Enda McCallion Directs.

Today for our little blog, I'd like to feature an awesome director from greatguns:usa by the name of Enda McCallion. With work ranging from lighthearted and fanciful, to downright terrifying (his Judderman spot was voted one of the scariest moments in TV history in the UK), it's clear this director is an enormous and diverse talent.

When you work with him, ask about the effect his tattoos had on the delicate sensibilites of the upper class, particularly the staff at a certain resort (which may or may not be pictured above).

Click the photo to watch Enda's reel!

Acme brings home two Annie nominations!

That's right, 2 of the 5 nominations for "Best Animated Television Commercial" have gone to Acme Filmworks animators. The first is for Idaho Lottery's "Twiceland" by Dave Wasson, the second is Yuval and Merav Nathan's Spanish Lottery spot "Deportes", in their ever-popular stop motion style.

Click on the picture to view the nominated spots!

Introducing: Colourmovie!

Animation juggernaut/studio Acme Filmworks has just signed Los Angeles-based Colourmovie for commercial representation. Specializing in design and motion graphics combined with live-action, Colourmovie is ready to bring The Hipness.

Click above to view their reel.

More Press for David Adam Roth!

David Adam Roth's latest PSA for WHY Hunger through Duncan/Channon is definitely getting attention. This heartwrenching spot depicting a world where food is too expensive for the average person has been featured in Shoot Magazine, SourceEcreative's newsletter and most recently, Communication Arts. Click the picture to view the spot and David's reel.

A Preview of the New Volvo - By a Blind Artist

Volvo has tapped Great Guns director Shearer to help unveil their new model in the most interesting way possible: by not unveiling it at all. Rather, they hired blind Turkish artist Esref Armagan to paint what he thinks the new car looks like, based solely on touch. Read the Shots article here, and click on the picture to view the piece, along with Shearer's reel.

Liberty Mutual: Responsibility Project

Acme Filmworks and director Jeremy Clapin have surprised us all with this charming piece for Liberty Mutual's "Responsibility Project". You may recognize it from last week's Top 5 on Creativity Online. Needless to say, we're excited!

Click on the picture to watch :)

Review of Laurence Thrush's "Left Handed"

More accolades for Laurence Thrush...check out this nice review of his film "Left Handed", which has been causing a stir on the film festival circuit. Click on the picture to watch the trailer and Laurence's commercial reel.

Ram Madhvani's Polar Blast

And now for a little international flavor! greatguns director Ram Madhvani's newest spot for Halls Lozenges in India is featured in Shoot's "Best Work You May Never See"...so I guess now you don't have to worry about never seeing it, eh? Take a look, and see how Polar Bears get down in India.

Humble's collective Hydra directs newest from Muse!

Humble directing collective Hydra, composed of John Hobbs, Sam Stephens and Ariel Danziger, has just announced their newest music video for Muse's new single "Uprising". The group has already garnered attention for the Passion Pit music video, which was nominated for an MTV VMA in the "Breakthrough Video" category. I believe it's safe to say that Hydra is poised to become a potent force in the music video world!

Rhino Crashes...in a good way.

Rhino has just completed this great trailer for the new Starz Original series Crash, directed by the Snorri Bros. Take a look and enjoy!

Congratulations Laurence Thrush!

Laurence Thrush of KnickerbockerGlory (formerly Fools and Horses) has been hitting the film festival circuit with his feature film Left Handed, and getting a great response! Most notably he won Best Feature for the 2008 Rhode Island film festival, and Best Feature at the Milano Film Festival. Click on the picture to view the trailer, and Laurence's beautiful commercial reel.

Also from Acme: Afonso Poyart!

I'm filing this under "in case you haven't heard", and "check this out, it's pretty cool". Acme Filmworks has been working with Brazilian animation director Afonso Poyart for several months now, and I'd like to share some of his work for you, including his latest that he has completed with Acme. The brief called for a "full on visual assualt" for Warrior Lacrosse out of JWT Team Detroit, and I think you'll agree that he nailed it. Take a peek, eh?

The Nathans' are dreaming big, and in Spanish.

You may recall The Nathans' music video for Oren Lavie's "Her Morning Elegance" which became an internet sensation at the end of last year, and earned a spot for The Nathans in Saatchi's New Directors Showcase at Cannes (if not, just scroll down a bit). Well, Yuval and Merav are at it again...this time reinterpreting their vison for a Comcast Hispanic campaign out of Grupo Gallegos in Long Beach, CA.

You may have seen this featured in the last issue of Shoot Magazine, but we'll make it easy for you. Click above to watch two of the spots, as well as a couple of other music videos by the directing team (including Her Morning Elegance).

Acme signs designer/animator/director Michal Socha!

We're excited to welcome Michal Socha to Acme Filmworks' impressive array of animation directors. Michal is a graduate of the Faculty of Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where he received an honorable mention from the dean. His most recent short film "Chick" is a wondeful example of his unique and highly stylized vision. Click the picture to see what I mean, and view the rest of his reel as well.

A Cannes Lion in Our Midst!

