Psyop has added to its roster the Argentina-based Buda.tv, an animation studio and directing collective formed in 2016 by Martin Dasnoy and Dalmiro Buigues. With respective backgrounds in directing animated films for brands like Google, Nike and the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympics Games, and branding for television networks such as Discovery, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, Dasnoy and Buigues combine stylistic character design and motion graphics with beautifully crafted narrative storytelling. While their work tends toward 3D animation, Buda.tv continues to experiment with different styles and aesthetics, always looking to break rules and conventions to convey stories in the most unique way possible. In 2020 Buda created a collaborative project for Mate, the popular Latin American beverage, carefully selecting friends and colleagues with very different visual styles to participate. Within a month of launching, the film gained over 3 million views and 30,000 shares on social media….
Amsterdam-based design and motion graphics studio PlusOne has brought Manuel Ferrari on board as creative director. Ferrari has been making waves in the animation industry since 2003. His wide experience has seen him work with a range of world-class brands and studios over the years including Duvel, Nespresso, Whatsapp, Mini, Ambassadors, Glassworks, Post-Panic, Christian Borstlap, and Louis Vuitton….
FuseFX, a visual effects company that specializes in providing services for TV, film and commercials globally across eight studios, has named Julian Sarmiento as its global director of virtual production and real-time. This is part of FuseFX’s efforts to integrate virtual production and real-time services into the company’s key service offerings. Sarmiento brings 20 years of combined experience in visual effects, location-based entertainment, and virtual production to FuseFX. He has long worked on pioneering technologies such as immersive/interactive media, virtual production, digital characters, and live real-time performance. Prior to joining FuseFX, Sarmiento held positions including VFX supervisor at Mirada Studios and executive creative director at Digital Domain….
Oak Leaf Productions, an independent, minority-owned, full-service production, content and media company in L.A., has appointed Daniel Marin as its head of production. A marketing and media industry vet with more than 20 years of experience, Marin has created, built and led production at firms within Publicis and WPP and most recently at JOAN…
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More