Director Samuel Bayer, who is repped by bicoastal RSA USA in the American ad market, has extended his relationship with the RSA family. Bayer has shifted his U.K. spot representation from Serious Pictures, London, to RSA Films, London….Greg Popp, senior VP/group executive producer at DDB Chicago, has made his solo directing debut with a new series of Budweiser commercials for the agency. Production was run through bicoastal Chelsea Pictures. Popp’s prior directorial endeavors had been in tandem with former DDB creative John Immesoete…Director Rebecca Blake has partnered with executive producer Mark Androw, principal in the Chicago-based The Story Companies, to launch commercial production house Rebecca Blake Films. The new shop is a satellite of The Story Companies. Blake and Androw plan to bring several other helmers on board, as well….Toronto-headquartered 3-D software developer Alias has finalized its acquisition of Kaydara, a Montreal-based company known for its real-time character animation and motion editing technology. The deal was announced this past summer during the SIGGRAPH confab in Los Angeles (SHOOT, 8/20, p. 1)….Juicy Fruit’s "Office Flage" won Best of Show honors for television at the Chicago Creative Club Awards, held Wednesday night (Sept. 29) at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Blue Source of Blink USA, Venice, Calif., directed the ad, which was done via BBDO Chicago….
SUPERLATIVE Signs Director Claudia Abend For Spots and Branded Content
Latin American director/editor and documentary filmmaker Claudia Abend has joined SUPERLATIVE for her first U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content.
Abend's empathetic docu-style POV has garnered several international awards for the documentary films Hit (2008) and The Flower of Life (2018). Her spotmaking credits include such brands as Procter & Gamble, Nestle and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. SUPERLATIVE has already worked with Abend, together producing a new ad campaign for digital agency Tinuiti and The Honest Company, a consumer goods corporation featuring eco-minded products.
“We found Claudia through her poignant documentaries on the festival circuit,” said SUPERLATIVE creative manager Stefan Dezil. “We are excited about her textured narratives, emotional storytelling, and her powerhouse long-form storytelling abilities, currently on her third feature film. As SUPERLATIVE continues to build our brand after premiering our latest films at Sundance and SXSW, Claudia is the kind of multidimensional artist we are excited to partner with on branded content and beyond. Fluent in English and Spanish, her reel shows real prowess with infants, food and skin products, families both young and old. Great visual storytelling and inspirational doc work.”
Abend began her career in her native Uruguay, studying film and editing in college. “My dad would show me films like Citizen Kane,” she said. “I love cinema and became an editor. It was here that I learned all about communicating human emotion.”
From the get-go, Abend hit it big as a documentary director, teaming with Adrianna Loeff on Hit, a movie chronicling pop artists of Uruguayan music. Abend took home a Best Editing... Read More