who’s gone where? From where? And when? As the Revolving Doors spin, we put the spotlight on spot-makers on-the-move.

NewNew Films executive producer Teri Walderman not only has a new space on Toronto’s Spadina Avenue to frolic in, she now has a cohort to share the fun with.

Dena Thompson has joined NewNew as executive producer, taking the plunge into production after a lengthy career on the agency side. Thompson, who started at NewNew on April 16 (the same day the company moved into its new digs), had been with agency BBDO for nearly 12 years, leaving as senior producer.

Says Thompson: ‘I loved [working at] BBDO. I loved the people there, but I thought maybe this was the right time for me to cross over to see if I’m cut out for this part of it. I understand it, having done production for so long, but now I get to service people from this side, which I’ve never done.’

‘Dena has a vast knowledge of production, both in Canada and in the States, and she is a great asset to this company,’ says Walderman. ‘By the end of [her first] week she had signed on two new directors because of her relationship with them.’

The directors in question are Charles Stone III and Luca Lucini, both directing out of New York-based spot shop C&C/Storm Films.

Storm also has an office in Chicago.

Stone, who is perhaps best known as the driving force behind the exceedingly popular ‘Whassup?’ campaign for Budweiser, is a major coup for the shop.

‘ ‘Whassup’ was the biggest phenomenon of the time [in advertising],’ says Thompson, who adds when she first saw the ads, ‘I had to get on the phone and introduce myself and get to know as much about these directors and the people who run the company as I could. I wanted to feel them out and see if they were interested in doing work in Canada, and of course they were.’

Stone’s ‘Whassup’ campaign (he served as director and co-copywriter with a team from DDB Chicago) brought in the Grand Prix at the 47th Cannes International Advertising Festival, the Grand Clio at last year’s Clio Awards for ‘True’ and several other major awards. He has directed music videos for the likes of The Roots and A Tribe Called Quest and just completed his first feature film, Paid in Full.

Lucini, based out of Milan, Italy, comes to NewNew with a significant reel in tow, having shot ads for the likes of MTV, Yogurt Muller, Telecom and others.

Thompson says agency response to the two directors ‘has been fantastic. [The agencies] are really thrilled now that [Lucini and Stone] have Canadian representation because it is easier to work with somebody locally here. Knowing the market and knowing how to bid it up here makes it easier for people to approach them.’

Industry scores Thonson, Stiefel

Toronto’s Industry Films has signed a number of directors for Canadian representation.

The first acquisition is Sean Thonson, a director/cameraman based out of L.A. Thonson, who moves over from Sparks Productions, is well known to Canadian television viewers for his slick car ads, including Toyota and Nissan.

‘We loved his reel,’ says Industry head of sales Eva Preger. ‘The tone of his spots is fantastic. I think he brings a lot to a project. A good director/cameraman really knows the cameraman side – it is just second nature to them. With somebody like Sean you can certainly see that you are getting great bang for your buck.’

Preger says Thonson and Industry both hope to broaden his reel with some talent-driven and storytelling spots to better showcase his capabilities.

Industry has also taken on the roster of Stiefel and Company out of Santa Monica, CA. ‘Frank Stiefel is an icon in North American production,’ Preger says. ‘He’s been around for so long and he has created so many successful commercial directors and still continues to do so.’

In addition to directors Andrews Jenkins, Peter Darley Miller and Brett Froomer, new Stiefel director Andrew Becker was one of the big reasons Industry wanted to develop a relationship.

‘[Becker] used to be a copywriter and then worked as a creative director at Adidas,’ says Preger. ‘That’s really how he built up his reel. He’s got a fantastic visual style that is so simple; it just translates the concept in such a clear way. He understands the client side and what the agency is going through because he’s been on that side.’

Circle signs two

Circle Productions has added two new directors to its already impressive roster of U.S. helmers repped here.

The first of the pair is Billy Kent, a New York-based director repped by Crash Films in Santa Monica, CA. Circle executive producer Chris Bowell says the folks at Circle had long been aware of Kent’s work, having done service work with other Crash directors in Canada. Bowell says once they brought Kent up to Canada he lived up to his billing.

‘Our first project with Billy was a comedy/effects two-spot package with Telus through Ogilvy & Mather, Calgary, with Phil Copithorne [creative director] and Richard Cairns [producer],’ says Bowell. ‘With a tight budget Billy directed the project, which combined natural talent direction, live action, special effects, live effects, post effects and compositing. It was quite a complex job. I was really impressed with Billy’s ease of handling the live-action location effects.’

The effects Kent managed for the spot included explosions, breakaway walls, glass blowouts, remote triggered effects, blue-screen elements and miniatures.

‘Billy juggled all these balls with ease on a stress-free set, and the agency got what they wanted and had a great experience,’ says Bowell. ‘At the time it was a one-off, but Billy signed with Circle soon after.’

The second director to join Circle’s international roster is Chace Strickland. Bowell makes it known Circle had its eye on the director several years ago, but had to yield to another Canadian company, which had already signed a repping deal with Strickland’s home base in the U.S. ‘His work struck me then as having a combined strength of strong casting, natural talent direction, and beautiful images,’ says Bowell.

Circle gave up the chase, as it were, until Bowell learned Strickland had left his company and joined up with Backyard Productions in Venice, CA. Circle signed him as soon as possible.

‘I connected with him again recently through his executive producer at Backyard and we have been handling various Canadian shoots, including work with Chace over the last year for service work,’ says Bowell. ‘They sent up his reel, and although it is similar in direction to the work I’d seen a few years back, he has jumped to the A level.’ *