Years active 1989–present Name Francis Pollara | Role Producer | |
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Born March 16, 1989 (age 35) ( 1989-03-16 ) Burbank, California Occupation Producer, Industrial Designer Education Art Center College of Design | ||
Brandon Herman in Samsung commercial
Francis Pollara (born March 16, 1989) is an Italian-Arab-American award-winning independent producer, project manager, entrepreneur, and industrial designer. Currently a project manager and agency producer at the international advertising firm KesselsKramer, clients include the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Pampero, Ubisoft, Weedmaps, Smirnoff, and The Standard Hotel. He is critically acclaimed for producing the "Trigger Happy" Canon commercial, which has been broadcast on primetime television and received global recognition, winning a College Television Emmy Award a Clio Award received May 2010 in New York and featured in the Saatchi & Saatchi 2010 Showcase during Cannes Lions Festival in Cannes, France. In addition, he also produced the South by Southwest Music Video Award winner, Cinnamon Chasers - Luv Deluxe which has generated more than eight million hits collectively via YouTube and was double featured during the 2010 South by Southwest Film and Music Festival in Austin, Texas.
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Early life
Born and raised in Southern California, Pollara is the son of Fabrizio Pollara, manager of communication architectures and research at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Marianne Hattar-Pollara, director of nursing at California State University, Northridge. Growing up, Pollara spent summers visiting family in Italy and Jordan, where he learned to speak Italian and Arabic.
Education
As a teenager, Pollara attended a twelve-week filmmaking course at the New York Film Academy on the Universal Pictures’ back lot. Upon graduation from La Cañada High School, he went to Italy to study cinema and further his Italian language skills. When he returned home, he enrolled at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and trained under cinematographer Affonso Beato, ASC, before moving into producing. Working with directors such as Saman Keshavarz and John X. Carey, Pollara’s productions earned multiple awards, including the Association of International Commercial Producers Award, a Student Emmy, and multiple Clios, as well as recognition at the Cannes and SXSW film festivals. Pollara received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film from Art Center in 2010.
Career
In 2010, Pollara and Affonso Beato worked with Rede Globo, a Latin American broadcast company, during production of a Brazilian telenovela. Pollara served as a production coordinator, translating Arabic and Italian, and learning Portuguese, as the show visited Israel, Jordan, France, and Brazil. Pollara also worked as camera consultant and still photographer on the project.
After returning from Brazil, Pollara collaborated with Beato on numerous 3D projects, including designing their own camera systems. Pollara built rigs and worked out new approaches for shooting 3D. The pair were also part of a team tasked with modifying standard television cameras and improvising ways to stream live 3D coverage of the 2014 World Cup to U.S. theaters.
For nearly four years, Pollara ran his own production company, Ladeson Productions. As executive producer, he was responsible for daily production strategy, client relations, and general operations for all productions and multimedia projects. Ladeson produced music videos, commercials, viral content, and short films that ranged in budget from $15,000-$90,000. Pollara also worked with film and music video producer Lanette Phillips at Paydirt Pictures, producing music videos for Calvin Harris, Chiddy Bang, Russ Chimes, Vitalic, Chk Chk Chk, and other artists. As founder and managing partner of [SIC] Apparel, Pollara launched the company with a $18,500 Kickstarter campaign, collaborating with artists and designers to produce quality lifestyle street-wear.
Filmography
Executive Producer
Producer
Production Assistant/Internships
Industrial Design