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Production studio Tarot launches
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London based independent production studio Tarot launches to bring agency-grade production expertise to brands and agencies.
Sam Topley, Romila Sanassy and Jacqueline Dobrin have launched Tarot, an independent production studio created to give brands, creative agencies and PR agencies access to senior agency production expertise without the cost or commitment of a permanent in-house department.
Operating as an external production partner on tap, Tarot can join projects from the earliest stages of a brief, before creative is locked, providing production strategy, creative scoping and access to a wide network of production partners and talent across commercials and entertainment projects.
The 10-strong team has been built for a production landscape where budgets, formats, timelines and agency structures are increasingly fluid. Tarot works across commercials, branded entertainment, docu-series, podcasts, and original short films, assembling the right production expertise and talent around each project.
Across their careers Topley and Sanassy have held senior production roles at Uncommon, Saatchi & Saatchi, AMV BBDO, Anomaly, JWT and Ogilvy. They are joined by Jacqueline Dobrin as Non-Executive Director and Head of Resource, following her role running Grey London's 30-strong integrated production department.
In its first year, Tarot has already delivered work for Lenovo, Born Free, The Children's Society, Decathlon, Space NK and P&G, spanning global docu-series, commercials and branded entertainment
Alongside its commercial offering, Tarot has an entertainment division producing a slate of film and entertainment projects, with 10 short films due for completion this year.
Its debut short, Rule, Britannia, a 12-minute film made in partnership with Choose Love, has taken Gold at Ciclope, the 1.4 Awards and Creative Circle, received a British Arrows nomination for Branded Entertainment, and won awards at BAFTA-qualifying film festivals internationally.
Topley, Founder of Tarot, said: “The production landscape has changed dramatically. Budgets are tighter, formats are multiplying and audiences have endless choice about what deserves their attention and the pressure on the work is higher than ever before. Tarot takes the best of traditional agency production, the judgement, craft and rigour, and combines it with an entertainment mindset, focusing on the right talent, partners and formats to make the kind of work people actually want to watch.”
Sanassy, Executive Producer, said: “I am excited about everything Tarot stands for. The opportunity to solve production challenges freely, without constraints or rule books, is invigorating. It’s about brilliant, memorable creative work, irrespective of budget.”
Dobrin, Non-Executive Director and Head of Resource, said: “Tarot is exactly where production needs to be right now, and for the future. It’s a real career highlight for me to be part of something that feels so fresh, exciting and full of possibility.”
Tarot is now working with brands, creative agencies and PR agencies across production strategy, project scoping and full-service delivery.
