Veteran director Bruce Alcock and his four-month-old Vancouver, B.C.-based animation/live action studio Global Mechanic have entered into an exclusive pact with Olive Jar Studios, the Boston-headquartered animation/effects studio owned by president Larry Pensack and creative director Fred Macdonald. Per the deal, Olive Jar will rep Alcock and Global Mechanic in the U.S. spot market, and when appropriate will bring Alcock in to direct or collaborate on Olive Jar assignments, which include commercials, theme park attractions and long-format projects. Olive Jar, which established a Santa Monica office last year, will also have access to Global Mechanic’s 3,000-square-foot facility, and provide production support to Alcock as needed.
"Bruce was looking to expand his business and Olive Jar has been expanding as well," explained Olive Jar executive producer Matthew Charde. "We want to continue to offer different abilities and talents, and Bruce presents an interesting show. His skills complement what we can offer."
Likewise, Alcock, whose forte is combining live action with animation and other media, characterized the alliance as a way of "recycling resources." He added, "We can be autonomous or we can work together."
In addition to Alcock, key Global Mechanic personnel include Alcock’s partner in the venture, independent filmmaker Ann Marie Fleming, as well as producer Dawn Rubin, who is based in Los Angeles, and studio manager Sara McIntyre.
Olive Jar has already procured an assignment that was just wrapped by Alcock: a Kraft campaign via J. Walter Thompson, Chicago, which Global Mechanic produced. Before linking with Olive Jar, Alcock directed Global Mechanic-produced spots for the Washington State Lottery via Publicis, Seattle; Mattel, out of Ogilvy & Mather, Los Angeles, and Baskin Robbins via BBDO Chicago.
Prior to forming Global Mechanic, Alcock was partner/ creative director at Tricky Pictures, the now defunct animation studio and sister shop of the ongoing live-action house Backyard Productions, Venice, Calif. During his five years at Tricky, Alcock directed commercials for clients such as Coca-Cola and the Illinois State Lottery. The Coca-Cola assignment, out of Leo Burnett Co., Chicago, involved more than a dozen spots for markets including South Africa, India and Japan. FCB Chicago created the Illinois Lottery campaign.
In February, Tricky disbanded due to the departures of Alcock and executive producer Harriet Katz. Alcock returned to Vancouver in part because of its bustling animation market, while Katz relocated to San Francisco (SHOOT’s "Street Talk," 2/18/00).
Before Tricky, Alcock co-founded Cuppa Coffee Animation, Toronto. During his four-year tenure there, he directed commercials such as "Mural" for Molson’s Black Ice beer via Young & Rubicam, Toronto.
A native of the Canadian province Newfoundland, Alcock studied music and literature before spending a year in Barcelona, Spain, where he met animation director Dirk Van de Vondel, who introduced him to the craft. Upon returning to Canada, Alcock helped establish Cuppa Coffee. His additional credits include ads for Kodak, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Hello Kitty.
Among Olive Jar’s recent endeavors are an ad for Nestle Quick via McCann-Erickson, San Francisco. Live action was helmed by George D’Amato of Taxi Films, New York, with animation directed by Dan Sousa and Macdonald. Olive Jar additionally produced several client-direct promos for the Cartoon Network, which were directed by Macdonald, Flip Johnson and Jeff Sias. That same trio also helmed a series of 30-second videos for the Legacy Foundation, out of Arnold Communications, Boston. The mixed-media "factoids" encourage teenagers not to smoke and are screened at shopping malls and other venues across the country as part of the settlement between the U.S. government and the tobacco industry.
Macdonald recently directed stop-motion animation work for the Autopia attraction at Disneyland. And production has begun on Bang, a TV pilot for Regency Television, which teams Olive Jar with The Simpsons executive producer/writer George Meyer. Macdonald serves as creative director, and Olive Jar’s Rich Ferguson-Hull is director on the project.
Olive Jar is represented by an art.fx contingent of New York-based Claire.Alden on the East Coast; Chicago-based Monaghan + Halpine in the Midwest; and San Francisco-based @Vandamme on the West Coast. Glo-bal Mechanic handles non-U.S. sales in-house.
