NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES — Multi-platform production company StrangeLove (http://strangelove.co), which launched in London earlier this year, has landed Stateside, making its presence known bicoastally with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Formed in partnership with production outfit Passion Pictures, StrangeLove is the brainchild of former Legs Media New York executive producer Tom Berendsen. The company works on commercials, films and music videos.
StrangeLove’s expansion and creative production in the US will be facilitated by former 1stAveMachine veteran Melinda Nugent, Berendsen and former Legs colleague Sara Greco. According to Greco, each office will serve as a physical home for StrangeLove’s talent, and offer the same premium service and forward thinking approach.
“The relationship is harmonious – with Melinda tightening up production and working out of Los Angeles on development, creation of original work – utilizing her extensive knowledge of the industry we are building our foundation with an exciting pace and energy,” says Greco. “Our New York office is a cultural foundation. We are one of the few companies with a strong base in New York and that helps us keep up with and see things with a contemporary lens.”
The shared history and experience, Berendsen says of the team as a whole, which in the UK includes Dazed / Dazed Media alum Tai Thittichai as EP and Claire Blewer-Jones as director of sales, is what makes this proposition unique. “Together, we’re leveraging our combined and varied experience to offer a really progressive approach to our clients,” he explains. “One thing everyone in the industry is acutely aware of is how quickly tastes and trends change and evolve, and how campaign work reflects that with their requests for new types of delivered assets. I wanted to make sure that we could execute classic moving image work with flair, and also do all of the new technical and experimental work our directors have been known for. It was important to me to have a team that is adaptable and a set of tastemakers who could actively drive that new generation of output.”
Among the multitude of revered filmmakers, storytellers and artists comprising the roster as part of its US launch is: Andrew Thomas Huang, a fine artist most recognizably known as Bjork’s creative director; the young commercial directing visionaries of BRTHR; and Legs founders Geremy & Georgie, who launched Florence & The Machine in the US and pioneered experiential work for top-tier brands including Target.
Rounding out this roster is the longform/branded entertainment-focused collective Spindle, headed by Sophia Rothbart also a Legs alum, who is credited with establishing their emerging talent roster. Spindle is home to documentarians and directors intent on crafting progressive narrative driven content, often partnering with the likes of the NYT.