Synthetic Pictures has added a pair of filmmakers to its lineup–director Jako and director/cameraman Mike Angelo Torres.
The former specializes in automotive and music-driven content while Torres is known for his visual storytelling in both the general and Latin markets.
Raised in Italy, Jako originally moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music, but shifted his career toward filmmaking after crafting a music video for his band, Socadia. While he brings his skills in commercials and branded content to Synthetic, his music video collaborations with artists like Gnarls Barkley, Eric Benet, and Fatboy Slim have been featured at SXSW, Raindance, and the LA Film Festival. National Geographic recently featured his photographs, “Lovers Night” and “Love Train.” Jako won the AFI & Levi’s short film competition with “More Than Words.” Jako’s clients include Fiat, Yamaha, Lincoln, and John Deere, most recently teaming up with Synthetic on a project for Honda Motorcycles.
Torres’ previous clients include Reebok, Budweiser, Nissan, and SafeLink. He’s also directed and shot music videos for leading recording labels and well-known artists like Lil Wayne, Ben Kweller, Dizzee Rascal, and Rick Ross. Torres’ background also includes extensive work as a DP for commercials, music videos, and branded content. Torres had been previously repped by production house Action Figure.
Founded in 2002, Synthetic Pictures has offices in Los Angeles, Austin, and New York City. Jako and Torres join Synthetic’s diverse roster of live action directors, accompanied by visual effects division SP/FX.
Carrie Coon Relishes Being Part Of An Ensemble–From “The Gilded Age” To “His Three Daughters”
It can be hard to catch Carrie Coon on her own.
She is far more likely to be found in the thick of an ensemble. That could be on TV, in "The Gilded Age," for which she was just Emmy nominated, or in the upcoming season of "The White Lotus," which she recently shot in Thailand. Or it could be in films, most relevantly, Azazel Jacobs' new drama, "His Three Daughters," in which Coon stars alongside Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen as sisters caring for their dying father.
But on a recent, bright late-summer morning, Coon is sitting on a bench in the bucolic northeast Westchester town of Pound Ridge. A few years back, she and her husband, the playwright Tracy Letts, moved near here with their two young children, drawn by the long rows of stone walls and a particularly good BLT from a nearby cafe that Letts, after biting into, declared must be within 15 miles of where they lived.
In a few days, they would both fly to Los Angeles for the Emmys (Letts was nominated for his performance in "Winning Time" ). But Coon, 43, was then largely enmeshed in the day-to-day life of raising a family, along with their nightly movie viewings, which Letts pulls from his extensive DVD collection. The previous night's choice: "Once Around," with Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfus.
Coon met Letts during her breakthrough performance in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?" on Broadway in 2012. She played the heavy-drinking housewife Honey. It was the first role that Coon read and knew, viscerally, she had to play. Immediately after saying this, Coon sighs.
"It sounds like something some diva would say in a movie from the '50s," Coon says. "I just walked around in my apartment in my slip and I had pearls and a little brandy. I made a grocery list and I just did... Read More