Dean Buckhorn has joined Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis, as group creative director, having been recruited by Carmichael Lynch’s chief creative officer Dave Damman. Buckhorn’s work for clients from Coca-Cola to Miller Lite has gained international recognition for over 20 years, with awards coming from as far away as England’s D&AD and the Cannes Ad Fest. He is the author of the long-running TIME Magazine ad series that was named campaign of the decade by the prestigious One Club for Art & Copy in New York. He also created the popular Travelers Insurance campaign, which has won top honors from advertising professional groups for several years running. Drawn from the East Coast to the Minneapolis advertising scene during the ‘90s, Buckhorn spent two decades partnering with numerous art directors at Fallon, achieving success across a diverse range of accounts….Animated Storyboards (ASB) has opened an office in Santa Monica led by marketing director Allison Kurtzer, who started her ASB career in the New York office four years ago. Established in 2003, ASB has rapidly grown from a US based company, to a global company spanning four continents. ASB specializes in 3D cinematics, 2D animatics, photomatics and HD Test. With 6 other office locations around the globe, ASB utilizes multiple time zones to work around the clock and deliver materials quickly and efficiently. The ASB LA production team includes animation director CK Spitler, formerly a freelance director specializing in commercial, music video and film production, and producer Natalie Santana, who was previously a producer at McKinney Silver in Durham, NC. ASB’s Santa Monica office will house two edit suites, audio facility, and open space for animators, designers and directors. Some of ASB’s clients include TBWA ChiatDay, Dailey, BBDO and Goodby Silverstein….
Michael Gracey Delves Into The Evolution of “Better Man”
Michael Gracey’s feature directorial debut--The Greatest Showman, released in 2017--garnered assorted honors, including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, followed shortly thereafter by an Oscar nod for Best Original Song (“This is Me”). During the making of that film, Gracey got a chance to connect with a real-life showman, British pop superstar Robbie Williams, who lent some musical support and morale boosting to its star, Hugh Jackman.
Gracey and Williams developed a rapport with one another on The Greatest Showman and kept in touch. They swapped life experiences and Gracey, who clearly knows a worthwhile story when he hears it, became intrigued by Williams--and how entertaining his tales were. Gracey found it remarkable that despite drug and alcohol abuse, Williams vividly remembered so many details of his life.
Given that Williams had a recording studio at his home, Gracey implored him to commit those memories to audio. With that, a routine was born. Whenever Gracey visited Los Angeles, he’d come to Williams’ home where they’d kibitz in the studio and Williams would talk into the microphone, recollecting different aspects and stages of his life. While the original intent was just to get Williams to share and preserve his story, Gracey began chronologically rearranging these audio clips collected over a year and a half, patching together an a spoken mosaic of William’s life. It was during that process that Gracey realized he had the framework for an engaging narrative film.
That narrative took a seemingly bizarre turn as Gracey sought a departure from the traditional musical biopic. What struck Gracey was Williams referring to himself repeatedly as “a performing... Read More