David Richardson has joined Martin|Williams Advertising, Minneapolis, as VP/group creative director and will work on the Payless ShoeSource and Hoover accounts. He earlier spent eight years at Minneapolis shop Peterson Milla Hooks where he focused on the Target business, touching nearly every aspect of the retailer’s advertising. Among the notable work he created was Target’s “Back to College” interactive webisodic OddsAgainst7even.com campaign. Richardson was also instrumental in helping Peterson Milla Hooks win the Budweiser Select business in 2005….John Evans has become a full fledged editor at Panic & Bob, Toronto, where he earlier served as editor David Baxter’s assistant for more than three years…..Autodesk, Inc. has completed the acquisition of substantially all the assets of Skymatter Limited, the New Zealand-based, privately held developer of Mudbox 3D modeling software. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Mudbox has shaped photorealistic creatures for the blockbuster movie King Kong, as well as upcoming films The Golden Compass, Fred Claus and Inkheart. “Mudbox is complementary to the Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya software products, providing our customers with an additional suite of tools for modeling, prototyping and detailing,” said Marc Petit, senior VP, Autodesk Media & Entertainment…
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More