All the latest production moves, hires and partnerships: September 26, 2019

Moxie Pictures has signed director Travis Hanour for global representation. Hanour began his career directing animation and VFX and then spent ten years as an agency creative director. As a director, he has worked on campaigns for clients including Nike, Jordan, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, TaylorMade, Intel, the BBC, Disney and Sonos. Prior to joining Moxie, he was represented by The Calvary and Slash Dynamic.

Nexus Studios is launching Maison Hanko, a pop-up roster of directorial and illustrative talent from Japan. It features creative talent curated by Nexus for representation into North America and Europe, and aims to highlight Japanese talent ahead of the upcoming 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The initial line-up includes directors Kouhei Nakama, Hideyuki Tanaka, Shishi Yamazaki, Masahito Kobayashi, and illustrators Kazuhisa Uragami, Takahiro Suganuma and Takeshi Miyasaka.

B-Reel Films is adding to its Scandinavian roster with director Tomas Jonsgården. He has worked with brands including Volvo, Dell, Netflix, and HBO ("Game Of Thrones") and picked up awards at the Epica, Eurobest, New York Festivals and Cannes Lions among others.

Logan & Sons is adding Tom Schlagkamp as a director. The Berlin and Los Angeles-based director was awarded a Young Directors Award in Cannes in 2013 for his short film “The Rock’n’Roll Manifesto” and has gone on to direct for the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Adidas, Volkswagen, Samsung, McDonald’s and Vodafone.

Chicago-based Tessa Films  has hired Sydney Thomson in the new position of head of production. Thomson has worked with production companies such as Smuggler, Hungry Man, Radical Media, Story, Moxie Pictures, Sibling Rivalry and RSA. She has freelanced for Tessa Films’ co-founder and executive producer Lisa Masseur at One at Optimus, and subseqently at Tessa. 

Amsterdam production company Halal has appointed Carl Wyant to the role of executive producer. Wyant joins after six years as executive producer at Great Guns, working across its offices in Asia, and more recently with its business in the U.S. 

Visual effects and design studio Carbon has promoted Phil Linturn to managing director of Carbon North America and Gretchen Praeger to executive producer of the Chicago office. Linturn joined Carbon in 2016 from European VFX house Glassworks, and most recently was COO. Praeger joined Carbon in 2017 having spent the majority of her career at Optimus. Additionally, Carbon Chicago has made several new hires including Jeff Boddy as creative director, Laurie Adrianopoli as executive producer of sales and marketing, and Katrina Zimmerman as senior art director.

Splash Worldwide has hired Collette Galvin as business development lead for the company's new global content and production offering, Splash Studios. Galvin has spent 14 years with Beam, the commercial content management enterprise launched by Mill Group in London and acquired by Technicolor in 2015. She was promoted to Beam's head of account management in 2014.

NYC-based audio studio Sonic Union has appointed Amanda Fink Mandell to the role of executive producer, partnerships. Joining Sonic Union after her most recent post as executive producer at Mophonics, her work includes producing a multi-singer cover of the Les Miserables ballad “I Dreamed a Dream” for the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival’s spot “Dream” that earned a Gold Cannes Lion for music.

Creative studio Nice Shoes has has hired Maria Carretero as senior colorist. Carretero joins from Framestore, where she spent nearly two years in the Chicago office. She has nearly two decades of global experience in color grading working on commercials for brands like Apple, Jeep, Porsche, Michael Kors, Disney and Marriott.

Production studio Flavor has appointed Joshua Studebaker to its Los Angeles office as CG supervisor. Studebaker has been a freelance CG artist in the Los Angeles marketplace for eight years, specializing in design, animation, dynamics, lighting/shading and compositing. He has also worked with Alma Mater, Arsenal FX, Brand New School, Buck, Greenhaus GFX, Imaginary Forces and We Are Royale.