After stints at Wild Brain, Colossal Pictures, Dream Quest Images and Vinton Studios, industry veteran Paul Golden has launched FFAKE, a new animation and film production company in Portland, Oregon. The outfit is represented for commercial projects in the East by Perry Schaffer and Corey Rogers of SchafferRogers/New York.
“I decided to open FFAKE because I saw a real opportunity in this evolving marketplace to create a boutique, hybrid production/animation studio/label that can offer the best talent and technology for each individual project and client,” says Golden. “Large studios today have trouble dealing with the ‘feast and famine’ realities of this business. With FFAKE, I wanted to free ourselves from the large overhead of a big facility, but also not have so many directors on our roster that we are a ‘rolodex’ company. We have selected our talent very carefully, and they are artists who like to be independent, yet want someone with my expertise to help guide their careers.”
The FFAKE talent roster includes such well-known animation directors as Carl Willat, Nicholas Weigel and the Maverix Art Collective, which includes Ed Bell, Robert Valley, Tom Rubalcava and Charlie Canfield. Up-and-coming artists in the company’s stable include David Lobser, Peter Richardson and Ben Meinhardt.
Golden most recently served as president of advertising at Vinton Studios, which was rebranded as LAIKA under the ownership of Nike founder Phil Knight. There, he produced and managed projects for such clients as Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, MTV, Warner Bros., M&Ms, HBO, Paramount, Budweiser, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Nike.
“There is a lot of ‘noise’ right now about the transition to portable technology and its impact on animation,’ comments Golden, who named the company after Orson Welles’ final film, 1974’s F for Fake. ‘Even now, animation doesn’t need to be ‘dumbed-down’ to work on the web and mobile platforms, so the quality that FFAKE can create is a real plus in terms of cutting through. At the same time, we understand that the technology to create animation may indeed be easily available but not everyone has the talent or ability to use that technology in a way that creates truly high-quality and engaging animation.” More information on FFAKE can be found at www.ffake.com.
