Saville Productions has signed spot director Greg Gray for exclusive representation in the U.S. market. He broke into directing with South Africa house Velocity in the late 1990s, breaking through with his BMW “Free Diver” campaign. His other notable credits include commercials for Guinness, Ford, Nike, Axe and Virgin Upper Class. For the latter, Gray helmed the lauded “Love Story”…..Method Studios, which maintains shops on both coasts and in London, has bolstered its talent pool at its New York facility with the hiring of VFX supervisor Peter Marin and senior Flame artist Martin Lazaro. Marin has worked in visual effects since 1997, when he first joined The Mill as a Flame artist. Since then, Marin has served as VFX supervisor at a number of leading facilities, including Framestore CFC in Reykjavik, Iceland, Animal Logic, and Sweden's Redrum, where he worked on the 2009 Cannes Lion Grand Prix winner, “Carousel.” From 2002-2008, Marin was partner, senior creative artist, VFX supervisor and head of 2D and 3D at Stockholm Postproduction, before which he worked on feature projects such as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Black Hawk Down at Mill Film in London. A seasoned VFX talent with over 15 years of experience, Lazaro got his start in the industry as a graphic designer at Metrovision in Buenos Aires, Argentina, designing commercials and TV shows before forming his own VFX boutique, Dynamo Post. After that, Lazaro moved to Spain, where he worked on numerous high-end VFX commercials and feature film projects. Prior to joining Method, Lazaro headed the VFX department as a Flame artist/VFX supervisor at wild(child) and Resident Creative Studio in NYC, where in addition to commercials for clients such as AT&T and Sirius/XM, he worked on music videos for Coldplay, Jay-Z, Kanye West and the Black Eyed Peas, as well as the opening titles for HBO's Entourage….RIOT Atlanta has added Smoke artist Mike Wardner to its talent roster. He comes over from Shooters Post and Transfer, where he edited both offline and online, and expanded his range working on commercials for national and regional campaigns, and feature films…..
Director Lu Villaca Joins MADRE
Production company MADRE has added Brazilian director Lu Villaça to its talent roster. With degrees in cinema and performance and a master’s in screenwriting, Villaça brings a multifaceted approach to filmmaking. Villaça’s tastes have been shaped by her childhood training in ballet, studying Greek theatre texts, her passion for music, and her contemplative nature. She honed her cinematic skills early on as an AD and creative assistant before becoming a director. Intent on capturing the drama of everyday life as it plays out, Villaça is tuned in to how the bodies in her frame move through their environments and what elements of the story can be extrapolated from these compositions. Her sharp attention to detail in every aspect, from lighting to the final edit, is designed to connect emotionally with her audience. Villaça has been awarded three Cannes Lions for her film “Next Minute Law,” which promoted awareness of a law in Brazil designed to address the rampant epidemic of sexual violence. “Next Minute Law” also garnered Best Direction at El Ojo and the Ciclope Latino Festival, where Villaça also won Best New Talent. Additionally, she has directed assorted commercial campaigns for brands like Johnnie Walker, Huggies Wipes, Nestlé, Amazon, A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, and a spot for Medley featuring Brazilian Olympic gymnast Rebeca Andrade. Prior to joining MADRE, Villaca had been repped by production house LOBO. Recognized in Brazil as a top music video director, Villaca won Best Female Direction for her work on “Nu” by Assucena and “Lovezinho” by Rachel Reis, which also won Best National Music Video at the MVF Awards. Villaça additionally co-directed the documentary Pagliacci, an homage to circus artist Domingos Montagner... Read More