I Scream, You Scream...

…Chelsea screams for Ice Cream! Consider this the fourth installment of our high-stakes Gelato Competition, though we must confess, we opted for good old fashioned Ice Cream this time around.

For today’s tasting, we chose Van Leeuwen Ice Cream. Van Leeuwen is a food truck success story, as they have recently opened three retail locations, one in Manhattan, and two in Brooklyn. And that’s in addition to their ice cream trucks, which, pun intended, just keep on trucking!

For today’s tasting, lovely New York Office Manager and Production Assistant, Pietra, took advantage of the beautiful fall afternoon to take a walk to the shop. In accordance with some of our previous tastings, we stuck with the classics, Vanilla, Chocolate (Mast Brothers!), Pistachio, and Cookies & Cream. Not a bad line up, though they do have some very exotic flavors to choose from! Think Corn, and Pumpkin. Sounds delicious.

The Ice Cream was hand packed by default in very Chelsea-esque recycled brown paper pint containers. Bonus Points for Van Leeuwen! As for the ice cream itself, the results were favorable. Pietra’s favorite was the Mast Brother’s Chocolate, which, if you know Pietra, should come as no surprise. And apparently, Drew owes Pietra a Mast Brothers (of Brooklyn) Chocolate Bar ($11.99, and yes, they’re worth it!). It’s his own fault, but he will make good on his promise. Dan heavily touted the Cookies & Cream, and noted that Van Leeuwen was better than most gelato establishments that Chelsea has sampled in the past.

All told, based on flavor, with bonus points for aesthetically pitch-perfect packaging, Chelsea rates Van Leeuwen a 9, although Lisa notes that “If we had tried the roasted banana, I’m sure I would have given it a 10.”

Michael Muller Double Header

Two exciting bits of news regarding Chelsea’s own director/photographer Michael Muller.


First off, Michael Muller has been nominated for two awards for his work on Speedo  at the Promax Sports Media Summit and Awards event this year. Very exciting stuff, and a great spot, worthy of praise.





In addition to Michael Muller’s nomination, he and veteran street artist Sage Vaughn have teamed up on art exhibit “Opposing Instincts” at The Outsiders in London. If you happen to be in foggy London town, be sure to check it out from October 6^th to October 29^th.  Muller’s dynamic photography has been combined with Vaughn’s colorful street sensibilities to create a show that is truly exhilarating. Details after the jump.


The Outsiders London - "Opposing Forces"

Alex Gibney's "Catching Hell" Premieres on ESPN

All corners of the internet are atwitter (pun intended) with reactions to Chelsea Director Alex Gibney's "Catching Hell" which premiered on ESPN on Tuesday night.


If you missed what all the buzz is about, you'll have another chance.


Tune in:


-ESPN2 Thursday, Sept. 29 at 11 PM
-ESPN Classic Friday, Sept. 30 at 10 PM
-ESPN Classic Saturday, Oct. 1 at Midnight, 8 PM and 10 PM
-ESPN Classic Sunday, Oct. 2 at Midnight, 8 PM and 10 PM
-ESPN2 Saturday, Oct. 8 at 8 AM
-ESPN2 Saturday, Nov. 12 at 5 AM
-ESPN Sunday, Nov. 13 at 9 PM


Trust us, catch "Catching Hell." The film is a great watch, diehard baseball fan or not.

Liz Von Hoene's "Le Blanc Noir"

Chelsea Director/Photographer Liz Von Hoene’s new photography show, Le Blanc Noir opened last Thursday evening at The Gallery @ Stockland Martel. The reception had great attendance, and Liz’s show was simply stunning. Her work conveys a sense of beauty and whimsy, hand in hand, which is bewitching to behold. Good times, good wine, great hors d’ouvres and great conversation were had by all. Stockland Martel sure knows how to throw an opening party! Thanks on behalf of Chelsea to all who attended to support our talented director, and we look forwarded to seeing more of her work in the near future.

The Gallery @ Stockland Martel is open by appointment only. Check out Stockland Martel’s website at http://stocklandmartel.com/ Congratulations again to Liz Von Hoene.

Chelsea LA's Summer Days:

With everyone back to school and back to work, Chelsea LA holds on to the last days of summer...

Chelsea Director Nadav Kander Photographs Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill for New York Magazine

Photograph/director Nadav Kander shot Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill for New York Magazine's cover and article about Moneyball starring Pitt and Hill.  The film is an adaption of Michael Lewis's 2003 book about Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's (Pitt) struggle to turn an impoverished team into world champions.

Read More: Brad’s Pitch: Why an A-list actor was willing to go to bat for Moneyball—an adventure story about sabermetrics.

Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt on the cover of the August 29 issue of New York magazine, as photographed by Nadav Kander.

Brad Pitt. Photo by Nadav Kander for New York magazine.

Jonah Hill. Photo by Nadav Kander for New York magazine.

Robb Bindler Tackles Philadelphia Eagles for Comcast

Boyhood dreams came true as Chelsea's Comcast crew filmed field level near the endzone.  Here are some pictures of director Robb Bindler and crew from the shoot:

Robb Bindler giving the thumbs up.

Digitas's Paul Cammarota and Nic Mordecai pose on the Eagles's field pregame.

DP David Morrison all smiles during the game.

Chelsea East's Gelato Tasting Part 3

While temperatures reach the 100s in New York, Chelsea East continues to keep cool with gelato tastings!  

For this tasting, we chose  Ciao Bella, a noted Nolita shop that has since gone national.  We ordered  chocolate, espresso, pistachio, Oreo cookie dough and vanilla.  Lisa especially enjoyed the pistachio while Pietra, our staff production assistant, thought the espresso was smooth and flavorful.  There was not a scoop of Oreo cookie dough left over!

