The Artists Company Starts A New Era With Sally Antonacchio

The Artists Company Starts A New Era With Sally Antonacchio

In 2012, top US production house The Artists Company was hit with a huge change – its owner Roberto Cecchini retired after 35 years. However, ready to take the reins was then Vice President, Sally Antonacchio who, after 22 years working with Cecchini, decided to take over the company and become Owner/Executive Producer.




First on her agenda was to work on the roster - keeping some of the previous directors (Michael Cuesta, Paolo Monico, Palladino/Neri, Gillean Proctor and David Ramser) whilst taking on some brand new and exciting talent (John Alper, Zach Borst, Thomas Card and Eriq Wities). She also brought back director Øtis, who not only is now a director at the company but also the Executive Creative Director.

We managed to grab a few moments with Sally to chat about the changes in the company, the exciting new roster and how 2013 is going!

Director John Alper on the Land Rover set in Scotland.

With the departure of previous owner last year, you decided to take over the company. Did you see this as the start of a new era for The Artist Company?

The tides of this industry have been turning for years. The fact of the matter is this is the start of a new era for the commercial production industry as the lines between spots and entertainment get very blurry. So in short, yes, it's a new era for The Artists Company evidenced by the simple fact that it's a new era. These times require flexibility, adaptability, openness to new ideas and new venues for getting work shown and seen. I've paired down the company to the key individuals and directors who can work with me on my new vision and create a new type of production company. This is a new company with the spine of the old, letting our experience inform our creativity in this new media landscape.

What do you think production companies need to provide in order to be successful nowadays?

A lot of clients and agencies are looking for creative solutions to age old issues. Sometimes that means taking a project from inception through post. Sometimes that means being open to new opportunities that would have gotten a laugh in past years. With the tumultuous world of advertising, I think that most of all, production companies need to represent a certain level of security, one that Ad Agencies can depend upon because a lot of the time their jobs literally depend on how their choice delivers the goods.

You have some fantastic established names on your roster. Do you think it's important to have bigger directors to grab the attention of agencies?

Having a name that is respected in the industry, like The Artists Company, is more important than any one director. I can't tell you how many times I've met someone and seen their face suddenly change when they realize that I own one of the seminal spot shops in the history of spot making. The talent pool in the directorial world is getting more and more clouded and crowded with the way that people digest and get introduced to directors. The big names help to lend legitimacy to a roster but also give a chance for us to get the younger, new crop of directors on the radars of some very important people.

One of our directors, Zach Borst, was just selected to the New Directors Series, which is a wonderful way to promote him and get his name out there but I would be lying if I told you that having someone as wonderful and known as Michael Cuesta on my roster didn't help get my foot in the door on other projects. What I've speaking about most is the resiliency and varied talent on my roster that has some big established names and also some young guns who are the future of this business. We are able to accommodate all levels of production from huge multi-spot campaigns to smaller web films to music videos.
 

Directing team Palladino/Neri on the set of Coco's in CA

You've also added some fresh and exciting new names to the company. What does having fledgling talents bring to the table?

YES! Having been at this company for 22 years, I've seen many huge careers launched from the smallest of projects. You can't sit on old talent or a roster gets stale. It needs to be the right mix of experience and freshness. I believe we've found that balance. We have fledgling talent that each brings a new set of tools to our toolbox. They come from different disciplines such as Stop Motion, Photography and mainstay comedy. These are award-winning directors who have more going on for them than many established directors.

In the case of Zach Borst, he's the youngest and possibly most promising talent I've seen in years. He came into his own by getting his first Super Bowl spot on air last year that came from entering an online contest. Eriq Wities is different than any director I've worked with as he does his completely inventive and visual stop motion spots. Thomas Card is an incredibly accomplished photographer with work up in museums and galleries but also has a huge collection of still clients for us to introduce his live action shooting capabilities to.

These guys are not at home waiting for storyboards. They are out there doing a variety of things that compliment and enhance their directing skills. This is a new breed of director who has boots on the ground, is savvier than previous generations of directors. They have to be savvier in this hyper-competitive climate.

Where do you go to find your directors? Have you found specific hubs for directorial aptitude?

I could tell you where I find my directors but you'd have you sign a nondisclosure agreement and probably sign on as my press secretary. A woman can't give away all her secrets.
 

The Artist Company's new ECD, Øtis.

The director Øtis is not only one of the talents on your roster, but also your ECD. How do you hope he will drive the company's creative direction?

Before Øtis left the company, he was helping guide the company with regards to technology, being creative director on our first two major websites, using social networking as a work tool and a whole host of other tasks that were instrumental in bridging us from the old world of advertising into the new. Now that he is back, he has taken on a more substantial role in the way that The Artists Company is branded, marketed and the creative direction for the company as a whole. He's honestly quite brilliant and has been quietly supporting in the background as I moved the company into our new direction.

We've never had an ECD before and it's a role he's fallen into very quickly. He is involved with most creative and technological decisions made on a day-to-day basis. He's also here to be an advocate for the other directors on the roster. Specifically with regards to the younger talent, he's taken a paternal role in helping develop their careers, give them guidance as they wade through new production experiences and being the support that these directors need and deserve. He and I compliment each other so well, it makes it fun!

What's on the slate for the rest of the year?

We are very excited about this year and the future in general. We've just signed on Carolyn Hill of Carolyn Reps to head our East Coast sales teams. Zach Borst just made it into the new director's series and is fresh off a job where he inspired and impressed me greatly. Our young talent have been writing on big projects and shooting. Our veterans are bidding and shooting. There's a new buzz around this company and I'm so excited to come to the office every morning. This year is about extending our reach into different markets, international, Hispanic, as well as pursuing more varied types of projects that aren't necessarily born in the traditional :30 spot world.

There are an infinite number of screens in our lives, our phones, store displays, kiosks, tablets and there should be a commensurate amount of projects out there to put content on those screens, so we are tapping into new markets and resources that we've never approached in the past. Also, being newly certified as a Minority/Women owned Business should allow us to get in doors that had been closed to us in the past. It's all very exciting and very encouraging.

Posted on 30th May 2013