Ool Digital Expands Creative Services to North America

In November 2023, Mexican creative studio Ool Digital - led by brothers Alvaro and Edgar Guizar, and known for its unique CGI and animation services - signed Dan Weissman to be its executive producer and head of US sales. This move is part of the company’s action plan to formally establish itself and grow the business across the wider North American region.

Dan is a seasoned creative production lead and EP with over 18 years of global industry experience. After working across network television, commercials, branded content and digital animation - most recently at Shutterstock Studios, AMC Networks, and MTV - Dan specialises in custom 360 branded campaigns. His role at Ool Digital is to drive and facilitate new business in North America for the Guadalajara-based company, as well as assist in end-to-end production processes and operations.

Dan originally met Alvaro while head of production at Shutterstock Studios, and was immediately impressed by the company’s technical capabilities and the team’s expertise. Later flying down to see ‘The Playground’ - the full-service creative, production and post hub that houses Ool Digital, FFFRAME, Semillero Studios and Mango Films - he says, “It was an incredible experience to see all their various arms of production and services.”

“Be it their 3D and 2D animation, CGI tabletop, VFX artistry or their partner services - their ability to ideate, execute, and serve each and every project end to end and beyond expectations, was all very impressive.”

After working with Alvaro again and solidifying the relationship, Dan’s next career step was clear, calling his decision to join Ool Digital “a happy marriage that seemed to make a lot of sense”, as the Mexican company was looking to expand its North American, and global, footprint.

“The timing was right, between their capabilities and my 20 years of industry contacts, relationships, and being able to pair that together,” says Dan. “We're actively expanding and reaching out to North American agencies and clients directly, as well as other production companies that might need partner services that we specialise in.” He continues, “It’s early days right now but we're already making a great impact and establishing ourselves across North America, through Los Angeles, Austin and New York, and into Canada - Montreal and Toronto.”

“We have a very strong reel backing us up and Dan was a perfect match,” Alvaro notes. “My brother and I are into intuition and there was a very nice match with him. He has a ton of experience backing that up too and is known in the business. I’ve been very jealous before of the people who sell for us - our projects are like our children, and I feel I can leave my children in Dan’s hands.”

“There's just a natural comfortability and understanding with each other,” adds Dan. “This alignment has really grown in an organic way, so it's exciting for us.”

[Above: Alvaro and Edgar Guizar]

With Ool Digital’s various infrastructures and benefits - its array of staff, its cost-effective location and end-to-end, in-house capabilities - Dan says he’s uniquely positioned to communicate this with would-be clients across North America, and listen to their creative, logistic and efficiency needs.

The hunger for this kind of all-encompassing service is also there from the North American industry, according to Dan, who explains that the breakdown of the traditional production and creative models, coupled with the constant need for content, has ignited a service and production service industry boom.

While the team is eager to expand in the US and Canada, there are no plans to open a physical location outside of Ool Digital’s current home in Mexico. In fact, the ability to stay rooted in Mexico, and maintain its growing roster of talent there has been “the special sauce” for the company, says Dan.

“Alvaro and the team have done a phenomenal job of recognising and leaning into those natural efficiencies - the difference in economy, the difference in cost, the difference in operation - and building an incredibly talented staff.” He feels this mix of efficiency and talent is what sets the digital studio apart on the global stage. 

“We're going to double down and continue to grow in Mexico, and really amplify those efficiencies for all of our clients,” he says. “So if a client from San Francisco is looking to us, we should be a nice breath of fresh air. Not only can we produce at the expectations and the level that they need but we can do it for a cost that most people cannot compete with. That's our special sauce right there.”

[Above: Dan Weissman]

Well aware of the industry’s pain points from a variety of perspectives, Dan says that the main goal in 2024 is to take this uniquely positioned action plan and use it to not just grow in the North American market, but tactically and decisively grow on a global scale.

“Ool Digital is one of those collectives that is a problem solver service. Not just production services, rather, ‘solution services’. So I'm excited to bring this solution service, this very specialised studio, to a very specific and targeted group of colleagues and watch the team and our various clients come together to create something special.”

Being a problem solver is the strategy that Alvaro believes in - especially after a recent conversion in Paris with the production head of a global creative network. “He told me, ‘You know what? There are a tonne of production houses, there are a tonne of directors but I need problem solvers. I need somebody that really solves a project seamlessly, where even if there’s a problem, it's not a big deal and it runs smoothly’.”

In this vein, the studio differentiates itself by being solution oriented, first and foremost, and holding good service at its core.

“Once you work with us, you're going to have the best quality possible,” he says, “but it's going to be a nice process too. If there's a revision, it’s going to be clear. If you have comments or you want to change something, it's going to be easy. It's going to be a nice experience and at the end, you're going to have a very good final product. But the clients always remember the service and overall experience.”  This quintessential Latin American hospitality is at the heart of Ool Digital.

[Above: A tour of The Playground facility]

One of Ool Digital’s other strengths has been its company culture and stability which in turn has meant employee turnover is relatively low. And even with the increased North American business, the company’s core processes and personnel have stayed consistent - something that Dan says is an effective, but surprisingly rare, pathway to success.

“When companies get to a certain level, they often change the process and team that got them there, and they look to rebuild. That's something Ool Digital is not doing, in fact, it's the inverse. We’re continuing the building and the evolution of the team in Mexico, and as we expand our business elsewhere globally, and take on new business, that team will not depart. If anything, it will grow, the talent will develop and it will evolve.”

“That, again, is our secret sauce,” Dan adds. “Ool’s magic is in really tapping into this incredible ecosystem, creative hub and family of talent - growing and evolving the business on a global level, strategically and tactfully, and always bringing it back to the core in Mexico.”