ONE AT OPTIMUS has boosted its directors’ roster to 11 with the addition of a trio of award-winning directors. They are LA-based Danny J. Boyle and Ben Chappell, both known to Chicago clients through past associations, and director/photographer Ben Fink of New York.
Boyle’s TV work includes spots for high-end clients like Budweiser, McDonald’s and Citibank and sketch comedy for Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, Disney and MTV. He is currently directing “ReactToThat,” a 13-episode Nickelodeon show. Earlier he’d been represented by Radar.
Ben Chappell, who was one-half of Focus Creeps when directing earlier for Foundation Content, is known for shooting and directing music videos and branded music projects with artists like Miley Cyrus, the Beach Boys, Rick Ross and Nas. He has directed spots for Crystal Light, Sony, WalMart, Foot Locker and others, and also directs docs.
Ben Fink is a life style director and photographer who specializes in food and people has worked for such food celebrities as Rachael Ray, Paula Deen and Bobby Flay. He possesses 11 Tellys and a James Beard Award.
Sean Sullivan represents One at Optimus in the Midwest.
HOOTENANNY ADDED EDITOR CASEY COBLER, who moved over after five years with FCB Chicago’s Inside Job editing unit. He joins editors Sean Halvorsen, Graham Metzger, Jerem Sloan and Liz Tate; EP Don Avila will produce for Cobler.
Cobler won four Cannes Lions for Kmart’s viral video, “Ship My Pants,” plus the spot being on making AICP’s shortlist this year. He’s also known for editing KFC’s “#HowDoYouKFC,” which helped make KFC the most social fast food brand in the world.
THE RECENT AICP/MIDWEST ELECTION returned STORY’S Mark Androw as president of the new board and voted in board members Cineverse’ Tom Fletcher as VP; Essanay’s Wayne Kubacki as treasurer and Rare Medium Well Done’s Sue Witham as secretary.
NAME GAME. After holding the title of interim chair, Amy Rising was named chair of the Film + Broadcast Department at Tribeca Flashpoint … Tim Lincoln heads Music Dealers’ seventh satellite office that just opened in New Orleans.
WE HEAR … Instead of paying the usual cash to extras for a day’s work in its commercial, Dick’s Sporting Goods paid them in $50 gift cards. Okay if you want a new fishing rod, but not so much to help pay your rent …
Tris3ct is still looking for producers to fill the vacancies of by Steven Anderson’s move to Sarofsky and Tyler Jay, who ran the agency’s in-house Jerry Rigg production division.
SPOT ON. Chuck Bein’s See Music composed and produced the original hip jazz track for Burrell Communications’ national McDonald’s spot promoting its new “Jalapeño Double” hamburger. The spot’s “Turtleneck Tommy” title refers to a customer prone to wearing a turtleneck, who surprises two women he knows by removing his turtleneck sweater to reveal he’s wearing a cool T-shirt.
Stephen Schmuldt played keyboard; The Colonie provided the editing and visual effects.
*The Big Ten Conference just released a new PSA called “Maps,” produced by Jay Sharman and Tom Smithburg’s Teamworks Media, that will run for the entire 2014-2014 season that just started. The company celebrated its 14th anniversary last month.
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