After more than 15 years of developing groundbreaking VFX and post-production work from its Warsaw bunker, the Oscar- and Emmy-nominated, BAFTA-winning Platige has arrived in the U.S. The newly launched NYC studio extends the reach of the company’s Warsaw headquarters to the US market, and will service all areas of CG, animation, and VFX in advertising, broadcast and film.

The multi-talented James Cooper has signed on as the newest interactive director on the Tool roster. Cooper has served as the creative leader behind a wide range of digital work, including the recent Cannes Gold Lion-winning mobile application for Band-Aid featuring the Muppets, Wheaties’ Most Valuable Tweeter Super Bowl campaign, and JCPenney’s Return to the Doghouse campaign.

ClickFire Media is proud to announce the addition of Executive Creative Director Bill Kay and Senior Account Manager Robyn Pearson to its team. The pair will lead Click3Rx, a division of the studio devoted to creative technology for pharmaceutical marketing.

Kay arrives with nearly 20 years as a creative and business development professional who has successfully applied his skills in pharmaceutical, consumer branding, film, digital, and entrepreneurial endeavors. Known for his ability to build strong cultures, Kay has grown an agency, built AOR relationships and developed countless digital solutions for sales and marketing teams within Daiichi Sankyo, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis and Genentech.

After launching its world-class Remote Viewing operation with outposts in Dallas, Austin, Minneapolis and Denver, MPC is making more big moves in the US. The visual effects studio has promoted Ed Koenig to US EP of Color Grading, heading its development operations across the States, and has signed industry pioneer Adrian Seery as the Colorist in its New York studio. Koenig will focus on continuing to expand MPC’s Color Grading services from coast to coast, while Seery will joins the New York office as the location’s first dedicated grading specialist.

After helping a52 and sister studio Elastic more than double in size since 2008, Megan Meloth is being promoted to EP. The multitalented powerhouse – who has worked across the agency, production, and post-production spectrums – will join Jennifer Sofio Hall in the studio’s EP lineup.

“Megan just gets the production process, from start to finish,” stated Hall. “Whether she’s working with agency creatives, directors, or the folks in the edit suites, she can understand their needs and unite them with a common vision. She is a natural leader who is an ideal fit for this EP role.”

Backyard has bolstered its considerable comedy credentials with the addition of director Seth Townsend to the roster. Townsend comes with a diverse reel of impressive work, including a hilarious Axe spot starring a sweaty small town hero who keeps live fish under his armpits, a spot for Google Plus featuring a backyard pick-up game with running commentary from NBA talent, and a colorful Pringles spot depicting a supermarket-turned-funhouse.

Following its Nike “Camp Victory” experience at the US Olympic Running Trials and the recent touchscreen data visualization for IBM at the US Open, HUSH is expanding its team with the addition of Rob Cohen as its Head of Strategic Business Development. Together with HUSH Creative Partner David Schwarz, Cohen will help with the design agency’s business development efforts and strategic brand conversations.

Click 3X is pleased to announce a dramatic expansion of its live-action division with the additions of Jonathan Yi and Simon Blake. The dynamic pair joins a roster that already includes Director/Designer/Animator Juan Delcan, Director and Visualist Mark Szumski and the comedy directing team of Josh + Vince. The team is led by Managing Director Jason Mayo, Special Consultant for Commercial Production Steve Wax, and Sr. Live-action Producer Belinda Mayne. Mary Crosse is EP of Branded Content.

LOS ANGELES— Director Eden Tyler has joined bi-coastal Original for exclusive U.S. representation. Known as a visual storyteller and as an “actor’s director,” Tyler has directed work for such brands as Sony, Doritos, AMC, Pringles and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
Tyler has directed several campaigns for Johnson & Johnson’s Clear & Clear teen beauty products via DDB, New York, including, most recently, the viral ad Splash Mob. Shot in Buenos Aires, the spot shows 50 girls throwing water balloons at a grime-covered wall to reveal a mural depicting the beautiful face of a young woman. Tyler works frequently for Johnson & Johnson in international markets and directed launch campaigns for Clean & Clear and Neutrogena in India.

Following a massively successful launch marked by collaborations with M&M’s (BBDO), Progresso (Saatchi & Saatchi), and Dell (Y&R), audio post-production company Heard City welcomes mixer Eric Warzecha.

