Partners’ Postings

While speculation is that the potential new out-of-house Partners’ Post setup, long anticipated by the in-house editors, may take the form of two separate companies with an investment in some high-tech toys and editor Bruce Copeman in his own shop, Partners’ Ross McLean says the rumored Copeman scenario is fiction, ‘totally premature,’ and that whatever plans are being cooked up with Copeman are just at the discussion stage.

What will happen in the new year is that David Hicks, David Baxter and Andy Ames are being set up in their own company. No name yet.

Michael Lambermont, former post co-ordinator of Partners’ Post, has just gone to Calibre Digital Design, and is being replaced by Robert Aldis. Post promotions within Partners’ include David Headley and James Taylor, who are moving up to get a crack at editor status. In the past, Partners’ used a lot of freelance assistance but is now putting the freelancers on staff.

The word on the street is that Partners’ executive group, including Don McLean, Madelaine Atkins, Joe Marin and Ross McLean, gathered for a meeting at the Four Seasons mid-October to discuss organizational change.

While industry speculation is the topic was downsizing, Ross McLean says there will only be a handful of changes and a couple of people will go freelance. Wondering why anyone should think Partners’ would be downsizing, McLean consulted his shooting schedule for the week ending Nov. 4 – five shoots Monday, six on Tuesday, eight Wednesday, followed by four, three and five shoots on the subsequent days – indicating that downsizing would be a tad problematic given the volume.

Avion’s new fly-in

Although the intention wasn’t to replace him, Avion Films has filled the void left when director Dan Hackett went to Partners’ last month. New York-based Michael Ulick has signed on with Avion for his first Canadian representation.

According to Ulick, his decision to opt for representation north of the border stemmed from a brief stint as a filmmaker shooting in Vancouver. ‘I shot up in Vancouver, which I found a beautiful city, and I’ve been thinking about it since. When I came back to New York a year or so ago, I realized that Toronto was so accessible that it made sense.’

Plus a little positive word of mouth never hurt either. ‘I know George D’Amato and he’s doing quite a good job up in Canada,’ says Ulick. ‘So that probably had some influence on me too.’

Ulick, who also recently signed with Slavin/Schaffer in New York, characterizes his specialty as ‘dialog storytelling.’ His recent work includes clients like Pepto-Bismol, Folger’s Coffee and Yellow Pages.

Some quality spots with a bit of adventure are on the agenda for the Canada-originating work, says Ulick. ‘Some of your advertising is a lot better than ours. The ideas are better and there’s a little bit more flexibility for the creative.’

Elsewhere at Avion, the up-and-coming crew being groomed for more than a year now has made headway. Comedy specialist Martin Granger just finished Arby’s through Doner Schur Peppler, Baltimore, and Grand & Toy through Doner, Toronto.

Tim Hamilton is working on an undisclosed project for Bensimon Byrne and John Fawcett’s back in commercial action after completing The Boys Club.

Oh, and speaking of Hackett, Partners’ just scored the Sears Christmas account with Hackett directing, coming in under L.T.B. Productions and director Christopher Gentile. The pool is 14 English, 14 French spots, mainly vignette/product shot combos.

Brown’s riding high

For all you bleary-eyed late-night infomercial junkies, yes, that is Toronto infomercial consultant and writer Lisa Brown kibitzing with Fran Tarkenton in a spot for Power Riders, an aerobic rider machine, currently on the u.s. nets.

Brown wrote the spot for Toronto-based Production Partners and the 30-minute project has gone to number one in u.s. infomercials strata, according to Jordan Whitney, a u.s. company that measures the media costs versus product sales to determine infomercial success.

According to Brown, who recently incorporated Rocket Science Productions, sales for the compactible machine are expected to hit us$30 million by the end of the year and cap us$60 million once the product hits the shelves.

Radke released?

Negotiations are underway for Edie Weiss to buy Radke Films out of the Partners’ group of companies. No decision has been made yet.

High-flying modelman

The Brian Cole Models office is warehouse. Not warehouse as in hardwood floors, skylights, and high-backed chairs. Real warehouse: sawdust, buzzing saws and Red Baron goggles. This is workspace for the creator of the original Batcar in the first Batman movie, who, like most model makers, rarely gets a piece of the limelight.

Until recently. After a career of building models like Aliens’ Armored Personnel Carrier, Robocop’s Robocruiser, and an assortment of model boats, tanks, cars, and gadgets for movies like Blade Runner, Cape Fear and Superman, Cole is getting a piece of the action for his model of a Boeing 747 for a Canadian Airlines spot directed by Radke Films’ John Mastromonaco through Chiat/Day.

The 15-foot-by-seven-foot model with a 16-foot wing span is a dead ringer for the real plane in the spot, which features the bird covered in the signatures of Canadian Airlines employees. Earlier in the fall, the model was on display at Pearson Airport where people gathered around and added their own signatures. This was not the idea. It now permanently hangs from the ceiling in the Terminal 3 atrium.

In the interim, the folks from MovieTelevision have been banging on Cole’s door for the first time since the transplanted Brit came this side of the pond two years ago after the recession took its toll on the u.k.’s film and television industry.

His first work was with special effects artist John Gajdecki on Lifeline to Victory. Next came the TekWar series, then Robocop, in the middle of which Gajdecki decided to scale down his modeling division.

At this point, it was either go home or go solo, and after discovering a co-op opportunity with JJAMB Productions and a couple of other builders for construction and office space, bcm had a home.

Projects on the go include a scale model of a tanker trailer for a feature film called Spill, produced by Spill Productions, about a chemical spill that flows into a river.

Weeks of exacting specifications to build the truck will end in Coles’ work crashed, mashed and blown up. ‘If it’s done right, it’s beautiful. The pain is seeing it maimed by mistake then having to do patchwork’

People

Damast Gordon and Associates has three directors behind spots making the finals in the London International Advertising Awards. Steve Gordon is up for Pinesol through Young & Rubicam and Canon for Lackey Communications, Boris Damast for Wisk through jwt, and Tim Pike for Kodak through y&r.

– Leo Burnett has hired a new creative team: Montreal-based Stephanie Weiner comes from Saatchi and Saatchi; partner and art director Israel Diaz is an oca grad with several years in design, most recently with Bozell Palmer Bonner.

Burnett’s Klaus Hahn has been promoted to senior vp, client service director, in charge of the Procter & Gamble business in Canada. Hahn was most recently managing director of Burnett in Stockholm.

– Kinetic Digital Animation and Design has left its Young Street studio for bigger digs at 175 Bloor Street East. A new Radius Telecast a/v editing suite is inhabiting the expanded space.

– Bates Canada’s Terry Kavanagh and husband Greg had a 6 lb. 15 1/2 oz. baby boy last month, Adam Lee Kavanagh.