Thursday 5 February 2009

NewsReel 06/02/09



Director Samuel Bayer Joins Boutique Shop aWHITELABELproduct.

Since his storied directorial debut in the ‘90s, Samuel Bayer has done the monumental: he’s accrued dozens of prestigious awards and directed memorable spots for a wish-list of clients such as Nike, Visa, Converse, VW, Coca-Cola and Mountain Dew, and music videos for artists Green Day, Justin Timberlake, The Strokes, The Rolling Stones and Metallica, to note only a few.

And after spending the majority of his career at HSI, Bayer shifts gears and joins former colleagues Annique DeCaestecker and Ellen Jacobson-Clarke, and their partner Oliver Hicks, at bicoastal shop aWHITELABELproduct.

“I’ve rarely been as pumped up about the business,” Bayer says. “I have a great relationship with Annique and Ellen, having worked with them for years. I like what WHITELABEL represents. It’s a boutique with an eye on where the business is going, focusing on cross platforming directors in to other mediums.”

Bayer was honored recently as part of a David Bowie retrospective at MoMA, with his “Heart’s Filthy Lesson” video for the artist (now part of the museum’s permanent collection), and Kodak honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. He is pursuing projects on the Big Screen as well, and is slated to direct the feature Brilliant, a diamond heist film in development with Matthew McConaughey and Scarlett Johansson.



Clemens Signs to Draw.

Helen Clemens wins at Country Music Awards Australia - and signs to Draw Pictures UK.Helen Clemens (pictured centre, below) wins 'Best Music Video' for Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson (left and right) "Rattlen' Bones" at the Australia Country Music Awards.
Helen hails from Sydney and has a diverse creative background in music promos. Having directed Australia’s number one artists such as Sneaky Sounds System, Josh Pyke and Kasey Chambers, she also brings with her a wealth of creative knowledge, flair and insight from a broad variety of film and post-production design.After graduating from the University of Sydney, Helen established herself as a video artist installing huge projection works for Roskilde Music Festival 1999 & 2000 and has designed digital installations for numerous live music concerts and fashion catwalk parades.
Helen moved into working as lead vfx designer on dozens of commercials for director Michael Gracey in the UK for clients such as Expedia and McCains, and on UK music promos such as Natasha Bedingfield 'Unwritten' and Charlotte Church 'Say My Name'.
Check out Helen’s reel here!




Disqo Gets Designer Touch from Joe Lovelock.
Disqo, London’s first post-centric digital production company, is strengthening its client offering with the addition of a designer, Joe Lovelock (headshot attached), who has extensive experience in brand identity, marketing and web design.

Lovelock’s appointment further diversifies Disqo’s existing post-production and web expertise by introducing non-video-based design experience. Lovelock previously worked as a designer and art director for Global (formerly known as GCap Media) where he created brand identities and marketing material for radio stations like XFM and Capital, plus sponsorship campaigns for brands such as Nivea. Lovelock is a multi-talented designer with a spectrum of creative experience spanning photography spells at The Independent and The Times, animation, print and web.

Lovelock’s addition is strategically timed to coincide with an extremely busy period for Disqo. The company is currently in the finishing stages of a complex and wide-ranging project for Lexus and CHI; and is also liaising with heads of TV at various London agencies to establish pioneering discussion forums regarding issues inherent in digital production.

Ben Leyland, Disqo’s creative director, said: “Joe’s branding and design experience will add a fresh perspective to our team which, until now, mostly consisted of people with video and web based talent. His addition means we’re now even better placed to meet the demands of clients who need to go beyond the one-off digital production commission. He’s an enthusiastic guy and we’re sure he’ll bring loads of new ideas to the team.”

And Finally!

Thanks to our pals at the Media Foundry and Stream Worldwide, The Reel team was treated to a quiz of epic proportions last night. We came third. It was a set up. That still makes us in the top 3 at music quizzes in London. Which also means the world.

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