After a surprise Best in Show win at the national Addy's, Jerry Brown's Washington Lottery spot "Birds" has stepped into the international spotlight at the prestigious Cannes Lions advertising festival. Out of over 3000 entries, only 86 awards are given. Out of those 86, only 13 American directors took home awards, including our own Jerry Brown of Sticks + Stones!

Congratulations to the whole team!

Watch Jerry's reel with the winning spot here.

Jeffrey DeChausse Peeks Into Your Past...

More great work from Boxer, this time by Jeffrey DeChausse for Ancestry.com. In this series of spots, 5 different people tell their stories of how Ancestry.com uncovered their personal histories, ultimately shedding light on themselves and bringing their families closer together. Heartwarming, human stories and beautiful visuals - DeChausse's trademark combination - bring these lovely spots together.

Watch them here, with the rest of Jeffrey's reel.

Yuval and Merav Nathan Rock the Saatchi New Director Showcase at Cannes

When this music video for "Her Morning Elegance" first hit the internet a few months back it caused quite a stir, quickly reaching Viral Video Chart's number one spot and staying there for some time as it bounced around the blogs and social networking sites...probably for the same reason that it made it's way into Saatchi's New Director Showcase at Cannes. It's simply a beautiful and unique piece.

Congratulations to Yuval and Merav Nathan at Acme Filmworks!

Watch the video here.

Rob Groenwold lends Chrysler a little magic

So, why is Chrysler shooting a multi-million dollar package at a time like this? We're not sure, and we don't really care. All we know is that they chose Rob Groenwold and Boxer to do it, and that it makes us happy.

These expansive cinematic spots intend to show that what Chrysler builds are more than just cars...and also serve to remind why Rob was chosen best new director of 2007 by Boards.

Check some of the new work, and Rob's reel here.

Best in show!!!

We're happy to share that Washington Lottery "Birds", one of our favorite spots EVER, has graduated from the regional awards circuit (where it won gold in two different shows) to take best in show at the National Addy's!


Congrats to Jerry Brown and everyone at Sticks + Stones!!!

(Click picture to view Jerry's reel, including the winning spot)

Saarinen Gets Humble, Humble Gets Bitsack

Saarinen (that's us!) is proud to announce our rather-newly-formed relationship with NYC production company Humble. This is a an exciting, nimble company, with a special flair for interactive and viral work, as well as offering turn-key solutions for traditional live action. With a brilliant team of producers and a roster including star creative directors, animation and multi-disciplinary directors, they're in a unique position to do pretty much anything, and make it awesome. But please, don't take my word for it.

Saarinen is announcing Humble, and Humble is in turn announcing the addition of Jeff Bitsack to their roster. Jeff comes from JWT NY where he served as an award-winning Creative Director on accounts such as Dominoes, Swedish Fish and Stride gum.

Humble reel HERE!

Jeff Bitsack reel HERE!

Humble website HERE!

Surreal Love

Rhino has just completed FX and animation for this fabulous international spot by director Eli Sverdlov. This is a beautiful, sweet and touching spot that also looks FANTASTIC. Due to the success of this collaboration, Rhino has gone on to sign Eli Sverdlov for exclusive US representation, where he will be joining an amazing group of artists already in residence. I cant wait to see what they come up with next!

Take a look at the spot, and click here to see Rhino's SEXY NEW MONTAGE.

Get that dog some Alpo!

This is for all the dogs confined to purses. This is for any dog that has ever gotten a massage, or vacationed somewhere nicer than my own apartment. It's time to return to your canine roots! To once again run free and roll in whatever it is on the ground that smells so interesting! To eat a hearty MEAL!

Alpo is on a mission to remind us all that REAL DOGS EAT MEAT. And John Zissimos was there to catch the whole thing on camera. Watch the spot that was recently featured in creativity-online.com's "rate the spot" right here.

Reliability

Laurence Thrush has recently completed a new Honda spot - and we're excited! In my opinion, Laurence is one of the best young directors out there. As anyone who's seen his work can tell you, he's destined for great things!

This fantatic spot called "Reliability", beautifully illustrates the hard work and determination of hockey families and their vehicular counterparts.

Take a look at the spot here, and check out Laurence's reel.

Her Morning Elegance

There was a time on the internet when you could get noticed simply by creating something awesome. It would gain attention, people would start talking about it, and it would gain more attention and... voila! You've gone viral.

These days it's a little harder - with so much content being created specifically for that purpose, people have become numb to it. I had come to think that it wasn't even possible anymore - that creativity was going to need a new medium to reach the masses on the basis of it's merit. Luckily, Yuval & Merav Nathan (of Acme Filmworks) have found a way to prove me wrong - specifically with the music video that the brothers have created for "Her Morning Elegance" by Oren Lavie.

As I'm writing this, they've gotten almost 400,000 plays on YouTube alone, and are rated number one on viralvideochart.com, in addition to being featured on Motionographer. It's completely restored my faith in the possibility of reaching people by creating something unique and beautiful. Take a look and see for yourself.

Any questions or comments about Acme Filmworks or Yuval & Merav Nathan? I'd love to hear from you.