Too Much Coffee Man sells sneakers

Beginning in the West: director/ animator Danny Antonucci of Vancouver-based a.k.a. Cartoon recently completed two animated 15-second spots for Converse Sneakers, ‘Lupo’s Nightmare’ and ‘Too Much Coffee Man.’ Tom Brydon handled camera. The spots were mixed at Sharpe Sound Studios and posted at Gastown Post and Transfer. They are currently airing on Fox, nbc, cbs, Comedy Central and mtv.

At Apple Box Productions, Vancouver, director Graham Hunt and dop Roger Vernon are teaming up for three days for Save On Foods and Advantage Advertising.

Fred Frame of Circle Productions directed a job in Vancouver for Stentor, with Peter Hartmann handling camera. The two-day shoot was through bbdo. Jim Beresford shot and directed four days for Ford Explorer out of Uniworld, New York. Robert Turner logged three days directing for icbc out of Palmer Jarvis, with Ron Williams the cinematographer. Director/dop Blair Hayes scored six days for Crystal Light through dmb&b’s New York office.

Director/dop Shin Sugino picked up a day for the State of Connecticut’s campaign for clean air through Cronin and Company, with The Daily Post’s Mark Hajek editing. Sugino also scored a day for Moosehead Premium Dry Beer and Harrod and Mirlin. Third Floor Editing’s Barry McMann handled post.

In Toronto, Jean-Marc Piche of The Players Film Company directed a job for Clearasil out of dmb&b, Mexico, with James Gardner the dop and Calibre Digital Design handling animation duties. Henry Less doubled as director/dop for Total Cereals out of McCann Erickson, Puerto Rico, with McMann posting.

At the Directors Film Company, director Rob Quartly and dop Rene Ohashi teamed up for a day on a spot for McDonald’s and Cossette, three days for Green Cross and J. Walter Thompson, and one day for Swiss Chalet and Ambrose Carr Linton Kelly. The Quartly/Ohashi team will also be shooting a day for Coke out of Cossette and a day for Blue Light through Ammirati and Puris.

Out of Harrod and Mirlin, Jolly Roger director Curtis Wehrfritz landed four days for Moosehead Breweries in Halifax, with Sean Valentini behind the lens. Alex Eaton of Third Floor posted.

Director Rob Cohen of Avion Film Productions hooked up with dop Rhett Morita on a prelight and two shoot days for Ford. Young and Rubicam was the agency. Morita donned his director/dop cap for Advantage Life and Vickers and Benson. Out of Ogilvy and Mather, John Zurik directed and Stanley Mestel shot a day for kfc. Also at Avion, George Morita was director/dop on a two-day assignment for Tenderflake out of Harrod and Mirlin.

At the Imported Artists Film Company, director Gary Johns picked up a five-day Chrysler job out of bbdo, with Tom Olgierson taking dop honors. Mick Griffin of Flashcut Editing posted.

Kessler Irish Films’ Bill Irish directed a prelight and a shoot day for United Postal Service and Ammirati and Puris. John Stanier was the dop and Griffin edited.

Radke Films director Philip Kates hooked up with dop Doug Koch on a two-day job for Bell Canada through Leo Burnett. Ron Baxter Smith directed two days (one on location in Memphis and one in-studio in Toronto) for Dupont and agency Rumrill Hoyt of Rochester, n.y. Andre Pienaar was the dop. Both jobs were cut by Eaton.

Director Steve Gordon of Damast Gordon and Associates picked up three days for Ford, splitting dop duties with Kirk Bachman. Tim Pike pulled double-duty as director/dop on a four day assignment for Kodak Film. y&r was the agency on both dga jobs, and Chameleon Film and Video’s Andy Attalai edited the two assignments.

Magic Inc. is coming off a busy May. Directors Alistair Paton and Derek Case collaborated on a two-day coproduction between Israel and Canada for Electra Air, with Chris Berry handling camera. Case and Berry hooked up for two more days on an Air Atlantic shoot in Halifax for McArthur Thompson and Law. Director Gord Ogland landed a spot for Reactine out of Taxi Advertising, with Simon Mestel the dop. Through Lowe sms, Case shot a spot for Lactantia Ice Cream. Computer animation was handled by Rob Jones of Spin Productions.

At Stonehenge Filmworks, James Musselman directed three 15s for the Denturist Association of Ontario. Jim Scott was the cinematographer, Mike Scott edited, and Trackworks’ Steve Munro handled sound design duties. The job was out of Quarto Advertising.

In Montreal, Jets Films has won a major seven-day studio assignment from agency bcp to produce the ’96 Chrysler minivan campaign for the Caravan, Town & Country and Voyager models. John Mastromonaco will direct, with l.a.-based Gary Dean Waller the dop. Sylvain Archambault is producing. Philip Kates will direct the campaign’s corporate component featuring Chrysler Canada’s president.

Also at Jet, Michel David and Frederique Desjardins are codirecting various spots for Quebec Telephone and agency LG2.

New action at S.W.A.T. Films includes four 30s for Jus Snapple and agency Martel et Cie directed by Jim Donovan, with Richard Laniel and J.P. Trudel the dops. Donovan and Trudel also teamed on a Musee de Quebec cinema/ tv spot for BCP Quebec. Director Podz and cinematographer Allan Smith got the call on a new Molson Dry 60-second contest promo out of bcp, while Alain DesRochers directed ‘La goutte,’ a moderate drinking message out of agency Communications bleu blanc rouge.

s.w.a.t. retail specialist director Jack Kackel handled client-direct promos for Hitachi and jvc along with a new pasta spot for restaurant Vieux Duluth. Daniel Villeneuve was the dop.

At La Fabrique d’Images, director Jean-Michel Ravon helmed the action on Hydro-Quebec’s new corporate campaign. Pierre Gill was the dop on the five-day Stateside shoot and Sylvain Gingras was the house art director. Rene-Michel Vachon art directed for agency bcp. Post duties were shared by Buzz, AstralTech (on laboratory services) and Supersuite (film-to-tape transfer).

At Figaro Films, director/dop Glenn Bydwell completed a French 30 for Oil of Olay and Saatchi Advertising, Toronto. Bydwell also won a Sony assignment for three new 20s out of Leo Burnett, Chicago.