Will Vinton Studios, the Portland-headquartered dimensional character animation studio, has hired Amy Massingale as a West Coast producer whose focus will be spot assignments.
Massingale most recently worked on a freelance basis, performing marketing and public relations duties for several creative service companies. Prior to that, she spent nearly four years as the national sales director for Big Fish Films, a Dallas-based commercial production house. Massingale holds a bachelor’s degree in radio/television/film from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a master of arts degree in intercultural communication from the University of New Mexico.
Rick Durkin, executive producer at Vinton’s New York office, assessed that Massingale’s "production savvy and people skills will be a big asset to the commercial division."
Vinton Studios is best known for its CGI, stop-motion productions and the trademarked stop-motion process called Claymation. Its notable creations over the years include the California Raisins-starring spots out of Foote, Cone & Belding, San Francisco, and stop motion for the lauded Nissan "Toys" ad from TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles.
Vinton Studios is currently co-executive producing a prime time weekly stop-motion animated television series for FOX, The PJs, in partnership with Imagine Entertainment and Eddie Murphy, and in association with Touchstone Television. The PJs was recently renewed for a second season.
“Memoir of a Snail” Takes Top Prize At London Film Festival
The Official Competition jury said: “Our jury was incredibly moved by Adam Elliot’s Memoir of a Snail, which is a singular achievement in filmmaking. Emotionally resonant and constantly surprising, Memoir tackles pertinent issues such as bullying, loneliness and grief head-on, creating a crucial and universal dialogue in a way that only animation can. The jury is delighted to recognize an animated film alongside its live-action peers.”
Rounding out the winners of this year’s films screening In Competition are:
- Winner of the Sutherland Award in the First Feature Competition – On Falling (Dir. Laura Carreira)
- Winner of the Grierson Award in the Documentary Competition – Mother Vera (Dirs. Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson)
- Winner of the Short Film Award in the Short Film Competition – Vibrations from Gaza (Dir. Rehab Nazzal)