Responding to the rapid growth in its visual effects and high definition divisions, R!OT Manhattan has boosted its staff through several key personnel moves. Luis Ribeiro has been promoted to the newly created post of exec producer, and Susan Giattino to business manager. Ribeiro previously held the title of sr producer; Giattino was production manager. Additionally, the company has hired Angela Botta as sales representative and Colleen Garvey as producer.
R!OT Manhattan has enjoyed an upswing in demand for visual effects design for commercials, particularly those involving fashion and beauty clients such as Clairol, L'Oreal and Pantene. Additionally, it has been providing high definition video finishing services for an increasing number of theatrical releases, including spots for Diet Coke, Est⁄e Lauder, Intel and Cover Girl.
"We've had a very good year in commercial work and, having recently completed a renovation, are well positioned for the future," said R!OT Manhattan managing director Connie Griffin. "We have assembled a very strong team and are focused on doing what we do best."
In his new role, Ribeiro will provide hands-on, operational oversight for all post-production work at R!OT Manhattan. He will supervise bidding, ensure that deadlines are met, act as the chief liaison between clients and the studio's artistic staff, and see that quality standards and artistic expectations are not only met but exceeded.
Shortly after graduating from the University of Texas, Austin in 1998, Ribeiro began his career with R!OT Manhattan (then Manhattan Transfer, prior to its acquisition in 2000 by Ascent Media). He has served as an assistant producer in the company's design department and as a visual effects producer before being promoted to sr producer for visual effects last year.
Giattino will oversee all financial operations. She has been on staff at R!OT Manhattan for three years and previously held the position of visual effects producer. Prior to that, she served for six years as business manager at Blue Rock Editorial, New York. Her background also includes operational and production posts with Sound One and Editel, both in New York.
Botta joins R!OT Manhattan from a sales post with the design and visual effects house Black Logic, New York. A graduate of Arizona State University, she began her career as an assistant producer with ABC in Phoenix. She has also worked in sales and marketing capacities with Miramax and New Line Cinema. She will focus on extending R!OT Manhattan's client base among New York advertising agencies.
Garvey formerly served as an exec assistant and producer at Imaginary Forces, the Los Angeles design studio. She previously spent two years in a similar role at R!OT Manhattan's sister facility, R!OT Santa Monica. She began her career with Ogilvy & Mather, New York. At R!OT Manhattan, she will serve as a producer for editorial sessions.
R!OT Manhattan is located at 545 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10017. For more information, contact Dana Locatell at (212) 907-1208.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
