DUCK Studios, Los Angeles, has added Aatma Studio to its roster of directors. Aatma is a San Francisco based creative animation/visual production/VFX studio specializing in the production of imagery for broadcast and interactive media. Over the last three years, Aatma has built a portfolio of top-tier clients including Pepsi’s Brisk Ice Tea, Nike, Asics, Lucasfilm, Visa, Namco, Fastrack, and Roche. Most notable was Aatma’s collaboration with Brisk and Lucasfilm in 2012 on a series of Darth Maul animated shorts that promoted the 3D release of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. For these spots, Aatma expanded upon the famous stop motion animation style of the Brisk TV commercials and reimagined that style through computer graphics. This creates a fresh, modern sleekness to the iconic and familiar styles of previous Brisk commercials….
8th Street Productions has added to its directorial roster the Culprit Creative trio, consisting of directors/co-founders David Dinetz and Dylan Trussell, and cinematographer Colt Seman. The threesome specializes in high-speed filming using a repurposed robotic arm traditionally used to build automobiles. This allows for added motion to slow motion, which they claim creates a “never before seen imagery” as their trademark style. Culprit Creative’s credits span automotive, sports, lifestyle, beauty, liquids, and comedy for clients such as Tesla, K-Swiss, and upcoming work for Reese’s Puffs….
Boutique audio production studio Pivot Audio announced the opening of a Los Angeles office, which will be led by composer Guy Amitai. Founded by Amitai in Amsterdam in 2008, Pivot specializes in original composition, production, and sound design for creative clients worldwide. With an ever-growing body of U.S. work in recent years, including Coca-Cola’s 2015 Super Bowl spot “Make It Happy” via Wieden+Kennedy, the addition of a permanent home in Los Angeles will allow Pivot to streamline its services for U.S. clients moving forward. The L.A. facility will work in close collaboration with Pivot’s Amsterdam studio to provide clients with truly around-the-clock service. Pivot’s commercial work has been recognized with awards for both composition and sound design by D&AD, Cannes Lions, AICP Show, Clio, and Promax/BDA. Recent notable projects include Google’s “Night Walk” via 72andSunny, and Jack Daniels’ “Frank the Man” via Arnold….
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More