Live Action Production Company The Academy Rebrands as Society

Boutique live action production company The Academy has rebranded as Society. Partner/Executive Producer Harry Calbom, Partner/Executive Creative Director David Holm and Head of Production Rebecca Parenteau, formerly at MJZ, will lead the LA-based shop. Upcoming work out of Society includes projects for Dreamworks, Sony, Audi, Nissan and Intel.

“Our team at Society works this hard because we truly love what we do,” notes Calbom. “We’ve specialized in branded content since the beginning, and in the process we’ve perfected a model that works across all levels of production.” Adds Parenteau, “Our directors are true filmmakers, passionate about making great work with great people. The results truly speak for themselves.”

Society’s roster will include budding director Sean Pecknold, who helmed the high profile “Princess Machine” video for GoldieBlox that went viral last fall as well as well as award-winning music videos and commercials for such brands as SmartWater, IKEA, Xbox and National Geographic. Also on the roster is director Lynn Shelton who is known for her award-winning indie features Humpday, Your Sister’s Sister and Touchy Feely. Director Austin Wilson continues to expand his diverse body of spot work, shooting campaigns this summer for Nissan and Intel. The roster also includes directors Zia Mohajerjasbi, whose reel includes music videos for the likes of Macklemore, Blue Scholars, The Physics and Jake One and Christian S. Hansen, whose surrealistic visual style can be seen in videos for artists Campfire Ok, Kitten and Still Corners.

Concludes co-founder David Holm, “I think our passion comes through everything we do. We feel our approach represents the future of this industry. Society takes the innovative work we’ve done at The Academy to the next level.”

Prior to joining Society, Head of Production Parenteau was Staff Production Manager at MJZ, working closely with noted directors as Mike Mills, Spike Jones, Harmony Korine and Rupert Sanders, among others. Before MJZ, she was on staff at NYC-based Supply and Demand for seven years. In 2007, Parenteau was part of a small team to open Supply and Demand’s west coast office in Los Angeles, where she served as Staff Production Manger until 2013.