NY-based First Wave TV has signed London-based director Kit Lynch-Robinson for U.S. representation. His work spans such brands as Google, Samsung, Ikea, McDonald’s and Peugeot. An early adapter of digital content, Lynch-Robinson’s work has earned notable viral reach for content encompassing documentary, scripted comedy and action genres. Additionally, Lynch-Robinson regularly lends his directorial talents to segments for the BBC series Top Gear. Lynch-Robinson made a name for himself as a director in 2005 by helming one of the films of the visionary interactive Hewlett Packard “Hype” campaign that won 34 industry awards including two Gold Cannes Lions. Embracing the digital space early on, the director has continued to craft inventive approaches to adapting campaigns to the online landscape as seen in his recent work for UK meat snack brand Fridge Raiders via Saatchi & Saatchi London. Lynch-Robinson leveraged user-submitted prototypes of a hands-free snacking device to create quirky test videos that were released through the brand’s social media channels. The “MMM3000” campaign garnered over 110 million impressions and won numerous awards including a Bronze Cannes Lion. Prior to joining First Wave TV, Kit was represented in the U.S. by Saville….Andrea Ball has joined BLVD’s commercial directorial roster. After selling her thesis film, Beats Per Minute, to iTunes for distribution, Ball launched her career assisting award-winning commercial and music video icon Samuel Bayer. Ball was selected for SHOOT’s 2012 New Directors Showcase for her Chevy “Imagination” commercial. In this heartwarming spot, Ball bases a father and son’s nighttime excursion to convey the smooth, otherworldly nature of the Chevy SUV ride. As the spot starts, an iconic recording of a rocket launch propels the story, and the fluid, gravity-free ride begins. A football, a toy plane, and a coffee cup begin to float up as the Chevy reaches zero gravity. The details, VFX and casting help create the perfect picture of the child’s imaginary journey in his father’s Chevy. A recipient of a Panavision New Filmmakers Grant, Ball is a member of the Women in Film, and a Hollywood Foreign Press Fellow….The Cavalry Productions has signed director Ben DeJesus for commercials and digital work. DeJesus has a track record of spots and web work for the Latino market….Production company B-Reel has brought Andy Williams aboard as a managing director and executive producer in New York. Williams has over 10 years of digital marketing experience, including his most recent gigs at Barton F. Graf 9000, LLC and 72andSunny, where he focused on agency digital capabilities, digital thought leadership and on managing the User Experience department….
Review: Steven Soderbergh’s Eerie Haunted House Drama “Presence”
The camera is the ghost in Steven Soderbergh's chillingly effective, experiential haunted house drama "Presence." The filmmaker traps the audience in a beautiful suburban home, letting us drift through rooms with this curious being, in and out of delicate conversations as we (and the ghost) try to piece together a puzzle blindly.
Often in haunted house movies where a new family moves in and starts sensing strange things, the ghost knows exactly what they want — usually their house back. In this one, the presence doesn't have such a clear objective. It's more confused, wandering around and investigating the surroundings, like a benevolent amnesiac. Occasionally, though, big emotions erupt, and things shake violently.
Mostly, they go unnoticed. They observe the chipper real estate agent (Julia Fox) preparing for a showing, the painting crew, one of whom believes there's something around, and finally the family and all the complexities of its dynamics. Lucy Liu (a delightful, wickedly funny scene-stealer) is the mom, Rebecca, a wealthy, successful, type-A woman hyper focused on the success of her eldest, a teenage boy named Tyler (Eddy Maday). The father, Chris (Chris Sullivan), is more of the nurturer, concerned about their teen daughter Chloe (Callina Liang) in the aftermath of her friend's unexpected death.
There is a family drama transpiring inside the house, only some of which will make sense in the end. We overhear Rebecca drunkenly telling Tyler that everything she does is for him. We listen in as Chris confides to someone on the phone about a hypothetical partner being involved in something illegal and whether they still would be if legally separated. We see Tyler often with his head buried in his phone. And then there's Chloe: Sad,... Read More