Director Adriano Falconi, known for his visual sensibilities and casting acumen, has signed with Chelsea for representation. Since moving to the U.S. in 2000, the Italian native has helmed spots for such clients as MasterCard, Jagermeister, Fiat Group and Puma…..FilmTecknarna, the storytelling and design studio with headquarters in Stockholm and offices in New York, recently added Barcelona-based director collective Bungalow to its roster. Bungalow's skillset spans live action, still photography, motion design, illustration and animation….Editorial house Beast, with shops throughout the country, has brought former ad agency producer Mary Ellen Farrar to oversee commercial editing and post work at its Austin, TX location. Farrar has spent the past two decades as a producer. Most recently she was on staff at the Seattle office of Publicis, where she worked on spots for Washington Lottery, Dish Network, Citi and the popular T-Mobile “myFaves” and “myTouch” campaigns….Optimus, the post and production house with offices in Chicago and Santa Monica, has promoted one-time assistant editors Julie Kravitz and Brad Tohtz to full-fledged editors….
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 and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles.
Nakamura Whitehouse, 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