Tool has added director Chris Cairns to its roster. His experience in graphic design, photography and technical filmmaking including slow and stop-motion brings a fresh, technical style to Tool.
Specializing in commercial campaigns and music videos, Cairns has worked with clients including Land Rover, Coca Cola, Walmart, Pizza Hut and Samsung. He is known for audio-visual fusion in spots including Schwartz’ “Sound of Taste” and Sony’s “Xperia,” which was the world’s first super slow motion film shot on a smartphone. Before joining Tool, Cairns spent 12 years as a director at Partizan in London, where he built pixilation and stop-motion experiments and honed his talent for the audio-visual experience, syncing sound and picture tightly in all of his work and creating in-camera effects. During the early part of his tenure at Partizan, Cairns earned inclusion in Saatchi & Saatchi’s 2006 New Directors Showcase.
Cairns began his career in graphic design and photography, giving him a technical background that fueled his diverse portfolio of work.
“Tool has an impressive roster of directors, and the work they’re creating for both brands and agencies is ahead of the curve. Their investment in emerging technologies is what attracted me, as I’m always excited about what’s next,” Cairns said.
“Chris has a remarkable knack for creating an all-encompassing sensory experience that goes beyond the campaign work he creates to form a deep connection between brand and consumer,” said Oliver Fuselier, managing partner at Tool. “He will help the brands and agencies we work with navigate the competitive media landscape and innovate through storytelling.”
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More