Australian production company Photoplay enters US market, acquires New York City based RAZR
Photoplay the production outfit headquartered in Sydney, Australia with offices in Auckland, New Zealand, and representation across Asia, has just announced its entrance in the US commercial market by opening a New York office.
Photoplay was born in 2009 when three people with a combined background in advertising, film, TV and design came together and decided it was a good idea. Photoplay is all about the creative idea executed in any medium. Whether it’s TV, internet, film or smart phone, Photoplay embraces pioneering technology to bring the very best in storytelling and entertainment.
Photoplay enters the US market through the acquisition of RAZR, a young experiential production start-up launched only a year ago by entrepreneur Mitchel Elsen (left). Elsen will stay on board through the acquisition to become the company’s managing director overseeing all North American activities.
Says Elsen: “We’ve been talking for a while now about how to best work together, and the acquisition just felt right. They’re great people and we have the same vision and ambition. As a global company, I’m confident we’ll be have an even larger creative impact.”
Says Oliver Lawrance, co-founder and MD of Photoplay in Sydney: “It’s the perfect match and we’re ready. We’ve been producing top quality work for the past five years in the Asia Pacific markets, and we feel confident our talent can successfully transition into highly competitive markets like the US.”
Photoplay has garnered recognition for their work worldwide, from award-winning projects at New York Festivals, Clio Awards, Spikes and Adfest, among many others.
The Photoplay roster boasts Aussie stars Scott Otto Anderson and Husein Alicajic, who will be well accompanied by award-winning profiles such as VFX super-collective No Brain, visual comedy star director Matt Mantovani, illustrator/animator Lucinda Schreiber, and Canada’s finest innovation duo Felix & Paul. Dark and epic director Benjamin Lacour also joins, together with docu-style filmmaker Christian Gruener.
The company will launch its US office with heavy sales capacity on both coasts and the Midwest. Sara Barnthouse, currently based in San Francisco, will continue to handle West Coast sales together with Lisa Gimenez in Los Angeles, while James Deloye will cover the Midwest market out of Chicago. Dana Dubay will take on all East Coast sales duties together with Daryl Devlin of Bernstein & Andriulli, who will specifically focus on Photoplay’s digital and experiential efforts.
1 Comment
Big balls to acquire a ‘start up’ company in the current US market.