Tribe Pictures Expands with New York Office

Names Emmy-winner Michael Chomet as Senior VP and Creative Director

NEW YORK, NY – May 20, 2015 – Tribe Pictures has planted its flag on the other side of the Hudson, officially opening an office in New York City and naming the Emmy Award-winning creative talent Michael Chomet to lead its operation there. Chomet, who assumes the new position of Senior Vice President and Creative Director at Tribe, joins from Spark Productions, where he was Executive Producer and Creative Director. Chomet’s appointment was announced by Vern Oakley, CEO and Founder of Tribe Pictures.

The move gives Tribe a beachhead in Manhattan, from which it will be better able to service corporate clients based in the city as well as provide more convenient access to production and post resources and talent, and installs an experienced and technologically savvy producer and editor to direct its efforts there.

Chomet’s joining Tribe brings full circle a professional connection that began many years ago. Both Oakley and Chomet worked on the same award-winning children’s series, “Reading Rainbow,” earlier in their careers, although their time with the program did not overlap. Later, as Chomet became a sought-after editor working on a range of projects in different media genres and Oakley was leading his Chatham, New Jersey-based corporate film and video production agency, the two worked together on a number of projects, often with Oakley directing and Chomet editing. Their most recent collaboration was on a series of fundraising videos and broadcast ads produced last fall by Tribe for Lafayette College.

“I’ve always been impressed by the high standards and creative quality of Tribe’s work, and especially by the great camaraderie and collaborative feeling the company has,” Chomet says.

“They’re smart, talented and dedicated people who understand the important role film and video content plays in the corporate and educational arenas. I believe with our combined backgrounds and experience, we’re going to be able to achieve great things.”

Chomet joined Spark in 2010 via a merger between that company and his own studio, Chomet Creative Group Inc. He brings to Tribe decades of experience working across media platforms, with credits in broadcast and cable television, music videos, corporate videos and advertising. He’s collaborated on a variety of high-profile projects, including “Heartless,” Kanye West’s breakthrough animated video, as well as series and specials for MTV, Lifetime, Bravo, Martha Stewart Living/CBS, HBO, PBS and Noggin. The topics and themes of his television work have run the stylistic gamut, from documentary to lifestyle to reality television.

“I first got to know Michael as a brilliant editor who understood the value of compelling, emotional, authentic storytelling,” says Oakley. “What struck me was that not only did he have great skills at weaving narratives, he also thought about the content strategically – he knew, for example, when he was working with Tribe, that our stories have a purpose, which is embodied in our clients’ communications goals. And we share similar values in terms of making sure our clients’ needs come first. To find someone with that mix of skills and sensibilities is rare.”

Chomet is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a major in film and video. He won an EMMY Award in 2005 and has been nominated four other times for his work on various broadcast and cable TV projects. In addition, his work in corporate video has been recognized with Telly Awards and CINE Golden Eagles.

Media Contacts:
Lurdes Borges, Tribe Pictures, 973-635-2660, lurdes@tribepictures.com
Anthony Vagnoni, avagnoni communications, 973-493-8736, anthony@avagnoni.com

About Tribe Pictures
Tribe Pictures is an award winning production company with offices in New York and Chatham, New Jersey that specializes in strategic video and film solutions for Fortune 500 corporations and leading colleges, universities and non-profits. With a mission of “humanizing the most successful companies in the world,” Tribe has created compelling content for such household names as American Express, CIT, Coty, Hamilton College, Hess, Kenyon College, KPMG, Montefiore Medical Center, Stanley Black & Decker, Tyco and others. The company brings subject-matter and storytelling expertise to areas such as culture change, human resources and investor relations, and is known for its work with corporate CEOs. Founded by CEO and Creative Director Storyteller Vern Oakley, Tribe’s work has been recognized with Telly Awards, CINE Golden Eagles, Aurora Awards, CASE Awards and many other industry accolades.

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“It’s one thing to understand the role of video in business communication, it’s another to know how to use video to solve actual business problems. Vern Oakley gets that.”

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