Warzecha is no stranger to high profile clients, having brought his mixing expertise to campaigns for DirecTV, Comcast, AT&T, Chobani, Garnier, and many others. His prolific career has led to multiple Cannes and Golden Pencil awards. Prior to joining Heard City, he spent 13 years at Sound Lounge, where he worked his way up from intern to mixer.

“We couldn’t be happier to have Eric joining the team,” noted Heard City EP Gloria Pitagorsky. “He brings such an incredible energy and thoughtful attention to detail to every project he works on.”

LOS ANGELES— Director Jeffrey Karoff, known in the advertising world as a visual storyteller and for his work with real people, has joined Original for exclusive national representation. Karoff, who directs branded content and documentaries in addition to spots, is seeking greater exposure and expanded opportunities by tapping Original’s bicoastal production resources and national sales network.

Karoff’s recent work includes a package for Ford’s Swap Your Ride campaign chronicling the experiences of consumers who are given a chance to trade their current vehicles for Fords, and campaigns for the pharmaceutical brands Crestor and Nuvaring.

LOS ANGELES—Continuing to expand and broaden the scope of its creative talent, Bully Pictures has agreed to become the exclusive, U.S. representative for award-winning Copenhagen design, motion graphics and live action studio Frame. Frame, whose work spans advertising, web media and broadcast branding, is known in the U.S. for its work for MTV, Adidas, Nike, Lincoln, Citgo, VH1, Gatorade and Volkswagen.
Additionally, Bully Pictures has signed director Luke Savage for exclusive representation. The New Zealand-born, French-trained director recently relocated to the U.S. to pursue a career in advertising. His credits include award-winning work for Sony, Ivory Soap, and Panasonic.

Managing Director Bob Cagliero is pleased to announce the launch of Poetica, a hybrid collective of artists and filmmakers focusing on live action-through-post content creation. The word “Poetica” comes from the ancient Greek term for “making,” a simple idea that encapsulates the overall mission of the new group. Based out of New York with an office in LA, Poetica is a studio that creates award-winning live-action, VFX, 3D, 2D and design for commercials, music videos, short form content, installations, and the web.

Backyard is pleased to announce that it has aligned with prolific West Coast indie rep firm OPTiONS, comprised of Doug Sherin and Kim Griswold, who will cover the West Coast and Texas.

Editorial boutique founded by former ReelFX editor Peter Tarter.
DALLAS—Peter Tarter, a creative editor with a national clientele and credits that include work for JC Penney, Hyundai, Dodge, Toyota and Home Depot, has formed Treehouse, a high-end editorial boutique in Dallas. The new company will focus on advertising and independent film projects. Along with creative editorial, Treehouse offers visual effects, compositing and editorial finishing services.

Chris Zander, one of the most respected voices on the New York commercial production scene, is joining Backyard as a partner. Zander has a strong and lengthy history with Backyard, having spent nearly 20 years establishing the company as one of the industry’s most consistent and well regarded via his independent repping firm, The Family, and before that, Zander Reps. Zander has sold his interest in The Family to partner Diane Patrone, who will continue to represent Backyard.

RESET, whose roster includes David Fincher, Guy Ritchie and Jonathan Glazer/Academy, is adding Director Johnny Green to a line-up that already consists of Markus Walter, Tim Miller, Andre Stringer, Nabil and PES.

Santa Monica, Calif., Sept. 10, 2012 – Following the recent addition of four outstanding creative talents, RPA, the largest advertising agency headquartered in Los Angeles and the third-largest independent agency in the country, is pleased to announce six additional creative hires. Antonio Marcato joins the agency as a senior AD, and Suzie Yeranosyan and Quinn Killick will fill junior AD roles.

On Friday afternoon, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners announced Margaret Johnson, Executive Creative Director and 16-year veteran of the agency, has been named a partner. She is the first new partner since Jerry Barnhart (2009), the first female partner in the agency’s history and the first new creative partner in over a decade, a true testament to her unique contributions to GSP and the industry as a whole.

Hollywood based Über Content has expanded to the East Coast, opening an office in New York. Michael Lobikis, who Über concurrently named as East Coast Director of Sales, will operate from the new office.

"Phyllis and I have been looking for the right person to help us open a New York office for some time,” said Über Partner/Executive Producer Preston Lee. "After meeting Mike, we knew we had found the perfect fit; his experience really made him the right person for our new endeavor.”

“Also, our own creative offerings have grown,” continued Lee’s Partner and Executive Producer Phyllis Koenig. “We've signed three new directors in the last six months."