NEW YORK – Aggressive, the directorial/design duo of Dan Shapiro and Alex Topaller, has signed with the New York-based commercial production company Zero 2 Sixty (www.0260.com) for exclusive spot representation.
Shapiro and Topaller are long-time friends that share an interest in the arts. Five years ago they teamed to do some Internet animations and quickly moved into 3D work for the ‘net. They freelanced at G2 Worldwide, the brand development and design arm of Grey Worldwide, where they directed a number of projects, including a brand education campaign and eight outdoor adventure spots for Players, 16 spots using video/motion graphics and photography for Lucky Strike, six photography-based animated Olympic PSAs for the Muhammad Ali Foundation, and were responsible for the 3D and video compositing for a Dunhill spot.
The duo adopted the Aggressive name and moved into the music video arena. Through the Saline Project, a directorial collective, they created the visual effects and compositing for a number of CG heavy music videos, including Eminem’s Like Toy Soldiers, Sugarcult’s She’s the Blade, The Hives’ Two Timing Touch and The Roots’ Don’ Say Nuthin’.
The duo also directed Lil Rob’s Summer Nights; created an animated DVD for New York editorial house The Well; created show opens for ESPN, TV One and HBO Family through Carbon Design; and directed the documentary, US Army Careers, through Mullen (Wenham, MA).
In addition, Aggressive worked closely with 0:2:60 director and visual effects designer/editor Thor Raxlen at Chelsea Digital, where they designed elements for Miller TV spots and directed CG production for a Miller Lite Internet campaign, directed a CG end-tag created for all Champs Sports ads, designed show promo graphics for MTV’s The Reality Show, and created effects for Hershey’s Take Five.
Aggressive came to the attention of 0:2:60 in January when they began working with Guerilla FX, the post production finishing boutique recently launched by 0:2:60 president/executive producer Doug Robbins and director Thor Raxlen. Here they have exercised their design and VFX directorial talents on a number of projects, including the MTV promo Storm Corps, Adidas Flight Crew for Champs Sports, Fast Access DSL for BellSouth, and a V8 Fusion commercial.
According to Topaller the team mixes techniques, from high-end CG, to live shoots, to still photography, to hand-sketched illustrations on torn pieces of paper, as well as styles, often referencing fine-art and other mediums. They are also familiar with desktop tools such as 3DS Max and After Effects.
Although Aggressive’s main focus will be on a directing career, Shapiro and Topaller will continue to do editorial and effects work at Guerilla FX as well.