Impossible Studios

//  03.29.21

Production company Impossible Studios has launched in Toronto with the intent of bringing a nimble approach to production without compromising quality.

Top row, left to right: Michael Stuckless, Paul Bolasco, Kyle Topping, Michael Rae, Marco D'Angelo Bottom row, left to right: Tomasz Kurek, Ryan Nangreaves, Jerome Riel, Iris Kim, Matthew Parrish

Top row, left to right: Michael Stuckless, Paul Bolasco, Kyle Topping, Michael Rae, Marco D’Angelo
Bottom row, left to right: Tomasz Kurek, Ryan Nangreaves, Jerome Riel, Iris Kim, Matthew Parrish

The company is founded by Marco D’Angelo who previously worked as a director and producer at telecom giant Rogers as part of its in-house creative group. While at Rogers, he produced and directed national broadcast spots for some of Rogers’ largest clients, including the NHL, Walmart, President’s Choice, Hometown Hockey, and Unilever.

It’s this experience of frequently working client-direct, outside the typical production company framework, along with his perspective on keeping production lean, that D’Angelo is leveraging with Impossible Studios.

“My career path was not traditional by any means. As a result, I haven’t been shaped by the industry to work a specific way,” says the executive producer. “This untraditional journey has given me a unique perspective on what it means to lead a production company.”

This desire to better serve agencies and clients has manifested itself in jobs that were completed with incredibly fast turnaround times, while delivering on quality. For instance, “Play in the Open”, a recent spot for Canada Goose which touted the iconic outerwear brand’s collaboration with the NBA, was in production within a week of being briefed.

Since soft launching in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Impossible has shot a broad range of projects, from mental health awareness pieces to international broadcast and stills projects for clients including Canada Goose, Joe Fresh and Panasonic.

One of Impossible Studios’ first projects was a charity initiative called CreativityForGood, which offered content for brands and organizations in need of support. One of those films for Hot Black Coffee detailed how the Queen West coffee shop pivoted to become a local bakery as a means to generate revenue and continue to serve its community during lockdowns. Similarly, as the city began to open up last summer, Impossible created a welcoming film for the Greektown BIA that focused on the businesses that make the east-end neighbourhood a thriving community.

In building the roster for Impossible Studios (full bios below), D’Angelo says he focused on emerging talent he’s worked with over the years to give them the opportunity to carve a space of their own in the industry and apply their talent to larger scale projects.

“This group embodies everything we stand for: they’re talented, they can be scrappy when they need to be and their ultimate goal is to produce the best damn work they can, regardless of the obstacles presented to them,” D’Angelo says. “We just want to give a platform to the artists that we know deserve it.”

https://notimpossible.ca

DIRECTOR BIOS

Kyle Topping (he/him):
Photographer/Cinematographer – raw visuals, portraiture, nature, lifestyle

Kyle Topping is an award-winning photographer and DOP. Inspired by the various landscapes of his upbringing, he finds and captures moments both as they are, and as an audience hopes to find them. Kyle is talented in delivering raw and honest emotion and has exhibited this in his works with Nike, Budweiser, Hershey’s, GMC, Visa, Valentino, Chanel, Shopify and others.

Iris Kim (she/her):
Director – music videos, high-concept visual storytelling

Iris is a director that appreciates the dramatics of a swooping dolly-in, a tight edit and juicy visuals. Her storytelling style is driven by her love for honest conversations, quiet and loud personalities and vivid moments. Her short film, English Made Easy, was a nominee for the TIFFxInstagram Shorts Festival that circled around the nuances of the English language from the perspective of a Korean student. Other directorial credits include Johnny Orlando ‘Adelaide’, and renforshort ‘Virtual Reality’ with labels like Universal Music, Interscope Records and Post Office Creative.

Michael Stuckless (he/him/they/them):
Photographer – fashion, commercial, portraiture, evocative visuals

Michael is a commercial photographer from Toronto who puts an emphasis on gender and diversity, aiming to elevate and identify marginalized groups in mainstream media. Michael’s work has been featured internationally in magazines like MacLean’s, Mob Journal, Volant and House of Solo. On the brand side, Michael has shot for established brands that include Roots, Steam Whistle, Greenhouse Juice, MAC Cosmetics and The Drake.

Jerome Riel (he/him):
Director – emotive storytelling, commercial, high concept

Jerome has honed his skills as a director on commercials, sports documentaries and music videos. He’s applied this versatile and unique aesthetic to bring stories to life for brands that include ASICS, The Toronto Maple Leafs, Sony, OvO, Adidas, The Canadian Armed Forces, Volkswagen and so many more. When he’s not working, you’ll find Jerome with his dog, Producer.

Tomasz Kurek (he/him):
Cinematographer – documentary, visual storytelling

Toronto-based cinematographer Tomasz Kurek is a visual storyteller at heart, and is known for finding beauty in even the simplest of scenes and maintaining a sense of approachability across his work. He is best known for his work on Uninterrupted’s “The Carter Effect,” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Emmy-nominated series, “UFC 25 Years in Short.” His commercials include projects for American Express, Rogers Media, Loblaws and the World Wildlife Fund.

Paul Bolasco (he/him):
Photographer – sports, portraiture, product

Paul is a Filipino-Canadian photographer with an undying passion for sports. A graduate of Sheridan College’s photography program, Paul has established a name for himself as a go-to photographer for intimate portraits of athletes (what he likes to call “Sportraits”), including Serena Williams, Raphael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and the Toronto Blue Jays. On the brand side, Paul has shot for Nike, White Claw, Barry’s Bootcamp and Sportsnet.

Matthew Parrish (he/him):
Director, photographer, art director – commercial, product, production design, conceptual

Matthew made the shift into production after spending over eight years as a Creative Director at boutique Toronto agency, where he helped lead projects for Volkswagen, Heineken, and Holt Renfrew. Since moving into the production space, Matthew has found his voice as a director, photographer and art director having worked on projects for the CFL, Vitamix and taking home awards for his work on Hudson’s Bay and The Kit.

Michael Rae (he/him):
Director – commercial, grit, sports, authentic visuals, real stories

Michael is a young, talented director who has had a knack for storytelling his whole life. It started when he was chasing his friends down ski hills, proudly wielding a first-generation GoPro and has taken him to directing commercial work for an impressive client list, including The Toronto Raptors, Microsoft, American Express. More recently, with Impossible Studios, Michael was at the helm, directing Canada Goose’s first-ever broadcast spot which was seen across North America.

Ryan Nangreaves (he/him):
Photographer – food and beverage, product, lifestyle

Ryan was destined for a life in photography, having been born to a commercial photographer and food stylist and raised in studios. Over the past 10 years, Ryan has made a name for himself as a food and product photographer, shooting campaigns for some of the most recognizable food and beverage brands, like Starbucks, KFC, Corby Distilleries, Cracker Barrel, Catelli and more.

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Canada, News, Production

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