HiFi Project–headed by three partners, creative director Paul Robb and EPs Birgit Roberts and Jack Bradley–has expanded its boutique Santa Monica shop into a bicoastal operation, opening a studio in NYC staffed by newly hired exec producer Andrea Minze and composer Robert Di Pietro.
Robb noted that while HiFi planted its roots in L.A., "We've always had our eyes on other large markets. It is important to us, however, that we grow in a way that fully supports the long-term health of the company. More importantly, in a way that lends itself to garnering the highest quality talent available. We had a plan. We wanted to grow smartly, not just quickly. By adding East Coast partner Jack Bradley, and then pausing to set up a second shop in Minneapolis, we feel we now have the momentum necessary to take on the advertising mecca of Manhattan."
HiFi's first item of business in New York was putting the right team in place. Enter Minze, previously the head of creative/music supervisor at Tonic Music in London, following a seven-year stint as agency creative at GSD&M. Minze has worked on projects with notable recording artists like Alabama Shakes, Johnny Jewel, SBTRKT, and The Rolling Stones as well as such notable brands as BMW, AT&T, Nike, Dior, Axe, Dell, Kohler, Bacardi, and VW.
"Jack and I were both agency producers before jumping into the music world," noted Roberts. "Our similar backgrounds, our common understanding of how commercial production works, was the first thing that drew us to Andrea. When you look at what she has accomplished as a music supervisor and producer, and you speak to her about her belief in music, building relationships and how it all has the power to push us beyond the status quo, there is no question she is the perfect fit to help lead this team."
Minze recalled, "I met Birgit on my very last production as a copywriter in advertising. We hit it off immediately. Fast-forward a few years and I was lucky enough to meet the rest of the team, and I knew it would be a great fit."
The other half of the Big Apple team is composer and multi-instrumentalist Robert Di Pietro. DP, as he is probably better known, has shared the stage and recorded with big name artists like Norah Jones, Josh Rouse, Jesse Harris, Elysian Fields, Ursa Minor, and Vanessa Carlton. Di Pietro has performed on Letterman, Leno, Conan, The Today Show and Live From Abbey Road. He made an appearance in Seth MacFarlane's TED and helped score Matthew Barney's cult film Cremaster 4. He has composed music on national campaigns for Best Buy, Mazda, Chevy, Tropicana, Wendy's, Macy's, and many others. Di Pietro has freelanced at such shops as Amber and The Lodge.
Hitting the ground running, HiFi New York's music can already be heard on campaigns for Saatchi, JWT, Digitas, Havas, mcgarrybowen, and McCann.
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More