In that regard, one of the first things Charde has done since opening the Boston studio is to add two new directors, Dan Sousa and Rich Ferguson-Hull. Both fit in well with the eclectic style that has become the trademark of Global Mechanic. Sousa, who animates in cel, 3D, CGI and mixed media, has done six Nestle Quick Bunny spots for McCann-Erickson and many of the “Marsha Campaign” commercials for Marshall’s and Hill Holiday. He also has a huge portfolio of character animation work, which includes Bugs Bunny, The Power Puff Girls and various other Looney Toon and Hanna-Barbera characters. Ferguson-Hull also works in traditional, 3D, CGI and stop motion. His credits include work for Kraft, Pillsbury, Staples and Citibank and for major agencies such as J. Walter Thompson, Leo Burnett and Young & Rubicam. He has directed and animated work for both Universal Studios and Disneyland Theme Parks, two animation pilots for Cartoon Network and one for Fox Networks, as well as numerous network promos and IDs for TCM and Cartoon Network. They join the creative roster that is already in place in Vancouver, which, besides Alcock and Fleming, includes Marv Newland and Nathaniel Akin.

Alcock says he is thrilled with the addition of Sousa and Ferguson-Hull. “With both Dan and Rich working with us, we have now completely rounded out our animation offerings as a production company. They are two of the best cel and character animators working today.”

From its very inception, Global Mechanic has striven to create a synergy between commercial work and independent productions. Having artists in the same room working on different kinds of projects creates a stimulation, Alcock believes, that leads to more interesting and creative work than found in the run-of-the-mill production studios. “When we were working on commercials over the past year, Ann Marie was producing her feature (documentary) The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam. So there were animators in the studio animating sections of her film and doing title work, and at the same time we were doing time-lapse photography for a Dove commercial and pixilated work for Bell Mobility spots.” According to Alcock, whose background is in using experimental animation techniques in a commercial context, this kind of stimulation is intentional and not haphazard. “We’re trying to push things a little, trying to learn as much as we can job-to-job and cross-pollinate between the energy and focus on the commercial end and the creativity and wider breath of vision on the independent side.”

Global Mechanic produces pixilated spots for its ongoing Bell Mobility campaign for Re-Think Advertising.

While this energy and breadth of vision are evident when one views the company’s reel, which includes commercials, independent films and music videos, Alcock is especially proud of his commercial reel. Whether it’s pixilation for Bell Mobility or mixed-media for Coca-Cola International, Coffee Mate and Tampax, or stop-motion/motion control for TCM or time lapse for Dove Soap, the reel showcases the many techniques that Alcock has mastered as both an animator and a live-action director. “The commercial work that’s on there is really solid. There’s a lot of variation, a lot of different kinds of techniques. A lot of people say, when they get my reel, that they’re surprised that it’s one director that’s done all the stuff because I really do like to push in a lot of different directions. I think the reel is reflecting that now and makes a really strong presence out there.”