Independent agency Venables Bell + Partners (VB+P) has launched The Taproom Studios, a modern content and creation studio with full production capabilities. The collective of idea-driven digital storytellers includes creators, strategists, producers, artists, makers, and doers charged with creating content and experiences that resonate with consumers and within the communities that they engage.
The new venture is under the aegis of Patty Brebner who’s been named head of content. Prior to joining The Taproom Studios, Brebner spent more than 20 years at Wieden + Kennedy, where she built production and post capabilities that went into creating award-winning work for brands such as Nike, KFC, Target, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Old Spice, Chrysler and Levi’s. She has developed and led creative production teams throughout her career to transform ideas into captivating stories and experiences for major agencies and brands. Brebner is known for developing respected creative production studio capabilities and best-in-class teams, steering projects across content platforms–live action, video, digital, social, multimedia, experiential, podcasts and event–while engaging audiences and boosting revenue. At the same time, she prioritizes sustainability, equity, and collaboration.
With a focus on and passion for empowering a diverse range of creators, The Taproom Studios will concept, craft, and create in a variety of formats and mediums outside of traditional and established brand communications and platforms, bringing authenticity and meaning to the many touchpoints of the modern consumer journey. Capabilities include emerging platforms, content and social strategy, influencer and community development programs, and story and script development: prototyping, video/film production, photography, events, activations, postproduction, motion design, animation, and audio production.
“The massive shift in consumer behavior and communication spaces offer both the necessity and opportunity to rethink all of the processes and tools of the production kit,” said Gavin Jones, managing director, VB+P. “Brands today must find authentic ways to engage with consumers and earn the right to be a part of the online communities they are passionate about. We believe that The Taproom Studios, led by Patty, and all the expertise, knowledge, and creativity that she brings, is the solution for brands looking to accomplish this.”
Brebner is joined by a group of creators: Motion designer Titus who will create video artwork for the web, television and film, and digital and mobile platforms, using visual effects, animation and other cinematic techniques to bring life to their creation; Destiny Thomas as social content strategist, setting the vision and protocol for both proactive and reactive workstreams in social spaces and places, working with a broad creative team to concept and create impactful ideas; Paul Coutu as a sr. cutting assistant editor working on videos and with sr. editors on large-scale projects; production coordinator Nicole Landau who will work across operations and productions to ensure creators have time, space, and tools to create work.
“Modern brand storytelling requires fearless independence of thought, experimentation, iteration, and permission to fail,” said Brebner. “It’s two-way conversations that are iterative. Prototype, iterate, listen, learn, collect data, repeat. We are creating the ultimate storytelling hub–from originals to branded content, franchises and experiences, streamers to high-quality digital, social, mobile, point of sale, internal, and B2B. Our stories can be as complex as a returnable series, or as practical and informative as a product demo, as compelling as a long-form docu-style to a silly gif or text-based post. With The Taproom Studios, we are giving creators the permission and tools to be their authentic selves. Leverage real-time data, new technologies, and platforms, in new places and spaces, with new faces, which will create outsized results for brands in today’s marketplace.”
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