Bicoastal/ international Propaganda Films, which is headed by COO Trevor Macy and president Rick Hess, has launched Extension Films, a music video division under the aegis of senior executive producer Catherine Finkenstaedt and executive producer/directors’ representative Kim Dellara. Finkenstaedt and Dellara previously served as executive producer and directors’ rep, respectively, at Los Angeles-based A Band Apart Music Videos.
According to Macy, forming a new division rather than building on the existing commercial and music video operations at Propaganda and its sister company, bicoastal/international Satellite, allows for an influx of new talent and avoids the risk of any one division becoming unwieldy. He added that Finkenstaedt and Dellara "have excellent reputations among the top record labels and a proven track record for finding and nurturing new talent, and building long-term relationships with directors."
Finkenstaedt was drawn to the Propaganda fold because of its range of resources, including feature film and talent management operations. "In terms of the overall scheme of managing directors careers, it was important for me to have the support of a company that works in other filmic areas," she said. "Otherwise you’ll nurture young directors but end up losing them as their careers mature."
Extension currently represents directors Clark Eddy, Patrick Kiely and Aaron Fjellman worldwide, and Finkenstaedt intends to increase the directorial roster in the coming months. Eddy and Kiely come over to Extension after short stints at A Band Apart’s clips division. Eddy signed with A Band Apart about a year and a half ago, and since then the director has helmed Sublime’s "What I Got," which won an MTV Award for best alternative rock video, as well as Swirl 360’s "Candle in the Sun" and the Crash Test Dummies’ "Keep a Lid on Things." Previously Eddy was repped by U ground, Los Angeles.
Kiely, who joined A Band Apart a year ago, recently directed "Upside Down" for The A Teens, which marked one of Extension’s inaugural productions. He has also directed "Get Up" for the artist Jessica as well as music videos for M2M and Kaci.
Extension is the first roost for Fjellman, a recent graduate of the Academy of Art College, San Francisco.
During Finkenstaedt’s and Dellara’s tenure at A Band Apart, the company produced such noteworthy music clips as Ricky Martin’s "Livin’ La Vida Loca," directed by Wayne Isham; Britney Spears’ "Oops! … I Did It Again," helmed by Nigel Dick; and the Isham-directed clip "Miami" for Will Smith.
Mike Sarkissian, formerly head of production at A Band Apart Music Videos, succeeds Finkenstaedt as that production house’s executive producer.
Previously, Finkenstaedt spent seven years as executive producer/head of production at Los Angeles-based Squeak Pictures. While there, she worked with directors such as Dick, McG (now repped by A Band Apart) and Peter Christopherson (now with U ground) on clips for bands such as Rage Against the Machine and Oasis. Finkenstaedt currently serves as president of the Music Video Production Association (MVPA).
Dellara formerly spent three years as a senior director for video production at MCA, where she commissioned videos for bands such as Blink 182, Semisonic and Live.
Dellara will head up music video sales for the Extension. Macy said the hope is to grow Extension into a hybrid music video and commercial house much like Satellite. At this juncture, the Extension directors who are interested in pursuing commercials will be backed by Propaganda’s spot production team and sales staff, which are headed by VP/executive producer Colin Hickson and VP of sales Dana Balkin.
The Extension announcement comes as Propaganda moves into its new headquarters in Hollywood, a relocation that brings all of the company’s divisions under one roof.
