By KATHY DeSALVO
SOL designfx, a Santa Monica-based visual effects, design and CGI animation studio that is a sister company to Chicago-based postproduction facility Cutters, has added Jeff Heusser as visual effects director and Inferno/Flame artist.
Prior to joining SOL, Heusser spent a year working as senior digital compositor at Hollywood-based The Post Group; before this, he was director of digital production at Hollywood-based CIS (Composite Image Systems) for three years.
Among Heusser’s spot credits are "Ballgame" for Mervyn’s California via HMS, Minneapolis; "Mom" for Jeep via Bozell Worldwide, Southfield, Mich.; and "Fable" for Campbell’s Soup out of BBDO New York. At The Post Group, Heusser worked primarily on television and feature projects, such as FOX TV series That 70s Show, the NBC series Law and Order and the movie Wing Commander.
Heusser related when he came aboard CIS in ’95, the company was in the middle of transitioning into more feature work. There he worked on such movies as Dante’s Peak and Titanic (both of which were sub-contracted from Venice, Calif.-based effects house Digital Domain) in addition to The Parent Trap, George of the Jungle, Mafia! and Contact.
"One of the reasons I’ve come over to SOL," explained Heusser, "is that my time in L.A. has been spent at companies that work on a lot of different disciplines, films and TV shows. And I really like the commercials-first and foremost. While I like images of all sorts, the production schedule is a little better for me with commercials. When I look at my reel from my days in Chicago, it was commercials galore. Since then, it’s been diluted a bit."
Before he moved to the West Coast in ’95, Heusser worked as director of digital production at the now-defunct Editel/Chicago, where he was hired in ’90 to design and run what was then the first component digital (D1) edit suite in Chicago. Prior to Editel, Heusser served as a videotape editor at New York-based Charlex preceded by a four and a half year stint as director of postproduction at now defunct Instant Replay Video & Film Production, Cincinnati.
Heusser added he was looking forward to working with SOL partner Maribeth Emigh, who serves as effects director/ designer and Inferno/Flame artist. "Maribeth and I are really excited about this," said Heusser. "In my career, I’ve found my best work has always been when I’m working with a really strong designer in a team situation. I’m a compositor; if you give me a lot of elements, I’ll make them look right-bluescreen work, animation tracking, putting things into shots. But I’m not going to take a logo and give you a new logo design, whereas Maribeth is. So it’s a neat partnership between the two of us. I think we complement each other very well [in that] I’m more technical and she’s the artist."
Heusser joins a SOL designfx team comprised of Emigh; 3D animator Meher Gourjian and producer Michele Hubbs. SOL is represented on the West Coast by sales rep Yvette Lubinsky.
Oscar-Nominated Director Sean Wang Joins Park Pictures For Spots, Branded Content
Park Pictures has added director Sean Wang to its roster of talent for representation spanning commercials and branded content. His feature-length debut, Dìdi, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired by Focus Features and released later that summer to critical acclaim.
Wang is a Taiwanese-American filmmaker hailing from Fremont, Calif., and currently based in Los Angeles. Prior to joining Park Pictures, he was repped by Even/Odd Studios. Often pulling from his lived experiences, Wang can turn hyper-specific story points into universally relatable, memorable moments.
Dìdi won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and the Special Jury Prize for Best Ensemble Cast at the Sundance Film Festival. His documentary short Nai Nai & Wài Pó premiered at SXSW 2023, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award, later earning an Oscar nomination. The film following Wang’s two grandmothers is currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. Other films from Wang include the lauded documentary shorts 3,000 Miles, H.A.G.S., and Still Here. As a Google Creative Lab 5 Alumnus, Wang has directed several commercial campaigns for Google that highlighted live captions and teased large news from the tech conglomerate, including an ad that aired during the 2017 Emmy Awards.
Wang said of Park Pictures, “I can’t think of a better artistic home for me as a director. The work that comes out of Park Pictures is incredible, and I admire the work they do in advertising and the documentary and narrative space. Everyone I’ve met there is just as obsessed with making great films as I am, and I look forward to growing my career with them as I move into the commercial space.”
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