DNA, Inc., Hollywood, has signed director/cameraman Thomas Kloss to its roster for both spot and music video representation….Bicoastal Anonymous Content and location manager Carson Turner won the California On Location Award (COLA) for commercial production company/location team of the year on the strength of their work on a Toyota Tundra campaign out of Saatchi & Saatchi LA, Torrance, Calif. Topping the 13th annual COLA competition’s other ad category, location professional of the year for commercials, was Patrick Ranahan for his contributions to a Pepsi commercial (from BBDO New York) that transformed the City of San Francisco into a giant pinball machine….Method Studios, Santa Monica, has brought artist Seb Caudron on board. A noted Flame artist/VFX supervisor/director, Caudron joins Method’s Flame roster. As the cofounder of Paris-based visual effects company DEF2SHOOT, Caudron has established himself in high-end effects for international spot and feature clients. He is currently working on his first Method job, a short film directed by Phillip Van of Little Minx….Minneapolis post house Splice Here has added veteran designer Jeff Stevens as its creative director and Nicole Martin who comes aboard as a producer. Both were formerly with Charlex, New York….
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