Framestore has added Suzanne Jandu as head of 2D in London, working across its advertising, TV and immersive divisions. She will work closely with heads of CG Grant Walker and Ahmed Gharraph, and Framestore’s team of multidisciplined creative directors. 

As an artist, Jandu’s credentials include her roles as look dev artist across the Harry Potter franchise, and as lead compositor on the Oscar-winning The Jungle Book with MPC, and both Ready Player One and Jurassic World at ILM. Awards have followed, including Emmy and VES nominations for work across both film and advertising.

As head of 2D, Jandu will oversee the shaping of compositing crews, supporting the artists throughout their work and ensuring the optimum teams are in place for Framestore’s clients. She will also take an active role in pipeline development and technical integration, working closely with Framestore’s 2D leads around the globe to create a smooth and fast working environment. Her artistic prowess will also be put to use on select projects, working in particular to her strengths in look development.

Postal Partners With Hey Beautiful Jerk
Postal, a NYC-based postproduction company founded by Eric Berkowitz, has entered into a collaboration with animation directors Mark Szumski and Gina Niespodziani, also known as Hey Beautiful Jerk (HBJ). The duo will bring its unique, high-quality style of animation-driven storytelling and use of colorful design and visual effects to tell brand stories and connect with audiences in collaboration with Postal’s team and infrastructure.

HBJ has garnered mainstream attention for its music video work and concert visuals for artists including Miley Cyrus, Rihanna and Cardi B, and a cult following for work on Adult Swim, and music videos for heavy metal bands like Mastodon. HBJ’s body of work includes VFX for Netflix original film Alex Strangelove, commercial work for Yahoo, Fender, Google, Adult Swim and Optimum, a series of short independent animated films, and a short form documentary made for Viacom.

The duo’s partnership with Postal will bring HBJ additional support and the expanded use of tools, such as a full CGI team. HBJ and Postal have already collaborated on spots for Visine and WeWork. HBJ is also working on a Netflix original film with Spike Lee, a project with Milk Makeup, and visuals for Samantha Bee.

1stAveMachine Gains Infusion Of Brut Talent
Production company 1stAveMachine has added the talent lineup of Barcelona-based directing collective Brut to its roster.

Founded by 1stAve director/ECD Martin Allais and executive producer Maud Beckers, Brut was launched to not only bring fresh production perspective through mixed media, but to spotlight creative production in Barcelona and form new collaborations beyond traditional channels in the process.

Brut’s highly curated collective canvasses the spectrum of animation and motion graphics. Directing duo Makmac, for instance, crafts striking sculptural CG designs for clients like Converse, Toyota, Zara and MTV. Meanwhile, both Maliboo and Dedo Ciego brandish their talents in animation and tactile graphics for music videos like the Gold Laus-winning “Bailair” for JMII, and “Un I Mig” from Catalonian band La Iaia. Directing pair BLND has created stop-motion and illustration for Converse and Amazon Launchpad, and recently collaborated with Mediamonks to make the Google Doodle. 2D animation team Device has brought life to projects for Spotify, American Express and John Carpenter’s Favorite Music Moments for Primavera Sound, while motion designer/3D artist Tavo has collaborated with brands like Nike and Nissan.