Director Mark Schimmel has signed with Road Pictures, an Indianapolis-based production company headed by owner/EP Greg Malone, for national representation.
Schimmel and Malone have a longstanding relationship including sharing second unit producing responsibilities for the Farrelly brothers’ miniseres The Now, as well as collaborating on commercial projects. More recently, Road Pictures produced a Schimmel-directed branded content project for pharmaceutical manufacturer Aurinia and its cornerstone brand, Lupkynis, out of agency Fishawack Health. The project featured three leading doctors in a roundtable discussion sharing information and treatment plans (including Lupkynis) for adults who have active lupus nephritis. The project spanned seven individual short videos along with a 30-minute compilation video.
The overall success of this campaign is what advanced the relationship between Schimmel and Road Pictures. “After directing and producing everything from commercials to episodic, the support offered by Road Pictures is unparalleled,” said Schimmel. “Greg and his team bring a level of trust to the clients which builds confidence and sets the stage for the director to perform at their very best. This allows me to focus on creative conversations with the creative teams while communicating to the doctors.”
Schimmel has been directing healthcare content and doctors for over a decade, working with global pharmaceutical companies such as Astellas, Pfizer and Meridian, along with leading healthcare networks. He began his career in New York City as an art director with Lintas Worldwide. He successfully transitioned into commercials and branded content, eventually helming a New York Newsday commercial featuring a dozen dogs which established Schimmel as an animal director. This allowed Schimmel to build a career which led to a nine-part campaign for Wrangler Blue Jeans featuring George Strait, Banfield with Russell Wilson and his dog Naomi, and other pet related products. On the opposite end of the spectrum, he built a secondary specialty working with healthcare and pharmaceutical companies. Over time, Schimmel began producing commercials, branded and eventually episodic.
Malone is a veteran commercial and branded content producer, and his Road Pictures has been in business for more than a quarter century. Malone’s work also includes features and television projects, including The Now, the Sundance premiere Madison, and the currently streaming No Place.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More