOL, Haagen Dazs and Coca-Cola. The latter’s “Groove” was a much-lauded commercial on the industry awards circuit.
Armstrong has also worked in visual effects for long-form fare, most notably the bus scene in Atom Egoyan’s Sweet Hereafter, a ’97 film which received two Oscar nominations (best director, screenplay), and the Grand Jury, International Critics and Ecumenical Jury prizes at the Cannes Film Festival.
Armstrong is currently editing her first documentary film, Doormat, in collaboration with filmmaker Christy Garland. Armstrong is also designing the film’s titles. Shot in India and Canada, the film follows the life of a household doormat and the stories of all the people whose livelihoods depend on this simple handmade consumer item.
Formed in ’04, Headlights, a creative studio specializing in design-based effects, is headed by creative director Christine Lin, visual effects director Steve Zourntos and executive producer Sara Mills.
SUPERLATIVE Signs Director Claudia Abend For Spots and Branded Content
Latin American director/editor and documentary filmmaker Claudia Abend has joined SUPERLATIVE for her first U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content.
Abend's empathetic docu-style POV has garnered several international awards for the documentary films Hit (2008) and The Flower of Life (2018). Her spotmaking credits include such brands as Procter & Gamble, Nestle and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. SUPERLATIVE has already worked with Abend, together producing a new ad campaign for digital agency Tinuiti and The Honest Company, a consumer goods corporation featuring eco-minded products.
“We found Claudia through her poignant documentaries on the festival circuit,” said SUPERLATIVE creative manager Stefan Dezil. “We are excited about her textured narratives, emotional storytelling, and her powerhouse long-form storytelling abilities, currently on her third feature film. As SUPERLATIVE continues to build our brand after premiering our latest films at Sundance and SXSW, Claudia is the kind of multidimensional artist we are excited to partner with on branded content and beyond. Fluent in English and Spanish, her reel shows real prowess with infants, food and skin products, families both young and old. Great visual storytelling and inspirational doc work.”
Abend began her career in her native Uruguay, studying film and editing in college. “My dad would show me films like Citizen Kane,” she said. “I love cinema and became an editor. It was here that I learned all about communicating human emotion.”
From the get-go, Abend hit it big as a documentary director, teaming with Adrianna Loeff on Hit, a movie chronicling pop artists of Uruguayan music. Abend took home a Best Editing... Read More