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MEET T.H.E.M.

Tony Harding, Owner/Executive Producer

Harding has spent his entire career producing spots, on the agency and production sides. He produced high profile projects for Arnold, Delafamina, CCA, and ICR Network, to name a few. For Rush Media with Russell Simmons, Harding produced a Brett Ratner-directed Coca Cola campaign featuring Savion Glover and LL Cool J. As Executive Producer for shops such as Conspiracy and Big Picture, he presided over work for Reebok, Burger King, and others. His credits also include promos for HBO, Showtime, NBC, and ABC, as well as music videos for Mariah Carey and the RZA. At Kandokid, Harding was responsible for steering the company into longform branded content.

Elisson Burgos (Fred)

Twenty plus years spent on the dark side has yielded a resume boasting more than 90 clients, 150 products, 250 commercials, and 7 global advertising agencies including J. Walter Thompson, DDB Needham and Saatchi & Saatchi, finally jumping ship as SVP/Group Creative Director at Arnold Worldwide to go it full time as a spot director. Elisson Burgos (we call him Fred) is a writer/visualist, a walking encyclopedia of film and film history, and an avid comic collector. He grew up watching masked Mexican Wrestler films in the Bronx Spanish language theaters before it was "cool". After that it was off to Times Square for Kung Fu and Horror Flicks. Hundreds of commercials later as a top agency
creative, he now brings his talent and experience to his long desired passion: directing. Fred recently completed a package of spots for Suddenlink Cable, out of Geile-Leon of St. Louis, and two viral packages – for The Canyons, a Utah Ski Resort, with a series of short sketches including toys, action figures and dolls, citing the resort as the "Ultimate Playground." His recent campaign for Merck, "The Stunners", has already seen over 1.5 million hits. Fred has also directed spots for STIHL power tools though Kandokid. He currently has a dramatic episodic TV show in development with Kandokid Films.

Zoë Green

This British born writer/director hails from a family of circus and vaudeville performers. She cut her teeth directing theatre at Cambridge University, then won the BAFTA/LA Directing Fellowship to UCLA film school where she took her MFA. Zoë wrote and directed the period short film Daisy Go Home, which received a Highly Commended honor in the Turner Classic Movies Competition. Currently residing in Hollywood, Zoë writes for the UK Guardian/Observer, is a writer on Marvel Studios’ upcoming Wolverine and The X Men and directed the upcoming feature documentary The Rough Ride (about lost souls whose lives become intertwined when they are all stranded by a bus strike). She recently directed three spec commercials at Universal Studios, shot by feature DP Bobby Bukowski.

Jim Tozzi

The puppet and animation designer for MTV2′s hit series Wonder Showzen, Jim also appears in season two in the segment "What is Jim Drawing?" featured smoking a pipe while dressed in a speedo bathing suit, sweater vest and sailor hat. Jim has directed lottery spots for so many states that he now knows the secret code for scratch off numbers and has become a billionare, no longer needing to direct for cash. His TRUTH spot based on the Brady Bunch is a classic, as is his work for TWIP, the imaginary product used to launch TV LAND, and his work for Miller Lite in collaboration with (creative team Linus and Paul) featuring a song and dance cheerleader search, and the most daring work Leo Burnett has ever done for Kelloggs Rice Krispie Treats out of Leo Burnett Chicago. Jim recently shot programming and promos for "FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE SHOW" for TV Land featuring a fictional 80′s Finnish Pop duo, and spots for Mattel and Dannon. Jim gets excited about any commercial that will allow him to work with actors in costumes, puppets, or any creative that is genuinely funny. He has an eye for the absurd, is a pop culture vulture, with a very strong art-direction sense. His creature feature PHEADRE is in pre-production with Kandokid.

Lawrence Jacomelli

A 32-yr-old Anglo Italian born and raised in the UK, Lawrence studied Graphic Design at Bristol University where he specialized in Film & Animation. He helmed his his first spot in 2001, and has since made commercials for international clients including: Orange, Ikea, Fila, Alldays, Persil, Swatch, Tuborg, Carlsberg, Walls, Knoor, Yakult, Danone, Toyota, Vanity Fair.

