Press Release from Nice Shoes
NEW YORK (June 15 2009): Nice Shoes' new Creative Director Aron Baxter has come full circle. The London-born Baxter joined Nice Shoes as a senior VFX artist in January 2003 then moved over to Guava, the company's sister VFX Company. Now, with the merger of Nice Shoes and Guava, he has returned to the parent company to assume the new role of Creative Director.
Additionally, Jack Fahey has been appointed Head of Sales for the Nice Shoes family of companies which includes Nice Shoes, Nice Spots and Freestyle Collective.
The addition of Guava brings a renewed dedication to VFX at Nice Shoes and requires a leader with the creative abilities to compliment the artists that already occupy their redesigned suites. "Nice Shoes is well respected for its strong technical abilities and service. With Guava's merger and the addition of some new staff, we're dialing up the creative side of Nice Shoes," says Baxter. "It's a sea of change, a new way forward for us. I'll be making sure there's a harmonious balance of technical and creative services and know-how for our current and future clients."
He began a six-year stint at London's renowned The Moving Picture Company starting as a Quantel Henry, Hal and Harry artist and later became a Discreet Flame artist. Baxter created visual effects for a slate of features, among them the James Bond film "GoldenEye," the motion-picture version of "Les Miserables" and the classic children's tale, "The Borrowers." Previously Baxter had also added his talent to Tim Burton's 1988 "Batman" where he worked with Academy Award-winning production designer Anton Furst.
Baxter spent most of his time at The Moving Picture Company working on commercials, however. "The turnaround speed and cut-and-thrust of commercials compared to the time lavished on film production was quite a contrast," he recalls. "Every project brought its own unique set of creative and technical challenges."
Among his spot credits were campaigns for Nike, Castrol, Fiat, BBC, and Volvo.
Baxter joined the London office of Netherlands-based Condor in 1998, remaining there for the next five years. "It was a smaller company so I got the opportunity to spread my wings working in post, very high-end motion graphics and shooting commercials, broadcast IDs and music videos," he reports. "It was a chance to keep the production side running alongside post-production." Baxter's production background makes him an asset on-set, supervising VFX heavy projects, as well as overseeing the VFX team back at Nice Shoes.
"Throughout my career, it's always been my aim to push myself in different directions so that I experience the full spectrum of creative possibilities and can provide intuitive solutions for our clients," Baxter says. In his time at Nice Shoes and Guava he's worked on high-profile commercials for Goodyear, Ameritrade, Mastercard, American Express, Calvin Klein, IBM, Sprite, Smirnoff and Cartoon Network Fusion Fall.
In the last six years Baxter has seen Nice Shoes evolve and change to better and more effectively serve its client base. "That evolution has gathered pace recently," he reports, citing new executive appointments, additional hiring of VFX, 3D artists and designers, and the beginning of a complete re-decoration to the interior of the physical space. "We have always been known for our excellence in Telecine and now -- with the combination of the VFX artists from both Nice Shoes and Guava -- Nice Shoes has the VFX department to match," says Baxter..
For more on Nice Shoes, please visit: www.niceshoes.com.
