Creative production company DECON has expanded its global sales, signing with artist rep shop Safe Word Creative Management for West Coast representation and Toronto-based production company Stella Shoots for Canadian representation. Safe Word is run by sales reps Erika Bokamper and Erika Sheldon and specializes in integrated artist representation for a wide range of creative production and postproduction companies. Their current roster also includes Humble, Great Guns, Honey Badger and Los York. Stella Shoots is a full service boutique production company and will represent DECON’s full directorial roster in Canada.
DP Michael Ozier has been signed by agent Juanita Tiangco for representation in commercials and music videos via Dattner Dispoto and Associates (DDA)….
Joseph Newcombe has been promoted to global sales manager for Vidcheck, a company which offers a range of advanced applications to check and correct file-based video and audio content. Newcombe joined Vidcheck two years ago as European sales manager and was given additional responsibility for US sales in 2015. Additionally David Kicks has also been promoted from U.S. account manager to sales manager for the U.S. and Canada. Meanwhile new to Vidcheck are Galo Puerta who joins as sales manager for Europe, and Sarah Thomas who has come board to manage internal sales. Designed for checking and repairing file-based video, audio and related metadata before and after distribution, Vidcheck’s Vidchecker is also used to ensure that the metadata, video and audio parameters and levels of media files received by broadcasters from postproduction companies and content owners are correct for general transmission. Vidchecker provides a highly efficient server-based alternative to checking conformance by eye and hand.,,,
GenArts, Inc., makers of premium special effects plugins, thas appointed Daniel Sims as its new sr. director of marketing and business development. Previously, Sims has built out and managed business development, marketing, and marketing operation teams at niche service providers such as Scope Systems as well as at large, multi-national companies like Experian….
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More