Lawrence’s Ikea "Game" spot was shortlisted at Cannes and won an Epica in 2003. Last year, he was shortlisted again, this time for the CFP-E Young Director’s award. He was featured in ‘boards  as a "Director to Watch" and had several commercials featured in shots. Lawrence won Best Director at the Viral Awards in London and NY last year with Pot Noodle "Precious," a self-financed test spot that he wrote, produced and directed. Most recently he won Best Ad Award at Ad’Or (an Eastern European ad festival) with ANCP ‘Hide and Seek’ in May, and a Bronze Drum at the Golden Drum awards in September with Arctic ‘Movie’. Additionally, Lawrence has written, edited, and directred numerous award-winning short films. He is repped by Great Guns in the UK and by JSA across Europe; he divides his time among London, New York, and wherever else the storyboards lead him.

Michael Uys

Originally from South Africa, Michael works well with actors, non-actors, and celebrities alike. His work on commercials and promos feature soliid performances, with a real knack for testimonial performance. He helmed the feature documentary Riding the Rails, which garnered 18 major awards including the Peabody and Best Documentary from both the Directors Guild of America and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association; it was also named an Outstanding Documentary of the Year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Michael is currently at work on a new documentary: The Good Soldier is a feature length documentary that explores the journey of five American soldiers from different wars (World War II, Vietnam, Gulf War, and Iraq) as they sign up, go into battle, and change their minds about war. Michael was a partner in Optic Nerve, through which he directed commercials, promos and television programming. He started his career producing for directors including Albert Watson, Patrick Demarchelier, and many others.

January 2007

David Nutter

Director,  Looking Glass Films

David Nutter is the Emmy-Award-winning director of HBO’s acclaimed mini-series BAND OF BROTHERS, and has the distinction of having all 14 of the Television Pilots he’s directed be picked up for series on major networks, and currently has five shows on the air: WITHOUT A TRACE, SMALLVILLE, SUPERNATURAL, TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, and THE MENTALIST (which debuts in Fall 2008).

On the spot front, he recently directed an internationally-acclaimed campaign for LG Electronics, a leading player in the global flat panel display market. Named for Scarlet, the world’s slimmest LCD TV, Nutter’s was a bold and successful campaign built around the launch of a fictional multi-cultural TV star. 

Nutter has worked hand-in-hand with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Jerry Bruckheimer, James Cameron, McG, and Laura Ziskin, and won a Golden Globe award as one of the chief architects of THE X-FILES, having directed 15 of the program’s episodes during the course of its initial three seasons.

In addition, he has directed episodes of highly acclaimed dramas ER and THE WEST WING, as well as episodes of the Emmy Award-winning ENTOURAGE for HBO. In 2007, he was nominated for Emmy and DGA awards for THE SOPRANOS, and was nominated for a DGA award in 2008 for his episode of ENTOURAGE.

Nutter recently wrapped production on two episodes of HBO’s prestigious mini-series THE PACIFIC, Tom Hanks’ and Steven Spielberg’s follow up to BAND OF BROTHERS. 

Nutter is repped for spots exclusively by Looking Glass Films in the US, and Great Guns in London. 

July 2008

EIGHT VFX REUNITES WITH OLIVIER GONDRY ON HP “VERA WANG”

Eight VFX reunites with frequent collaborator Olivier Gondry on “Vera Wang” – the first of a new three-spot HP campaign from the director via Goodby, Silverstein & Partners/SF. Eight is providing visual effects on all three spots. The studio has worked with Gondry on spots and music videos, including projects for Chevy and Daft Punk.

In this first ad, fashion icon Vera Wang extolls the virtues of her HP laptop; as she does, the surface of her desk becomes a canvas for her life. 

Client: Hewlett Packard/PSG

Title of Spot: “Vera Wang”

Air date: April 16, 2007 

Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners
Creative Director, Co-Chairman: Rich Silverstein
Creative Director, Partner: Steve Simpson
Group Creative Director/Copywriter: Mike McKay
Associate Creative Director/Art Director: Stephen Goldblatt
Executive Producer: Josh Reynolds
Producer: Vicki Tripp/Josh Reynolds
Assistant Producer: Jen Moore
Account Director: Nancy Reyes
Account Manager: Elena Korzhenevich
Assistant Account Manager: Philippa Campbell

Production Company: Partizan Los Angeles & New York
Director: Olivier Gondry
Cameraman/D.P.: Tim Ives
Executive Producer: Sheila Stepanek
Line Producer: Valerie Romer
Head of Production: Ian Bearce

Editorial Co.: Filmcore
Editor: Michael Hackett
Assistant Editor: Kristin McCasey
Executive Producer: Scott Friske

