Digital Domain‘s hybrid production company Mothership has secured Neil Huxley as creative director. An experienced designer, digital artist and director, Huxley will work across advertising, games marketing, films and all media at Mothership and Digital Domain. In addition to overseeing design execution for client projects, Huxley will direct commercials and productions for screens of all sizes under the Mothership banner.
Already at Mothership, Huxley has directed a 90-second fully CG trailer for Bethesda Softworks’ “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” videogame out of agency AKQA. Featuring fire-lit stone carvings of death and destruction, and a stone dragon coming to life, the trailer premiered during the Spike Video Game Awards.
Huxley boarded Mothership after a stint designing fantasy user interfaces, stereo 3D graphics and heads-up displays for James Cameron’s Avatar and for Zack Synder’s upcoming March release Sucker Punch. A London native, he moved to Australia in 2002 to join Digital Pictures Iloura as a designer before staking a claim in Los Angeles where, as an art director at yU+co, he worked on opening title sequences for director Snyder’s Watchmen and art directed more than 600 shots for Neveldine/Taylor’s Gamer.
In the commercials medium, Huxley has directed design, animation and live action for clients including Diet Coke, Pepsi, Honda, Spike TV, TNT, FOXTEL, Target, Ask.com, MTV Australia, Universal Pictures, FOX, Warner Bros., DreamWorks SKG, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, Bravo, Ubisoft and Vivendi.
Ed Ulbrich, president of Mothership, cited Huxley’s multi-disciplinary experience and orientation. “He’s tapped into the worlds of design, production, cinematography and photography and can pull together teams that look at projects entirely differently and make them fresh,” said Ulbrich of Huxley. “He works with film directors on design treatments for movie pitches and with Mothership directors and CDs to design and develop core creative. As a director he brings all of that together and does amazing work.”
Director Lu Villaca Joins MADRE
Production company MADRE has added Brazilian director Lu Villaça to its talent roster. With degrees in cinema and performance and a master’s in screenwriting, Villaça brings a multifaceted approach to filmmaking. Villaça’s tastes have been shaped by her childhood training in ballet, studying Greek theatre texts, her passion for music, and her contemplative nature. She honed her cinematic skills early on as an AD and creative assistant before becoming a director. Intent on capturing the drama of everyday life as it plays out, Villaça is tuned in to how the bodies in her frame move through their environments and what elements of the story can be extrapolated from these compositions. Her sharp attention to detail in every aspect, from lighting to the final edit, is designed to connect emotionally with her audience. Villaça has been awarded three Cannes Lions for her film “Next Minute Law,” which promoted awareness of a law in Brazil designed to address the rampant epidemic of sexual violence. “Next Minute Law” also garnered Best Direction at El Ojo and the Ciclope Latino Festival, where Villaça also won Best New Talent. Additionally, she has directed assorted commercial campaigns for brands like Johnnie Walker, Huggies Wipes, Nestlé, Amazon, A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, and a spot for Medley featuring Brazilian Olympic gymnast Rebeca Andrade. Prior to joining MADRE, Villaca had been repped by production house LOBO. Recognized in Brazil as a top music video director, Villaca won Best Female Direction for her work on “Nu” by Assucena and “Lovezinho” by Rachel Reis, which also won Best National Music Video at the MVF Awards. Villaça additionally co-directed the documentary Pagliacci, an homage to circus artist Domingos Montagner... Read More