To get the true flavor we insisted on purchasing the hand packed pints.  While we would've given the gelato a 7, we're docking it to 6 because the server gave us lip for having to hand pack!  And so, Ciao Bella receives a 6/10.

Pietra and Celia serving Ciao Bella

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Chelsea Signs Director Jack Cole For U.S. Spot Representation

Chelsea proudly announces the addition of director Jack Cole to their roster. Cole’s flare for creating visually striking films across a broad spectrum of genres attracted clients such as Reebok, Panasonic, Subaru, and most recently Stride Gum.

“I had a great experience working with Chelsea shooting the last Stride spot,” said Cole. “When the offer to sign up to the ranks officially came along it was a no-brainer. I’m really looking forward to working more in the States and hope I can offer something a little different by bringing this particular Englishman’s eye to the table.”

Tom Christmann, Executive Creative Director at JWT, worked with Cole on Stride. “Jack can direct ostriches to run through walls. He can direct nineteen-year-old girls to wrestle rams. And yet he still hasn’t let those talents go to his head and is a pleasure to work with. Amazing,” said Christmann.

Jack began his directing career as one half of duo Liff. Their work was nominated for the Newcomer Award at the Soho Rushes Shorts Festival, screened at the onedotzero Film Festival, and short-listed for the Nike Young Directors Award. In 2005, Shots Magazine New Directors Reel featured Liff. Their short films received international acclaim, most notably “Practice Makes Perfect”, nominated for the TCM Classic Shorts Award at the London Film Festival.

“Image making has always been what I do,” said Cole. “From spending hours drawing A-team cartoons as a kid to painting graffiti in English suburbia while fantasizing I was in New York as a teen. Now as a ‘grown-up’ I chase ostriches, rams and actors around film sets. I see it all as an extension of the obsession I’ve always had to create pictures.”

“Visualist comedy directors are few and far between. Add in Jack’s stills background and you have a very potent director,” said Chelsea co-owner Lisa Mehling. “I am so pleased to add Jack to the Chelsea roster.”

Shoot Magazine features Cole signing with Chelsea.
Jack Cole Reel

Chelsea West Dines at Red Lobster

After working hard on Neil Abramson’s Red Lobster spots, Chelsea West wined and dined at a local Red Lobster restaurant. 

Here are some pictures of Chelsea West staff with their entrees:

Denise, Assistant Controller.

Carol, Controller.

Allie, Production Coordinator.

Adam, Bidder/Production Manager.

Thea, Allison's daughter.

Susan, Office Manager

Leslie, Head of Production

Delicious!

Q&A With Chelsea Director Kevin MacDonald

Oscar winner Kevin MacDonald sat down with Huffington Post to discuss his new film, Life in A Day, which opened in theaters July 29, 2011.

In the Q&A, MacDonald discusses his inspiration for the YouTube global film experiment and what he took away from the unique experience.  "I got [a] sense of this tremendous life force, that people -- even when they're in their last hours or days of life, confronting death -- they still have this sense of wanting to live, of life being special and wonderful," said MacDonald.

The rest of the interview can be found here.

Former Chelsea Intern Rahel Araya Awarded with GroupM Scholarship

Congratulations to former Chelsea intern Rahel Araya! GroupM North America has named Rahel and two other honorees in the GroupM Diversity Scholarship program it established with City College of New York as part of an ongoing effort to promote diversity and inclusion within the media and advertising industry.

Adage featured Rahel and the scholarship program on June 30.  Click here for the article.

Best of luck to Rahel in the coming semester!

GroupMNorth America's HR Director Tim Cecere (left) and CEO Rob Norman (center) join Salwa Sayed (second left), Rahel Araya and Cory Rainford, the first GroupM Scholars.

Five Times the Fun: Summer on the East Coast

Dan’s five things are less specific and more mood pieces, so enjoy the songs and pictures and combine them in your head for a vision of Dan’s summer plans.

Pietra:

Here's a collage of Pietra's picks:

Five Times the Fun: Summer on the East Coast

Chelsea folks are a fun bunch, that much is clear, but what do they do for fun? Particularly in summer, the funnest season of all? In the blazing sun or blasting AC, here’s a list of Chelsea staffers’ top five summer plans, starting with our New York office.

To start us off, here are Lisa's and Pat's lists! Stay tuned for more staff summer plans!

Lisa:

"Reading, reading, reading.  On my list are:

Alan Hollingsworth- The Strangers Child

Bruce Chatwin- Patagonia

The Long Goodbye- Megan O'Rourke

The Faith- Jennifer Haith

Tender Is The Night-  F Scott Fitzgerald

Harry Potter-- The First One (read with my kids)"

Pat:

 

CHELSEA DIRECTOR BRUCE HUNT AND RP& CREATE FORCEFUL ELEGANCE FOR ACURA

Chelsea director Bruce Hunt created four new television spots for Acura’s latest campaign: “Aggression in its Most Elegant Form.” Hunt’s work balances pristine visions of the vehicles with raw demonstrations of speed and power, creating an abstract and beautiful canvas to highlight Acura’s 2012 line-up.

In “German,” Hunt offers a clever play on the typical sports sedan commercial, using the traditional visual cues associated with German luxury cars, then revealing the Acura RDX compact SUV.  In “Meant,” we see an Acura TL sedan being taken through its paces while a list of its most sophisticated features is read in voiceover.  And in “Smart,” Hunt creates a slow burn, having us hear the smart features of the new Acura MDX, then abruptly demonstrating the one feature that can save a life.  “Truck” will be released in the coming weeks.

Hunt’s other recent work includes feature film 2nd Unit director duties, in particular on Guillermo del Toro’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, opening nationwide on August 26th, 2011. 

"Meant"


"German"