Commercial editing house Optimus, Chicago, has brought motion graphics specialist Rick Thompson on board as design director in its graphics department. He formerly served as a senior designer at Digital Kitchen, Chicago.
Thompson’s credits include entertainment projects for such clients as HBO, CBS and Showtime. He earlier spent 10 years as an Inferno artist at Chicago post house Swell, where he completed work for the likes of Budweiser, McDonald’s and adidas.
The hiring of Thompson continues the growth curve at Optimus. His joining comes on the heels of the company adding visual effects director Matt Daly.
On a separate front, Optimus won four Hugo Awards last month on the strength of its OptiTV initiative whereby the shop’s employees were encouraged to create their own original commercials which then ran on Comcast cable outlets in the Chicago market. The creative/morale booster for Optimus staffers yielded quite a body of work as chronicled in SHOOT last June. Among the spots was “Trappings of Leisure,” created and directed by Optimus’ After Effects editor Mark Butchko. The short won the Hugo Audience Award and a gold plaque for special achievement in computer graphics. More than 12,000 people voted for the Audience Choice honor, choosing “Trappings of Leisure” from 27 finalists, most of which were client-driven ad entries from Chicago agencies.
Optimus also copped a gold Hugo plaque for “William Elliott Whitemore” and a silver plaque for Remembering Monticello, also OptiTV creations. All OptiTV spots are available at www.optitv.com.
The End of The “Rust” Criminal Case Against Alec Baldwin May Unlock A Civil Lawsuit
The conclusion of a criminal case against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer clears the way for a related civil lawsuit by relatives of the deceased woman and efforts to depose the actor under oath, attorneys for plaintiffs in the civil suit said Tuesday.
At a news conference in Los Angeles, victims' rights attorney Gloria Allred said that the parents and younger sister of deceased cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were disappointed that prosecutors won't appeal the dismissal of an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin. The criminal charge against Baldwin was dismissed halfway through trial in July on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense.
Hutchins died shortly after being wounded during a rehearsal in the movie "Rust" in October 2021 at a film-set ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Baldwin, the lead actor and coproducer, was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when it discharged, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.
Allred said Hutchins' relatives are determined to pursue damages and compensation from Baldwin and "Rust" producers in New Mexico civil court, and want Baldwin to answer questions under oath in the proceedings. Hutchins' widower and son previously reached a separate legal settlement.
"With the withdrawal that was made public yesterday, we are now able to proceed with our civil case," Allred said. "Clearly, the rights of Alec Baldwin were protected, but the due process rights of the victims — Halyna Hutchins and her parents and her sister — were violated."
Allred said she's ready to prove that Hutchins had a close relationship... Read More