Now entering its fourth year, LA-based Royale recently moved into a larger space and announced a spate of new hires. The motion design and production studio has added head of production Danielle Hazan, 3D lead/CG supervisor Andy Lyon and art director Jonathan Kim to its roster of talent. To accommodate the company’s growth, Royale moved into a new 5,000-square-foot space.
“We continue to be inspired and grow with each and every project,” said Jayson Whitmore, Royale creative director/partner. “It was the right time for us to expand our in-house talent and capabilities. We’re honored to be working with some of the most gifted creatives on both the agency and production side.”
“It’s great to head into our fourth year with this momentum,” added Brien Holman, Royale creative director/partner. “We’re proud of our client and artist relationships, and what we’ve been able to accomplish together.”
Hazan comes to Royale with extensive production experience in advertising, feature films and fashion. She was most recently a producer at Superfad for five years working on commercials for Sony PlayStation 3, Netflix, Sprint, Nintendo and California Lottery. During her three years at Industrial Light & Magic, she worked on feature projects including Minority Report, Peter Pan and Pearl Harbor.
3D Lead/CG Supervisor Lyon is well versed in merging 3D production techniques with traditional animated filmmaking. After graduating with an MFA in film and animation from USC in 2007, he freelanced as a character animator and 3D generalist at various motion studios including Logan, National Television, Hornet, Paranoid US, and Royale. While at USC, his hand-drawn short film, Bare, traveled the festival circuit worldwide and won the Student Award at the Nicktoons Network Animation Festival.
Trained in digital media and motion graphics at Otis College of Art & Design, art director Kim has worked with some of the top studios including Laundry, Little Red Robot and The Famous Group. Most recently a freelance designer/animator at Royale, he has contributed to projects for Toyota, Taco Bell and The Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff. His past credits include work for Nike, HP, Adidas, Cartoon Network, National Geographic and MTV.
Notable Royale collaborations include such brands as Nike, Disney, Apple and Toyota, and ad agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO, Leo Burnett, DraftFCB, The Martin Agency and TBWA\Chiat\Day. It recently garnered industry recognition for its work on Comedy Central, FUEL TV and Publicis‘ The Red Cloud Project.
