From the release:
CHICAGO – (Apr. 24, 2019) – Continuing its growth and its investments into excellence, design-driven production company Sarofsky is adding the dynamic directing team The Barkers to its roster. The news was announced by company Principal and Executive Creative Director Erin Sarofsky, and Executive Producer Steven Anderson.
As design-driven directors with backgrounds in photography, The Barkers – comprised of husband-and-wife team Chris and Kristen Barker – have created highly captivating content for major brands over the past 10 years. With expertise pioneering cutting-edge visual platforms like GIPHY, Instagram stories, and YouTube mastheads, the duo has also directed countless TV commercials. Major credits include original productions for Advocate, Blue Cross Blue Shield, HP, Hyatt, JC Penney, McDonald’s, Microsoft, and State Farm, among many others.
“The Barkers are top-notch directors,” Erin began. “They have an aesthetic that is fun, vibrant and just makes you smile. It’s relevant to every category of advertising.”
Worth noting, The Barkers are the first directors on the Sarofsky roster that are not Erin herself. Paving the way for this seminal partnership, The Barkers directed a project for State Farm through DDB Chicago, where Sarofsky was engaged for editorial, graphics, visual effects, and finishing. Debriefing that collaboration, Erin’s appreciation for The Barkers’ creative leadership is abundantly clear.
“State Farm is a perfect example of The Barkers’ ability to build off of a simple idea and come up with a production paradigm to capture everything in a way that makes the post-production process manageable,” she explained. “In this case, the agency had an idea for doing a series of Instagram stories, and with The Barkers onboard early to help conceptualize the piece, it turned out to be a smashing success.”
“When we first heard that Sarofsky was interested in live-action directors, we really piqued,” said Chris. “Steven Anderson is the best EP around, and the studio is famous for design and aesthetics, while also maintaining a strong sense of playfulness in the creative process. Those are threads we carry throughout our work as well. Another thing we love is that Sarofsky’s capabilities have no cap: the only limit is imagination. So naturally, we felt we were a perfect fit.”
“After working in the industry for 10 years, it’s been really exciting to work with Erin,” Kristen added. “She has so much experience and has really created something amazing here in Chicago. It’s important to see women in roles of creative leadership. We’re a female owned and operated business as well, and it’s inspiring to have such a talented team supporting our productions.”
