New York-based Mechanism Digital Effects has added Abby Okin to its staff as executive producer. He began his career at H. Aoki Studio, an effects/motion control/model shop in New York. Okin then entered the digital arena as an effects producer at Image Design, New York, and later joined the staff of now defunct Cyclotron as head of production/executive producer. Mechanism Digital Effects produces animation, graphics and visual effects for commercial and broadcast clients….VT2 Media Design & Communications, Houston, has added Charlie Wan and Jacqueline Tieu to its staff. Both had been the founders of Suka Inc., an Austin, Texas-based design company. Wan will serve as creative director of VT2, while Tieu has been named creative director of VT2’s Digital Media division….Digital artist/designer Nico Puertollano has joined the staff of Rhinoceros Visual Effects and Design. He had worked freelance for the New York-headquartered facility over the past two years. Puertollano’s credits include spots for Empire Blue Cross, Phoenix Mutual, Arby’s and Ben Gay, as well as projects for Sony, USA Networks and Samsung….Kodak has unveiled VISION2 500T Color Negative Film 5218/7218, the first in a new family of color motion picture films that the company claims offers superior image structure, more highlight and shadow detail, improved color and skin tone reproduction, less grain, clean telecine transfers, seamless special effects and more flexibility in both film and digital postproduction. VISION2 500T is available in 16mm, 35mm and 65mm formats….
Director Lucrecia Signs With PRETTYBIRD For Her 1st U.S. Representation
PRETTYBIRD, the production company helmed by Paul Hunter, Kerstin Emhoff, and Ali Brown, has added award-winning filmmaker Lucrecia to its roster for U.S. commercial and music video representation. This marks the director’s first representation in the U.S. market.
Lucrecia has been signed to PRETTYBIRD UK since 2021, soon after winning UKMVA’s Best Pop Newcomer award for her Tarantino-esque music video for rapper/singer-songwriter Ashnikko--which the director pitched, prepped, and shot in only four days. Since joining PRETTYBIRD UK, Lucrecia has quickly made a name for herself. Her striking narratives, combined with a hyper-real aesthetic and iconic world creation, have been the centerpieces of her filmmaking and photography.
Her work has gone viral on more than one occasion. Her commercial for bibigo, “Live Delicious,” was widely admired and even recreated on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel. She has won awards from Kinsale Shark, Creative Circle, and UKMVA, as well as recognition at the Cannes Lions Young Directors Awards and Ciclope Awards.
Candice Dragonas, VP, talent strategy/executive producer PRETTYBIRD US, said of Lucrecia, “She brings a uniquely stylish approach to storytelling with the perfect splash of humor and playfulness. I admire her extreme passion for her craft and the drive to create at the top of her game.”
In addition to Lucrecia’s cinematic visual aesthetic, she routinely engages in another unique form of self-expression: nail art. She has had everything from whipped cream and cherries to chrome flames adorning her nails.
At PRETTYBIRD, Lucrecia joins a roster of filmmakers including Academy Award-winning duo Daniels (Everything Everywhere All At Once), A.V. Rockwell (A Thousand... Read More