COMING AND GOING. Visual effects specialist Sam Gierasimczuk felt right at home when he returned to the Filmworkers building to join Vitamin as associate creative director. Earlier, he’d been with Filmworkers’ production division Lift, which he helped build from the start, for 3.5 years as ACD. Lift moreorless dissolved when Lift CD Jason White left to co-found Leviatian in mid-2009.
“The timing was right,” he says about moving back to the Filmworkers’ family at Vitamin. “I was ready for a change when the position opened up.” His background includes designer, animator and technical director.
Gierasimczuk, who works on projects that include 3D animation, is currently working on character development and storyboards for local band Guiltmakers and also product morphs for Quaker Oats spots. “I like that vitamin has a wide variety of styles and projects. It’s interesting to me and I love their work,” he says.
A RETURN ENGAGEMENT for Selina Hood, who returned to Bridges Media as a contract integrated production consultant. Earlier, she’d spent nearly five years at Bridges as SVP/executive producer, leaving in 2010 to join Ruth: Edelman Integrated Marketing as VP/executive producer.
Hood is a co-founder of Women in Film and serves on its advisory board.
ON THE POST SIDE, Katherine Pryor, formerly with Optimus as for 12 years, the last eight as an editor, joined Utopic, whose co-owner/editors Jan Maitland and Tim Kloehn are old friends and colleagues from Optimus days together. Her assistant is Casey Swircz.
Method Studios is in a hiring mode and its first new addition is CGI supervisor Linas Jodwalis. He moves over from two-and-a-half years at Vitamin; before that he freelanced as an director and CGI, worked at Digital Kitchen and spent six years in L.A., where he spent a couple of years at Motion Theory.
CUTTERS HALLOWEEN PARTY had guests standing in line to enter the Double Door, the first time Cutters went outside of its offices for its Halloween tradition party, as the attendance grew to more than 1,200 accounted-for guests.
The $1,000 costume contest prize was split by Jose Martinez of McGarryBowen and Megan Kilpatrick, The House of Representatives, who came dressed as the little boy and girl characters in Wes Anderson’s charming “Moonrise Kingdom” feature. Carmen Navarette, Bravo/Y&R, who frightened as the the Mexican Day of the Dead won the $500 second prize.
In case you didn’t recognize them, Cutters president Tim McGuire was costumed as Steve Buscemi’s Nucky Thompson character in “Boardwalk Empire” and VP Craig Duncan was dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and black tie as a character from “The Book of Mormon” hit play that opens next week in Chicago.
EVENTFUL. Award-winning writer/director/actor/ Bob Odenkirk, who grew up in Naperville, is Energy BBDO’s Creative Salon series’ guest on Thursday, Nov. 1 is at its Wrigley Building offices, from 4-6 p.m. Odenkirk is best known for appearances on “Breaking Bad,” and as a writer on “Saturdany Night Live” will talk about his work, influences and what’s on the horizon. All are welcome.
Then, on Thursday, Nov. 8, Utopic treats guests toits quarterly Gallery Night its spacious ffices at 420 N. Wabash, starting at 5 p.m. On display will be the varied and wonderful artistry of Aaron Wooten, Elena Marie Sandy, Brittany Steiner, Connie Wolfe, Jason Brammer, Lyubov Momot and Shawn Sargent.
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