Director Kieran Walsh has joined Wild Plum Productions, a Venice-based shop headed by executive producer Shelby Sexton and CFO Alisa Allen. Already at Wild Plum, which recently marked its two-year anniversary, Walsh has started work for Kellogg’s Raisin Bran as well as a six-spot healthcare package. Wild Plum is active in commercials and varied forms of branded content.
Walsh, who was formerly handled by Crossroads Films, has a body of work over the years which includes notable spots for such clients as Coca-Cola, HSBC and ESPN. For the latter, he directed “Gathering,” which earned SHOOT Top Spot distinction. The ad shows a family get-together that is torn asunder due to relatives’ conflicting soccer team allegiances. The humorous tagline, tinged with sarcasm, asks, “Without sports, how would we all come together?”
Best known for his performance and dialogue-driven work, Walsh related, “I like the challenge of giving the emotional connection between the characters and the viewer a voyeuristic quality and resonance. Audiences are smart and the job of the director and agency is to support an idea through authenticity or the audience will change the channel.”
Walsh’s previous production company affiliations include Anonymous Content and Chelsea Pictures. His first career roost was MJZ which signed him on the strength of a pair of spec spots he directed–one for Nike, another for fashion designer agnes b.
Graduating from Columbia University in 1990 with a major in philosophy and minors in photography and dramatic arts, Walsh went to Los Angeles to work on commercials. Starting out as a production assistant, he moved up the industry ladder to become the producer of some low-budget commercials and music videos, which he freelanced through various production companies. This production experience helped his directorial aspirations as he made key contacts and learned about different aspects of commercialmaking. Walsh returned to New York in ’94 to make the leap into directing with the aforementioned spec commercials.
Walsh now comes aboard a Wild Plum directorial roster which includes Jan DeBont, Shane Drake, Matt Goodman Jason Sands and Walter May.
Wild Plum signed Sands, a reality director (The Hills, Murder in Small Town X, Real World), earlier this year. He has since helmed a five-spot package for Jenny Craig out of Y&R, Irvine. Drake directed several American Idol music videos for Ford and Team Detroit–the second of the series for Wild Plum–and was nominated for a 2009 MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video for Paramore’s “Decode” (from the Twilight soundtrack). He also just finished two spec spots for Altoids. Director/editor May helmed a star-studded Caitlin Crosby video and toured with Katy Perry, directing her “Ur So Gay” video which has garnered over 6 million hits to date on YouTube and MySpace. Goodman directed a viral for Butterfinger and has been busy shooting various extreme sports projects, including the brand-enhancing X Games 3D movie that screened in over 1,200 theaters nationwide, while feature and commercials helmer DeBont is currently developing some movie and TV properties.
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More