Visual Effects Company: Eight VFX, Santa Monica
Executive Producer: Baptiste Andrieux
Producer: Marsi Frey
VFX Supervisor/Inferno Artist: Jean-Marc Demmer
Inferno Artists: Ryan Yoshimoto, Stefan Gaillot, Nicolas Cadorette Vigneau, Amalia. Luyet-McMahan
2D Artists: Yann Mallard, Amalia Luyet-McMahan, Randy Little, Joe Chiao, DJ Fitsimmons
3D Supervisor: Fredric Hopp
3D Artists: Scott Metzger, Chien-I Kao, Matthias Jourdes
On Set Supervisor: Jean-Marc Demmer
End Title Designer: Amalia Luyet-McMahan
Producer/Post & Design: Marsi Frey

Online: Eight VFX, Santa Monica, CA

Sound Design: Gus Koven @ Stimmung
Final Music: Mutato Muzika, Composer: Mark Mothersbaugh
Mix Engineer: Peter Rincon @ POP Sound, Santa Monica

ROBERT MARSHALL

Sound Designer/Mixer, Chief Science Officer,

After earning his BA in Music Composition from Indiana's Ball State University (with an Electronics Minor), Robert Marshall returned to his native Chicago, where he fine-tuned his skills at Williams Gerard Production and Bosco Productions. He found a home at Another Country in 1999. 

As Sound Designer/Mixer at Another Country, Marshall has been responsible for such notable work as Budweiser "Girlfriend" (a Super Bowl spot and part of the "Whassup" campaign via DDB/Chicago), the Coors "Coldest Tasting Beer" campaign (FCB/Chicago), and Coke Black "POParazzi" (Fitzgerald Co./Atlanta), which was done in 5.1 Surround and aired on the Academy Awards. His Surround work extends to projects for Master lock, Gatorade, the documentary Plaster Caster, and more. He recently lent his expertise to a campaign for Becks and a cinema project for Screen Vision. Marshall has garnered much critical acclaim, including a Telly Award for his efforts on Konami Metal Gear "Solid Two" and an AMP Mixer Award for Budweiser "Moat."

In addition, Marshall – whose love of audio led to the construction of a Mixing/Mastering studio in his Evanston home – has been involved in a slew of music recording and mastering projects, from rock to classical, including work with local Chicago musician Dan Darrah and Big Chicago Records.

As a composer, a guitarist/multi instrumentalist, Marshall has performed extensive music editing and has at times embellished music scores and stock music to better suit an edit. His deep interest and proficiency in the technical side of the sound industry (not to mention, computer programming), led him to partner with Another Country Sound Designer John Binder in Source-Elements, a software company that makes revolutionary plug-ins for ProTools that allows for real-time worldwide audio/video collaboration via the Internet.

"At Another Country, I found a technically superior infrastructure and a team with which it is an honor to work," he says. "This is an environment that brings out the best in all of us, and inspires us to consistently take our work to the next level."

January 2007

BEN KELLER

Sound Designer/Mixer,
Another Country

A versatile and gifted musician and a major computer enthusiast, Ben Keller is ideally suited for his career in sound engineering. That he would find happiness in the world of advertising is equally unsurprising; as a child, Keller was more transfixed by television commercials than programming, and his mother had no doubt he would pursue a career in the business.

Keller graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Sound (his concentration was "Sound for Visual Media") and a minor in Film. In 2000, just prior to his Junior year at Columbia, Keller signed on as an intern at Another Country, and has been here ever since. At the conclusion of his internship, he was hired as a freelance assistant engineer and, soon after, made a full-time member of the team. As an assistant engineer to John Binder, Keller honed his craft, and in April 2003, he was promoted to Sound Designer/Mixer.

Keller's notable work includes Nintendo "Hot Dog" (Leo Burnett/Chicago), Sea World "Journey to Atlantis" (DDB/Chicago), and Budweiser "Journey" (DDB/Chicago), which ran during the 2005 Super Bowl. Recently, he completed the sound design and mixing for Discovery Cove "You're This Close" (DDB/Chicago), which demanded a tropical soundscape and various water sounds, as well as underwater action. Keller has also finished work on the sound design and mix for Budweiser's Beer Institute web movies, a satirical series about having beer with certain historical figures.

On the film front, Keller has done 5.1 surround work for Brian Bellow's Bodega, and sound design and mixing for the avant-garde Korean animation movie Whan. "It's the combination of a need to be creative and a fascination with sound that fuels my passion for this industry," says Keller. "Another Country has given me the opportunity to prove myself while working alongside the most talented people in this industry."

January 2007