Director/executive producer Dina Mande–who’s helped to develop the careers of varied up-and-coming helmers as founder of the nearly three-year-old Group101Spots collective–is now looking to do the same on a commercial production house platform via Subliminal, a Burbank-based shop she has launched with executive producer Steven Gould.
The new venture opens with a directorial roster consisting of Mande, Angel Traverso, John Shotwell and Mo Husseini.
Subliminal just wrapped its first job, a spot promoting The Nightmare Before Xmas video game for Disney’s BVG, out of agency Kovel/Fuller, Culver City, Calif. The comedic ad was directed by Corbett Scott, a Group101Spots alum. Scott is not part of the Subliminal lineup but worked on the job via the company due to his Group101 tie to Mande.
Through her lead involvement in Group101Spots–which includes an expansion of that Los Angeles-based program into New York this month–Mande has had a hand in discovering up-and-coming directors. Group101Spots provides select aspiring helmers with the challenge of creating one spec spot every thirty days for six months. The ’05 class featured seven directors (including Scott) who directed assorted spots, 29 of which were screened this past June at Group 101’s annual showcase event, held at Red Car, Santa Monica (SHOOT, 6/10, p. 1). Via Group101, the directors collectively share resources while getting advice and critiques of their work from industry professionals.
For Mande and Gould–a production advisor to Group101Spots and a veteran line producer who’s worked regularly with director Paul Santana (chosen for this year’s SHOOT New Directors Showcase)–the Subliminal startup was a natural extension springing from their pedigree of nurturing up-and-coming directorial talent. Mande said that Gould has helped shape and strategize her directorial career over the past year and a half, and that his production expertise was a key factor in her deciding to partner with him in the formation of Subliminal.
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As a director, Mande often blends graphics and live-action. Her short film A Dog Story was an official selection of the 2003 Toronto Film Festival, as part of Kevin Spacey’s TriggerStreet.com Project Top Ten. Additionally, her HD short Small Change has played at assorted festivals from Tribeca to Singapore, garnering a Silver Remi honor at Worldfest Houston.
Mande was last on staff at New Wave Entertainment, Burbank, where as a senior art director she got the opportunity to direct show promos and/or opens for Lifetime TV, Discovery Channel, A&E, Bravo and Soapnet, among others. She also has a reel of spec fare, which includes spots for Staples and Canon.
Her and Gould’s Group101 involvement led them to the helmers now on Subliminal’s core roster. Traverso had inquired about becoming a Group101 director. However, when Mande and Gould saw Traverso’s assorted real-world spots for major advertisers in South America and Puerto Rico, they deemed him overqualified for a Group101 gig. His body of work for the South American and Puerto Rican markets spans automotive (Suzuki, Dodge, Jeep), comedy (Coca-Cola, Budweiser), fashion (Bud Light’s “Oceanfest”) and lifestyle/slice of life vignettes (PBS, Coors).
Via Subliminal, Traverso gains his first career representation in the American ad market. He continues to be handled outside the U.S. by Metropolis Films in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Shotwell, whose directorial work is primarily off-center comedy, was a Group101 director in ’04. He recently wrapped his first paid commercial directing assignment, an ad for Indiana Unclaimed out of Indianapolis agency Hirons & Co. He crosses over into live-action direction from still photography, with Group101 having played a large part in that transition.
Husseini, meanwhile, is currently redefining his directorial reel via Group101. He is an established director, having last been repped for work via cYclops, New York, and prior to that kaboom, San Francisco. However, his helming reputation is largely in visual effects-driven fare given his extensive experience as a technical director for Lucasfilms’ Industrial Light+Magic. Now through Group101, related Mande, Husseini is focusing on projects that demonstrate his prowess in character development and storytelling.
At press time, Subliminal was in the process of assembling a sales team that will likely consist of independent reps, with Mande and Gould handling, at least for the time being, the West Coast. Gould’s track record includes serving briefly as head of production at now defunct Orbit Entertainment Group, and prior to that at Los Angeles-based Brentwood Pictures, a shop specializing in stateside shoots for spots airing in Japan. Over the years, Gould has experience shooting all over the world, working on projects with such companies as bicoastal HKM Productions, and bicoastal/international HSI and Moxie Pictures.