Digital studio Reel FX, Dallas/Santa Monica has added Colin McGreal as Creative Director. McGreal is a versatile creative director and designer with over two decades of branded content experience working with such top clients as Verizon, American Express, Ford, Samsung, Wendy’s, Goodyear, Toyota and Time Warner Cable, among numerous others. Fusing a vast knowledge of filmmaking and technical processes, he is capable of both leveraging his background to collaborate with creative teams and fully executing projects from start to finish. McGreal most recently worked as Creative Director on Reel FX’s Hunger Games VR Experience for Lionsgate/Samsung, which launched during NY Comic-Con. His other Reel FX VR work includes the “You vs. Sharapova” Virtual Reality experience for American Express, which launched at the 2015 US Open, and the Pacific Rim Jaeger Pilot VR Experience for Legendary Pictures.
“As someone who has engaged with a diverse collection of studios, Reel FX has continuously grown more attractive as I’ve watched them aggressively embrace new platforms in the entertainment and commercial world,” notes McGreal. “It is this commitment to staying ahead of the curve that has drawn me to formalize our long-standing relationship.”
Adds Reel FX General Manager David Bates, “Colin brings a wealth of creativity, as well as an immense range of directorial experience in design, CG, and live-action projects to our team. The combination of his depth of knowledge, his creative excellence, and his leadership make him a perfect addition to our already robust team.”
McGreal, a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, cut his professional chops by toting cans of film for a film lab in Hell’s Kitchen on a midnight shift and not quitting after getting mugged his second night on the job. Tiring of the vampire shift, he moved to designing boards at R/GA, learning a whole new facet of the industry. After directing his first spots in Saigon, Vietnam, McGreal worked as Creative Director for premium studios such as Charlex, Shilo, Spontaneous, Suspect and HUGE, completing spots for agencies such as McCann-Erickson, Saatchi, Digitas, Publicis, JWT and BBDO, among numerous others.
About Reel FX
Reel FX develops and produces award-winning animated films, short form content and virtual reality experiences. The company’s feature slate, includes the Golden Globe-nominated The Book of Life with Twentieth Century Fox, released on October 17th, 2014. The film also garnered Best Animated Feature nominations from the Critics’ Choice Awards, Producers Guild Awards, and Annie Awards. The title is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. Reel FX’s first full-length animated feature, Free Birds, was released by Relativity Media on November 1st, 2013 and grossed over $110 million worldwide.
Based out of Dallas, Texas, Reel FX has over 22 years of experience as an award-winning one-stop studio for the creation of animated content including films, special attraction/live venue projects, commercials, and interactive projects for companies like Fox, Warner Bros., DreamWorks Animation and Universal Studios. The studio also maintains a short form division focused on commercials, music videos, theme park attractions as well as virtual reality content through its dedicated VR division, Reel FX VR.
Since opening in 2014, Reel FX VR has developed world-class VR interactive activations and 360º narrative content for innovative brands, such as 20th Century Fox, Acura, American Expresss, AT&T, Frito Lay, GE, Legendary Pictures, Lionsgate, Porsche, Samsung, and the U.S. Air Force. Reel FX VR crafts unique and innovative content for all the leading VR goggle platforms – Oculus, HTCVive, and Samsung Gear VR.