Bully Continues to Flourish in its New Zen Environment

Bully Pictures' Founder and EP Jason Forest Brings
His Vision to Life and a Dream to Fruition
 

Founder/Executive Producer of Bully Pictures and Post Jason Forest.

Jason Forest, founder and Executive Producer of the L.A.-based production company Bully Pictures, is proud of his company's new offices. Situated a few blocks from the ocean in Santa Monica, the large architectural space, which Forest helped to design, reveals an open floor plan with mid-century lines, river rock floors, living art walls, and an outdoor courtyard with a large zen fountain wall that makes a nice place to relax and enjoy the Southern California sun. It's contemporary and aesthetically sound, but at the same time calming and inviting, a lot like the company itself.

Forest launched Bully Pictures at the end of 2006. He had worked for several years as a freelance producer and felt that he could build a successful company by providing advertising agencies with attentive service, smart solutions and efficient productions. Initially, Bully produced running footage for major car accounts, but within a few months, it signed three international directors, Fredrik Callinggard, Christian Lyngbye, and Franco Marinelli, and the company began to take off.

"They were very talented guys who had limited exposure in the U.S.," recalls Forest. "I saw a lot of potential."

Inspired by nature, Forest had a hand in designing their new zen-like work space.

Five years later, it now represents more than a dozen directors, with the newest arrivals including Morten Tyldum, Eric Will, Juergen Bollmeyer, and Eric Saarinen. Bully has developed a client list that includes Smirnoff, Ikea, Toyota, Ford, McDonald's, Mazda, Nissan, Suzuki, Burger King, GM, the US Government, Pzifer, Johnson & Johnson, Home Depot, Kia, Walmart and Farmer's Insurance. Highlights from 2011 included a spot for Revlon that was directed by Darren Aronofsky and starred Jessica Biel and Pharrell Williams. Other recent campaigns include work for Verizon, Target, Coors Light, Union Bank, and the latest installment for Home Depot.

Greg Tharp, an Executive Producer at Deutsch, New York, worked with Bully on a couple of occasions when he was on staff at JWT, New York, and says that Forest's background in production is apparent in the way he manages projects. "He's always looking for ways to make the experience easier," Tharp observes. "He's very savvy about production and comes up with cost-effective solutions that translate directly into making creative ideas as great as they can be."

The Richards Group, Dallas has produced four Home Depot projects with Bully in recent months, each with Michael Shapiro directing. Doug Eyring, the Brand Creative on the account, says that they value the consistency they have received both creatively and in the servicing of the production.

"Michael is very creative and collaborative. He understands the brand and the campaign, has a great eye for detail, and brings a lot to the table in terms of ideas," Eyring says. "We enjoy working with the whole team at Bully."

Images of London, Malaysia and Brazil are reflected in the glass of Copenhagen in Callinggard’s campaign for Union Bank.

In 2008, Bully Pictures launched a post-production division, Bully Bros. Post, providing editorial, visual effects, compositing and finishing services. It is headed by Kiki Chansamone, a visual effects supervisor, compositor and artist. "We wanted to be able to offer our clients packaged services," explains Forest. "We had relationships with several independent post houses, and still do, but there are a lot of advantages to having direct access to post."

"Kiki and I have been friends for a long time and talked a lot about doing business together," Forest adds. "It happened very organically. The post-production division is currently going through its own growth spurt with lots of interesting projects. Expect some exciting changes for 2012."

Bully's ability to offer both production and post services has proven especially useful with today's creative and economic challenges. Stan Toyama, Executive Creative Director for IW Group, has used Bully and Bully Bros. Post to do a number of campaigns for McDonald's. "Jason has done a tremendous job in pulling together a team of directors and post-production artists who always deliver a highly creative result regardless of the project scope or budget," Toyama says.

Astrid Downs, Executive Producer and Head of Sales at Bully.

Forest notes that despite what have generally been tough times for the advertising industry, Bully has managed steady growth each year since its launch. Last year, Forest brought on Executive Producer/Head of Sales Astrid Downs to help manage the company's growing workload. He notes, "Astrid is a great balance for Bully, bringing a huge network of relationships and sales experience to the company. Her warm personality, strong work ethic, strategic mind and wonderful optimism make her a great partner to work with and a huge asset toward our future growth."

Bully's growth is attributable to its reputation for quality and efficiency and to the talent of its directorial roster, says Forest, who adds that he works hard to foster and maintain those relationships. "I try to be very fair with my directors and treat them as my partners," he says. "I support them creatively and help them get to where they want to go."

As for the future, Forest's goal is to keep Bully moving along the same upward path in the global advertising marketplace. "We want to continue doing creatively dynamic projects with great clients, and make the experiences fun and memorable for everyone involved."


Published 20, January 2012